Samuel Merritt College's Nurse Anesthetist Program

Samuel Merritt College has a great reputation, both with employers and with students, and is centered in the heart of the Bay Area.

Samuel Merritt College
(Sometimes called Samuel Merritt University)
Nurse Anesthetist Program
School of Nursing - Providence Pavilion
3100 Summit Street, 3rd Floor
Oakland, CA 94609

Contact Information
Celeste G Villanueva, CRNA, MS, Program Director
ph: (510) 869-8926
fax: (510) 869-6677
email: cvillanueva@samuelmerritt.edu

Quick Facts

CRNA Degree offered
Master of Science in Nursing, Post-Master's Certificate

Program Length
27 months, full time

Credit Hours
58 semester units

Starting Month
September

Application Deadline
Priority application deadline is November 1st. 2013 applications will be accepted through December 1 or after until the class is filled in March 2013. The deadline has been extended from November 1 to December 1 to accommodate the change in the deadline date.

They may take applications after December 1st on a space available basis until the class is filled in March 2013. You will need to contact the Che Abram CAbram@samuelmerritt. edu or 510-869-8984 to learn if we are still accepting applications after December 1.

The Program conducts interviews yearly in the early spring.

Entire Program Cost of CRNA School at Samuel Merritt College.
Tuition is calculated at the 2013-2014 rate. Tuition at most schools increases each academic year. Over the duration of the program, expect to pay a tuition that is 5% to 15% higher than what is shown here.

Cost of In State Tuition: $67,918
*Fees and expenses: $2,700
Grand Total: $70,618

*This includes the cost of books, supplies, test fees and miscellaneous school expenses.

*Kaiser Permanente is competitively awarding $10,000 per year for 2 years ($20,000) to 20 applicants, forgivable after graduation if you are employed by a Northern California Kaiser facility.

Samuel Merritt College Tuition Link

Class Size
25-28

Number of Applicants
80-120

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CRNA Program Summary

Are you concerned that the Samuel Merritt College Nurse Anesthesia Program won’t give you the specific experiences or training you need to be a successful CRNA? Learn what standards CRNA Programs must meet in order to be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia (COA).

This CRNA program (as well as all others that are accredited by the COA) prepares you to take the CCNA certification exam at the conclusion of the program, allowing you to become a CRNA.

Consistent with most CRNA Programs, Samuel Merritt College is mostly front loaded. As a student here, your heaviest class load will be your first semester (19) units). During your second semester, you’ll finish up the bulk of your classes and gain an introduction to clinical anesthesia. This will help you put all of your knowledge in perspective.

You will continue your didactic learning through the remainder of the program, with increasing emphasis on your clinical experience. The following clinical experiences will prepare you for the full scope of practice in nurse anesthesia:

General and regional techniques
Conscious sedation
Ancillary services such as pain management
Interventional radiology procedures
Emergency airway management

Under close and immediate supervision, you will be responsible for the administration and management of virtually all specialty surgery categories and common invasive monitoring modalities for the full range of patient age and acuity levels.

The graduates of Merritt College all reported that they were well prepared to enter the employment field as CRNAs and felt fully competent to assume their professional role.

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Program Requirements

Looking for something specific? Find CRNA schools categorized by their unique requirements.

Some CRNA schools require much more out of their applicants than others. See how the requirements at Samuel Merritt College compare to most CRNA school’s requirements.

CRNA Program Requirements

BSN
Bachelor of Science in Nursing is preferred. RNs with baccalaureate degrees in other fields will be evaluated individually and additional course work may be required.

RN:
Current California licensure as a registered nurse – may be obtained after you’re accepted

Critical Care:
One year ICU experience at the time of interview required. Two to three years of critical care nursing experience is preferable.

Acceptable critical care experience includes:

Surgical ICU (including trauma, post-cardiovascular surgery and neurosurgical specialty units)
Medical ICU (coronary care, pulmonary care, and other medical sub-specialty units)
Pediatric ICU
Neonatal ICU

GPA:
Minimum cumulative of 3.0 and minimum last 60 semester or 90 quarter unit GPA of 3.4 or higher. Average cumulative GPA of accepted students is 3.53. Average last 60 units is 3.661.

Minimum GRE scores:
A minimum score of 290.

TOEFL:
For international students, official TOEFL or IELTS score report, with a score of of 100 or higher for TOEFL, 7.0 or higher for IELTS.

Certifications may be obtained after you’re accepted:

ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)
PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support)

Completion of a 1-2 day clinical shadowing experience with a CRNA or physician anesthesiologist.

It is also highly recommended that CCRN is completed.

Course Prerequisites

College Chemistry: Content to include inorganic, organic and/or biochemistry (6 - 8 semester units total) prior to enrollment (biochemistry is recommended – lower or upper division). Organic and biochemistry need not be separate courses.
Statistics
Intro to Physics: Highly recommended

Samuel Merritt College’s CRNA program website

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School’s Performance

CRNA School Rankings - U.S. News & World Report (2011)
3.3 out of 5.0. Ranked 11 out of 107 CRNA programs.

*Please note: CRNA rankings are somewhat bias and subjective. Read disclaimer about how CRNA rankings are created.*

Accredited CRNA Programs are reviewed regularly.
Samuel Merritt College Nurse Anesthetist Program was last reviewed 05/2004. It was given 10 years accreditation and will be reviewed again 05/2014. This shows that the program is very stable.

CRNA Employment Rate of program graduates
100%

How CRNA Program graduates are performing
“Employers continue to rave about the preparation of our students. Most often they cite the comprehensiveness of their theoretical background and the range of their clinical expertise from the simplest to the most medically complex patient.

100% of employers noted that graduates were fully capable of independent decision-making and graduates rank their preparation far above minimum competency levels. Nearly 90% of our graduates are employed in the Bay Area and most at Kaiser Permanente facilities. We also have graduates practicing in other areas of the country and in the military.”

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CRNA Salaries

An average nurse anesthetist salary in California
California CRNA salaries are among the highest in the U.S., largely because of the higher cost of living. Most jobs range from $150k-$200k per year.

An average annual nurse anesthetist salary in the US is $163,467 (according to a 2008 study)

Rural average: $174,214
Metropolitan average: $164,148
Suburban average: $156,630
Average starting CRNA salaries range from: $110,000-$130,000.

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FAQs

How many students do you invite to interview each year?
About 50 students are invited every year for an interview. This number can be more depending on the quality of the applicant pool.

How many students do you accept in the part-time option of the program each year?
No more than 4 students are accepted on a part time basis.

See CRNA School Reviews
All information given on this site about Samuel Merritt's Nurse Anesthetist Program was taken directly from their website.

*This page was updated April 13th, 2013.*