Students in the Nurse Anesthesia program from The University of Texas at San Antonio’s School of Nursing made their inaugural appearance competing in the Texas Association of Nurse Anesthesiology College Bowl Showdown, joining teams from across the state in a lively competition that tested their clinical anesthesia knowledge.
Held during the TxANA Annual Convention, the College Bowl brought together student registered nurse anesthetist (SRNA) teams from programs including UT San Antonio, Texas Christian University, UTHealth Houston, The University of Texas Medical Branch and others. The annual academic bowl gives students an opportunity to demonstrate their anesthesia knowledge in front of peers, faculty, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and professional partners from throughout Texas.
For the School of Nursing, the evening marked an important milestone for the new program, which launched in 2024.
“It’s an incredible honor to bring the inaugural College Bowl team for our school,” said Steven Kertes, DNP, CRNA, associate professor and director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at UT San Antonio’s School of Nursing. “Showing up to participate in the College Bowl shows the Texas CRNA community that our school is more than a brand-new program, but that it is educating their residents to the highest academic levels.”
Kertes said participating in the competition helps to expand the program’s visibility statewide while preparing highly trained anesthesia providers for San Antonio and beyond.
Nicole Lesperance, SRNA, is a second-year student in the program and serves as its founding organizational president. When she attended the conference last year, she knew that UT San Antonio should compete.
“The College Bowl showed me another side of TxANA. Watching students proudly represent their programs made me realize that UT San Antonio needed a stronger presence, and that I could help create it,” Lesperance said. “I left believing that TxANA should become a rite of passage for every SRNA in our program.”
To make that happen, Lesperance worked to establish the SRNA organization, connect with sponsors and coordinate preparations that allowed program residents to compete in the College Bowl for the first time. She said that attending the convention also reinforced the importance of building a lasting presence for the program within TxANA.
“The convention strengthened my relationships, renewed my passion for nurse anesthesia and inspired ideas that I hope may benefit future students and patients. Most importantly, it helped us begin building a TxANA tradition that future UT San Antonio SRNAs can proudly continue,” she said.
The School of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia program provides unique education and training experiences for prospective nurse anesthetists, with an on-site simulation lab that adds to residents’ didactic and clinical skill set education, said Kertes.
The program’s didactic anesthesia faculty, all former military CRNAs, bring extensive clinical experience, leadership and expertise in delivering anesthesia care in complex and demanding environments.
“This allows us build the foundation to coach, teach and mentor our residents to graduate to be independent providers that can work to the top of the scope of their practice,” Kertes said. “Our school has incredible agreements with local anesthesia groups and medical facilities throughout San Antonio and Austin that provide our residents excellent clinical training. They will be able to choose where they want to work, whether it is in a collaborative anesthesia practice or a solo CRNA practice in rural Texas.”
Click here to learn more about the Nurse Anesthesia program.