Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Students Receive AANA Foundation Scholarship

September 12, 2019 – Two students in the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program (DNAP) have received research-related scholarships from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Foundation.

X. Mimi Gu (G’20) and Claire Ryan (G’20) were awarded $2,500 each through the foundation’s Dean and Fred Hayden Student Research Scholarship.

X. Mimi Gu (G’20)

Gu says her doctoral project involves “research on CRNA education, interpretation, and management of the perioperative do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order.” 

She expressed gratitude to the foundation and to the DNAP faculty of the School of Nursing & Health Studies for their support. 

“End-of-life care is a subject that is very dear to me, and it’s heartening to see that others find decision-making on advance directives a topic worth exploring,” she says. “The DNAP Program has fostered an academic focus and professional growth that was beyond what I thought I could expect of myself.”

Claire Ryan (G’20)

And Ryan, who is also a major in the United States Army Reserve, says her project seeks to improve the health outcomes patients experience by bettering handover procedures among health professionals in the clinical setting. She will focus on certified registered nurse anesthetists. “The findings of this study may result in a better understanding of the issues that prevent standardized handover adoption and utilization,” she says.

Ryan, like Gu, offered her appreciation to Georgetown and the foundation. 

The program “can be challenging, but totally worth it,” Ryan says. ‘I am so honored to be a Georgetown [student registered nurse anesthetist] and Hoya.”