Anesthesiologist Assistant Oath
I will strive to reduce the suffering of my patients at all times, and never will I use my skills to knowingly cause injury or for any wrongdoing.
I will treat each patient with equal energy, and respect his or her diversity, while safeguarding their privacy and honoring their right of autonomy.
I will work to be an exemplary ambassador of the Anesthesiologist Assistant profession and will always work to strengthen its place in the healthcare team.
Program Mission Statement
The Master of Health Science in Anesthesiologist Assistant program prepares graduates to become Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants who provide safe and effective anesthesia care under the medical direction of anesthesiologists. The program is focused on educating qualified non-physician anesthesia providers to serve diverse patient populations and medically underserved communities through a commitment to ethical principles, evidence-based practice, and lifelong learning.
Program Vision
As members of the anesthesia care team, graduates will fulfill their professional obligations to improve the practice of anesthesiology and perioperative care for patients and families with excellence, equity, and empathy. They will become members, advocates, and leaders in anesthesiology communities of practice and the interprofessional health care delivery systems of the future.
Curriculum Philosophy
The coursework begins in the first year with integrated basic and clinical sciences courses, simulation-based education, and direct patient care clinical experiences. The second and third years build on these experiences and add the provision of subspeciality clinical rotations. Interwoven throughout the 28-month curriculum are the core threads of professionalism, critical thinking, quality improvement and patient safety, interprofessional practice and social responsibility.
AAAA Ethical Standards
The KCU MHSAA program recognizes and upholds the standards of professional behavior for students as outlined by the American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAAA), GUIDELINES FOR THE ETHICAL STANDARDS OF THE CERTIFIED ANESTHESIOLOGIST ASSISTANT, Adopted June 2024.
Competencies and Student Outcomes
The KCU MHSAA program goal of minimum expectations is: “To prepare competent entry-level Anesthesiologist Assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.”
SAAs must complete a minimum of 105 credit hours, 600 anesthetic cases, and 2000 clinical hours to qualify for the MHSAA degree. Additional requirements to sit the national certification examination are subject to the NCCAA policies.
Teaching Methods
The MHSAA creates a learning environment that fosters critical thinking, promotes professionalism and develops skills for life-long learning by using teaching methods that are student focused.
Approaches to interactive teaching and learning will include classroom presentations; group discussions; classroom participatory activities; simulation activities; workshops; laboratory exercises; and interactions with both standardized patients and human patient simulators. Case-based learning will integrate pillars of foundational sciences with best-practice clinical protocols presented in real-world scenarios designed to address the care and management of patients.
Independent learning will be promoted through pre-class assignments, studying content through various media, evidence-based analyses and critical review of learning material, and guided self-reflection exercises. Self-directed learning will be conducted routinely as preparation for clinical assignments and post hoc to answer clinical questions and provide deeper context to the practice of anesthesia.
The MHSAA program is committed to providing a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment for all students while applying the described teaching and learning methods. KCU reserves the right to edit, update, and/or supplement these methods.
MHSAA Academic Policies & Procedures
Academic Load
| Fall/Spring/Summer Term Academic Load |
Number of Credits |
| Full-time |
9 or more semester credits |
| Half-time |
6 semester credits |
| Part-time |
5.5 or fewer semester credits |
Academic Program Length Restrictions
All MHSAA degree students must complete all degree requirements within 40 months of the date of matriculation unless required by law, judicial order, or to facilitate compliance with applicable laws or legally binding agreements.
Academic Standing
Students who have not been given an Academic Sanction are considered to be in Academic Good Standing. Review the Academic Progress Policy posted on myKCU for implications related to academic standing.
Grade & Assessment Policies
Grading System
Grades are recorded on the transcript at the end of each term. The grade scale is the same for all MHSAA courses.
| Letter Grades |
Percentage Points |
Grade Points |
| A |
90-100 |
4.0 |
| B+ |
85-89 |
3.5 |
| B |
80-84 |
3.0 |
| C+ |
75-79 |
2.5 |
| C, F/C |
70-74 |
2.0 |
| F, F/F |
≤69 |
0.0 |
| I |
- |
Incomplete |
| W |
- |
Withdrawal |
Placeholders and non-grades: Incomplete (I), Withdrawal (W).
Comprehensive Exams
During Term 4, students must pass two comprehensive exams that are required for graduation: Comprehensive Examinations Computer Based Testing (CBT) and Comprehensive Examinations Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCEs). Exams are graded as Pass/Fail with a cut-score of 70%.
Exam 1 is a computer-based test (CBT) that encompasses all topics and keywords covered to date. Item format follows unit and final exams and is administered in ExamSoft. Students should consider this as an in-training exam in preparation for the initial certifying exam (CE) administered by the NCCAA. Students must pass each subcomponent with a minimum of 70%. Students are permitted one retake per subcomponent.
Exam 2 is an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) that encompasses all topics, keywords, and skills covered to date. The exam is administered in the simulation laboratory and skills lab classroom and is graded in ExamSoft via rubrics, which follows the exam experience in simulation courses. Students must pass each station with a minimum of 70%. Students are permitted one retake per station.
Comprehensive examinations graded on a Pass/Fail scale do not contribute to the GPA and do show on the transcript as: P, F, F/P, or F/F. Completing both the CBT and OSCE with grades of P are required for progression to Term 5 and for graduation. Refer to the Student Academic Progress Policy to review when Academic Sanctions are applied.
Assessment and Assessment Review Policy
Students should refer to their course syllabi for testing policies.
Any student flagged or otherwise found to be engaged in any suspicious or unusual behavior in any testing environment, including but not limited to leaving the view of the camera and/or the testing area, making efforts to avoid the camera, engaging in side conversations, accessing textbooks or previously prepared notes, will be referred to the senior vice provost of Student Success for review of potential breach of professional conduct expectations and/or to the Student Progress Committee for potential sanction as an academic failure.
Incomplete Grades
A course director or dean of the College of Health Professions may assign a grade of “I” if he/she believes that a student has been unable to complete the course/section on time because of extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. Any student receiving a grade of “I” must coordinate with the course director to satisfy all outstanding coursework for the course/section. The requirements of successful completion of all outstanding coursework must be documented in an “incomplete grade contract” (IGC) with the student. The IGC is a record of academic expectations and not a “contract” in the legal sense. The student’s signature is not required for the IGC to be valid.
Once outstanding requirements for the course are satisfied, the course director will process a change of grade form converting the “I” to a letter grade. The grade change must be submitted prior to the first day of classes of the next academic term. Once this deadline has passed, the “I” becomes an “F”.
Should a student decide to withdraw from the University, or if he/she is otherwise separated from the University prior to completing coursework for an incomplete grade, the grade will be updated to reflect a failure (F).
A degree cannot be awarded to a student with an “I” on his/her record.
Grade Changes/Corrections
Grades may be changed or corrected by the course director, upon certification in writing that an error occurred in computing or recording the grade, or a section or course has been successfully remediated.
Promotion in Class Standing
The Student Progress Committee, MHSAA-SPC, tracks student progress and makes determinations that are appropriate to the individual student and circumstances, consistent with the Academic Progress Policy.
Students who fail to meet program requirements prior to the degree certification date extend their enrollment for a minimum of one term and are referred to the MHSAA-SPC.
Academic Year Repeat Policy
Students approved for reinstatement after any period of suspension or an approved leave of absence, regardless of length, may be required to repeat previously attempted and passed courses.
Students may only repeat a course once. The opportunity to repeat is not available if the course is subsequently inactivated.
Students who repeat coursework must follow current tuition and fees policies.
Grade Assessments for Reinstated Students
Final grades earned by reinstated students prior to the academic interruption shall remain part of the permanent student record.