Advanced Pain Management Fellowship

Our Mission is to provide competent care to patients with chronic pain.

Our Purpose is to educate and prepare certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) in holistic pain management.

TCU School of Nurse Anesthesia’s one-year post-master’s Pain Management Fellowship certificate program aims to address pain management comprehensively, striving to restore a patient's well-being. When full recovery isn't possible, the Fellow's role is to provide comfort, hope and support for the patient's optimal functioning.

This post-master’s certificate program in advanced pain management for nurse anesthetists is comprised of two parts:

Graduates who meet the National Board of Certification & Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) eligibility criteria can apply for the Nonsurgical Pain Management Examination (NSPM) sub-specialty certification exam. This program assesses the knowledge, skills and abilities of NBCRNA-certified nurse anesthetists for NSPM practice. For more information, please visit NBCRNA.

Applicants must be Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) with a graduate degree and have completed a basic nonsurgical pain management cadaver course before enrolling in the program.

The TCU School of Nurse Anesthesia program participates in the Nursing Centralized Application Services (NursingCas). An application fee will be collected by NursingCas.

Applicants meeting the following criteria will be considered for admission:

• Master’s or doctoral degree from an accredited nurse anesthesia program
• Minimum of two years’ practice as a CRNA prior to start of Fellowship
• Unencumbered licensure as a registered nurse
• APRN licensure
• Certification in BLS and ACLS; PALS optional
• Certification or recertification as a nurse anesthetist by the NBCRNA
• AANA membership
• Health insurance
• If English is not the first language, a score of at least 94 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
• Completion of the basic assessed nonsurgical pain management cadaver
• Vaccination records

The Advanced Pain Management Fellowship requires finishing both a basic and intermediate assessed non-surgical pain management (NSPM) cadaver workshop.

• Accepted fellowship applicants will attend the basic NSPM cadaver workshop in June or July before the fellowship courses start in August
• Fellows will participate in the intermediate NSPM cadaver workshop during the fall semester in October, which includes an on-campus physical assessment and diagnosis skills check
• Both the basic and intermediate NSPM cadaver workshops take place in Fort Worth
• Details about enrolling in the NSPM cadaver courses will be provided during fellowship interviews

For more information about these workshops, contact j.rowles@tcu.edu.

This online course covers the six NSPM exam areas, is recognized by the NBCRNA and is approved by the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) for 10 Class A continuing education (CE) credits, including one pharmacology credit.

Online learning allows flexible timing and location. Module post-tests are open book and learners have three attempts to achieve a passing score of 80%. Upon successful completion, one CE certificate is issued and credits are reported to the AANA.

The program is pre-approved by the AANA for 12.75 Class A CE credits, with three of them in pharmacology. The approval code is 1044306, and it's valid until 5/30/2025.

Ready to Apply?

TCU's Advanced Pain Management post-mater's certificate program for the January 2025 cohort accepts applications until June 5, 2024. Early submission is recommended.

The TCU Advanced Pain Management Fellowship is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), 10275 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 906, Rosemont, IL 60018-5603; 224-275-9130. The Fellowship’s term of accreditation is May 2024-May 2029, at which time it may choose to seek continued accreditation. This certificate is not an education prerequisite for an advanced practice nursing license.