The MTSA President’s Medal is an award given during annual commencement ceremonies and is voted on by the doctoral faculty for the candidate whose doctoral work advances or has the potential to impact the current practice of nurse anesthetists locally, nationally, or even globally.

Doctoral candidates complete a scholarly project, which is the seminal scholarly work associated with the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice degree. MTSA faculty mentor these students and help to focus their project work to augment evidence-based nurse anesthesia clinical practice, education, administration and business management related to nurse anesthesia.

In consideration for the President’s Medal, candidates’ scholarly projects are assessed on the following dimensions:

• significance of the work to nurse anesthesia practice
• impact on patient care and safety
• contribution to the current body of knowledge
• improvement in a process of healthcare delivery systems
• mastery of a subject defining expertise in a given area

President’s Medal Awardees

2020

Ron Bell, MS, CRNA; Ryan Hill, MS, CRNA; and Walt Lee, MS, CRNA
Do Novice Providers Benefit from the Use of a Video Laryngoscope When Intubating the Trachea?

(pictured l to r) MTSA President Chris Hulin; Ron Bell, MS, CRNA; Ryan Hill, MS, CRNA; and Walt Lee, MS, CRNA

The award was presented for their scholarly project, “Do Novice Providers Benefit from the Use of a Video Laryngoscope When Intubating the Trachea?” The project was focused on determining the appropriate airway management techniques to assist the novice provider in identifying airway structures and laryngoscope options for a successful intubating experience.

2017

Michelle Ertel, DNAP, CRNA
Ventilation Monitoring Outside the Operating Room

MTSA President’s Medal recipient Michelle Ertel (center) following the presentation by President Chris Hulin and Dr. Ertel’s doctoral committee chairperson Dr. Katrin Sames.

2016

MaryAnn Perry, DNAP, CRNA
Factors Impacting Anesthesia-related Technology Training: A Pilot Study

MTSA President’s Medal recipient MaryAnn Perry (center) following the presentation by President Chris Hulin (right) and Dr. Perry’s doctoral committee chairperson Dr. Amy Gideon, MTSA Director of Institutional Effectiveness & Learning Resources (left).

2015

Michele Gravois, DNAP, CRNA

To What Extent Does One Cultural Competence Training Class Affect Hispanic Cultural Competence Among Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)?