National CRNA Week: Honoring Excellence at USU’s Top-Ranked Nurse Anesthesia Program

The Uniformed Services University highlights the vital role of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in military medicine and celebrates its graduate program’s second consecutive top national ranking.

Three service members in military camouflage uniforms use headlamps to illuminate a medical mannequin lying on the ground in a dark room. They are performing medical procedures, including using a manual resuscitator bag, on the mannequin.
Service members practice critical airway management on a medical simulator in a low-light training scenario.
The USU curriculum emphasizes operational medicine, preparing graduates to deliver exceptional care in 
austere, resource-limited, and high-risk environments. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

January 20, 2026 by Sharon Holland

As the nation celebrates National CRNA Week, the Uniformed Services University (USU) is recognizing the essential contributions of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) to patient safety, military readiness, and global health. USU proudly highlights the exceptional CRNAs trained through its Graduate School of Nursing, who continue to lead the way in clinical excellence and operational support worldwide.

For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked USU’s Nurse Anesthesia program as the No. 1 CRNA program in the nation, reflecting its academic rigor, clinical excellence, and focus on military medicine.

CRNAs administer more than 50 million anesthetics annually across the United States, practicing in every setting where anesthesia is delivered, from large medical centers and rural hospitals to deployed and humanitarian environments. USU’s program is designed to prepare graduates for this full spectrum of care.

Building on a prerequisite foundation of critical care experience, our students undergo a rigorous curriculum centered on clinical judgment, patient safety, and peak performance under pressure. The program uniquely integrates military and operational medicine, equipping graduates to deliver expert anesthesia care in the world’s most austere, resource-limited, and high-risk environments.

A medical professional wearing blue scrubs, a surgical mask, and a black scrub cap gestures with a gloved hand while speaking to a colleague in a hospital operating room setting. Medical monitors and anesthesia equipment are visible in the background.
Medical professionals communicate near anesthesia delivery systems in a clinical environment, illustrating the
focus on patient safety and clinical excellence central to the Uniformed Services University’s top-ranked
Nurse Anesthesia program. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists serve as primary anesthesia providers for
service members in medical centers and deployed environments worldwide. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

“[USU prepares] students not only to practice anesthesia in the operating room, but also across a wide range of deployed environments. Shortly after graduation, students may be called upon to provide anesthesia aboard ships, in tents, in connex boxes, and in many other austere settings. Delivering safe and effective anesthesia in these environments, often with limited equipment and resources, requires a distinct skill set that extends beyond what is typically needed for a nurse anesthetist,” says LCDR Caroline Mosher.

With full practice authority in every branch of the U.S. military, CRNAs serve as primary anesthesia providers for service members worldwide. USU graduates are not only skilled clinicians but also leaders, ready to support joint operations, aeromedical evacuation teams, naval platforms, and forward-deployed medical units.

“Serving as a military nurse anesthetist means caring for those who serve. Anytime. Anywhere.  It’s precision under pressure, calm in the chaos, and commitment to a mission bigger than myself," says LTC Andrea Hall

USU’s ongoing national recognition underscores the university’s leadership in nurse anesthesia education and its commitment to producing graduates who deliver exceptional care when patients are most vulnerable, whether in a stateside operating room or a deployed setting.

“It means being there for someone's worst day," adds Maj. Samuel Self. "It means separation from family and friends but finding new brothers and sisters to serve with. It means exploring the world, whether you wanted to visit that area or not. It means giving everything you have so that someone's dad, mom, brother, sister, son, daughter, and friend gets to come back home alive. Being a military CRNA is a calling, an honor, and a profession, but it's not about us. It's about those we get to take care of and bring back home."