December 2008

Contact:
Ken Ma
NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5354 Office
954-830-4177 Cell
kennma@nova.edu

NSU Offers Tampa Area’s First Ever Anesthesiologist Assistant Program

TAMPA, FL -- Nova Southeastern University (NSU) announced plans this week to offer its anesthesiologist assistant (AA) program in Tampa beginning in June 2009. This will be the first-ever anesthesiologist assistant program in the Tampa area.

The AA program is the latest program NSU is offering at its Tampa Student Educational Center. The university has been offering quality programs in the Tampa area for more than 30 years.

The 27-month anesthesiologist assistant program will begin at NSU’s Tampa Student Educational Center with 20 students.

NSU is the fourth university in the United States to offer an AA program and the only university in Florida to have the program. Florida is one of 17 states that allow anesthesiologist assistants to practice their trade.

“The Tampa area and Florida in general has a need for more providers of anesthesia,” said Richard E. Davis, EdD, PA-C, dean of NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing, which runs the AA program.

NSU professor Mike Nichols, MSA, AA-C., immediate past president of the American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants, said the more anesthesiologist assistants NSU can matriculate and educate, the greater the chances are for Floridians to get access to health care.

Of the five universities nationwide that offer the anesthesiologist assistant program, NSU is the only university to offer it in multiple locations: Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale.

“Increasing the number of anesthesiologist assistants will open up more access for patients to have surgery,” said NSU professor Robert Wagner, M.M.Sc., AA-C.

Because the field is in high demand, these students are all but guaranteed jobs that offer a starting salary between $120,000 and $150,000, according to Wagner. Experienced anesthesiologist assistants can earn $180,000.

Because of the hot job market for these health care providers, some NSU AA students’ tuitions are being subsidized by anesthesiologist assistant groups.

There are five AA programs in the nation. The other programs are located at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Emory University in Atlanta, South University in Savannah and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Anesthesiologist assistants are highly trained allied health professionals who provide top-quality patient care under the medical direction of an anesthesiologist. AAs work in a care team format with an anesthesiologist to render complete anesthesia care.