News Releases

University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia Specialty Granted 10-Year Continued Accreditation from Council on Accreditation

November 21, 2017

UMSON’s Anesthesia Specialty is in 100 percent compliance with COA’s standards.

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthesia specialty has been granted continued accreditation for 10 years from the Council on Accreditation (COA).

“I am thrilled, but am not at all surprised, that the COA awarded UMSON’s Nurse Anesthesia program full accreditation. It is not often that the COA awards a program full, 10-year accreditation with no progress report required,” said Shannon Idzik, DNP ’10, MS, ’03, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN, associate professor and associate dean of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. “It is something to be proud of and speaks to the quality, integrity, and performance of our program, faculty, and students. Our faculty are extremely dedicated to our Nurse Anesthesia program and students, and with support from our many health care partners, we graduate some of the best nurse anesthetists in the world.”

UMSON’s Nurse Anesthesia specialty, which was found to be in 100 percent compliance with the standards, was granted accreditation with no annual progress report required, which is rarely granted. Even fewer programs achieve the maximum accreditation of 10 years. Although UMSON is not required to submit an annual progress report, it does need to submit faculty and student online evaluations in spring 2022. The Nurse Anesthesia specialty is next scheduled for consideration for continued accreditation in fall 2027.

“I am extremely proud of the fact that our program was in 100 percent compliance with the standards,” said Joseph E. Pellegrini, PhD, CRNA, FAAN, director of the Nurse Anesthesia specialty. “This is a testament to the outstanding faculty, students, and staff who support and facilitate this program.”

COA is an accrediting agency that grants public recognition to nurse anesthesia programs and institutions in the United States that award post-master’s certificates and master’s and doctoral degrees that meet nationally established standards of academic quality. It also assists programs and institutions in improving educational quality.

# # #

The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top 10 nursing schools in the United States. Enrolling more than 1,900 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.