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In response to escalating healthcare costs and growing surgical demands in the Pacific Northwest – particularly in rural areas – the university will launch a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) program in the fall of 2025.

The addition continues George Fox’s ongoing commitment to training healthcare professionals who are both professionally competent and who fulfill the university’s mission – to produce graduates who think with clarity, act with integrity and serve with passion. It will also help address the region’s dire need for CRNAs – a shortage exacerbated by rising demand, insufficient numbers of anesthesia providers, low numbers graduating from existing programs, and impending retirements.

According to experts, urgent solutions are needed to expand access to surgical care, particularly in underserved rural areas. According to the Oregon Association of Nurse Anesthetists, more than 80% of rural Oregon’s anesthesia care is provided by CRNAs, making the demand for their services all the more acute. CRNAs provide high-quality anesthesia care in both urban and rural locales and are the anesthesia providers in most rural settings.

George Fox’s three-year, 90-credit-hour course of study will employ a hybrid model consisting of distance courses, face-to-face immersive learning experiences, simulation, and clinical residencies. The program’s modified front-loaded model will allow students to complete first-year courses almost entirely online. The program includes five lab/simulation immersions at the university’s Portland Center and multiple residency experiences throughout Oregon.

It is the first of three Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees the university will roll out in the coming years, with the CRNA to be followed by Nurse Midwife (CNW) and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) programs.