Tampa Bay’s First Graduating Class of AA's

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Tampa Bay’s First Graduating Class of Anesthesiologist Assistants Will Receive Their Degrees from Nova Southeastern University 


					Released: 
				8/15/2011 11:00 AM EDT
				

				  	Source: 
			  	
	Nova Southeastern University

			  	
			Newswise — TAMPA,  Fla. — The first ever Anesthesiologist 
Assistants (AA) students from Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Tampa
 Student Educational Center will graduate on Aug. 28, helping to meet 
the healthcare needs of Tampa Bay residents.
“The Tampa area, 
Florida, and the nation 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.  “With only seven 
AA programs in the nation, we educate and provide quality AA’s who are 
ready to work.”
Anesthesiologist Assistants allow doctors to 
perform additional surgeries which is needed in areas like Tampa where 
the demand is high.  They are highly trained allied health professionals
 who provide top-quality patient care under the medical direction of a 
doctor of anesthesiology.  AA’s work in a care team format with a 
physician anesthesiologist to render complete anesthesia care.
The
 25 NSU graduating anesthesiologist assistant students began their 27- 
month program in 2009.  Because the field is in high demand, all of 
these graduates are guaranteed jobs that offer a starting salary between
 $120,000 and $150,000 according to William Orr, M.M.Sc., AA-C assistant
 professor and department chair of the anesthesiologist assistant 
program at Tampa’s NSU campus.
According to Orr, most of the 
students will begin jobs immediately upon graduation. “Many of our 
students will be staying in Tampa at Brandon Regional Hospital and New 
Port Richey Community Hospital, said Orr.  “Others are going to Shands 
in Gainesville, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Capitol Regional 
Medical Center in Tallahassee.”
“Approximately 50 percent of the class are from outside of Florida and have jobs secured in their home states,” Orr added.
NSU
 professor and department chair Robert Wagner, M.M.Sc., AA-C, 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 Americans 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 assistant will open up more access for patients to have
 surgery,” said Wagner.
The university has been offering quality 
programs in the Tampa area for more than 30 years.  NSU is the fifth 
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.
About
 Nova’s College of Allied Health and Nursing: The College endeavors to 
train health care professionals in the art and science of improving the 
quality of life and health of their patients and communities. Through 
undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degree programs, its goal is 
to produce highly motivated and well educated practitioners who will be 
integral members of the healthcare team. The college is composed of 
students in nursing, occupational therapy, physician assistants, 
anesthesiologist assistants, vascular sonography, audiology, health 
science and cardiovascular sonography.
Anesthesiologist Assistants
 (AAs), also known as an anesthetist, are highly educated and skilled 
allied health professionals who work under the supervision of physician 
anesthesiologists to develop and implement anesthesia care plans. AAs 
work exclusively within the anesthesia care team environment as 
described by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). AAs 
possess a premedical background, a baccalaureate degree, and also 
complete a comprehensive didactic and clinical program at the graduate 
school level. AAs are trained extensively in the delivery and 
maintenance of quality anesthesia care as well as advanced patient 
monitoring techniques. The goal of AA education is to nurture the 
transformation of qualified student applicants into competent health 
care practitioners who aspire to practice in the anesthesia care team.
About
 Nova Southeastern University (NSU): The main campus is located in 
Davie, Florida and one of its seven Student Educational Centers is 
located in Tampa.  NSU is a dynamic is a dynamic fully accredited 
Florida University dedicated to providing high-quality educational 
programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and 
doctoral levels. NSU has more than 29,000 students and is the seventh 
largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The 
University awards associate’s, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, 
specialist, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, 
including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, 
education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health 
professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other
 social sciences.  Classified as a research university with “high 
research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of 
Teaching, NSU was also awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement 
Classification in 2010 for the University’s significant commitment to 
and demonstration of community engagement.   For more information about 
NSU visit www.nova.edu.
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