Applicants for admission to the UMKC School of Medicine MSA program must have the CASAA application submitted and verified by August 15.

All other applications and application materials must be submitted by August 15 as well.

• An application will NOT be reviewed for admission until all supporting documents have been received. When all applications and application materials have been received, the MSA Program Admissions Committee will review all complete applications.
• Application materials received or postmarked after the final admissions deadline will be considered late and those applications will be reviewed with other late applications and only if space is available. Applications that remain incomplete will not be considered.

Students offered admission to the MSA program will matriculate in January.

Students applying for admission to the UMKC School of Medicine MSA program must complete the following steps:

Step 1: Central Application Service for Anesthesiologist Assistants (CASAA)

All applicants must apply through CASAA, which becomes available in March.

Please follow the instructions provided on the CASAA application. Once the application has been verified by CASAA, it will be sent to the programs to which you have applied.

The CASAA application must be submitted and verified by August 15. Verification can take up to a few weeks, so please plan accordingly. Official MCAT/GRE scores must also be received by August 15. Official MCAT/GRE scores must be released directly to CASAA.

Letters of Recommendation

The School of Medicine participates in the CASAA letter of recommendation program, and all letters of recommendation must be submitted through the CASAA letter of recommendation service by August 15.

• Letters of recommendation sent directly to the School of Medicine will not be accepted or used in the admission process.
• Reference forms or letters of recommendation should be submitted by faculty, advisors, school administrators or others who can speak to your academic ability and personal character as they relate to your pursuit of the Anesthesiologist Assistant profession.
• Family members and/or friends of the family should not provide letter of recommendation.
• Three professional or academic letters of recommendation are required.

References are considered confidential material at the UMKC School of Medicine; information provided on reference forms or in letters of recommendation will not be shared with the applicant.

Step 2: General Application for Admission to UMKC

All applicants must complete the General Application for Admission. Please follow the instructions provided on the application.

• When selecting a graduate program/major, select “Anesthesia – MS.”
• The application and $50 application fee must be submitted by August 15.

Step 3: MSA Student Portal Process

Applicants must complete a final submission of the UMKC MSA Student Portal, including completion of the Shadowing Verification sections and acknowledgement of the Technical Standards.

Shadowing Experience Verification Forms

Experience shadowing an anesthesia provider (Anesthesiologist Assistant, anesthesiologist, or CRNA) is required prior to the application deadline. A minimum of 4 hours of shadowing is required.

To successfully verify shadowing experience, applicants must either have their shadowing experiences verified electronically by the shadowing provider or use the electronic Shadowing Experience Verification Form provided through the MSA Student Portal (after the CASAA application has been verified).

Applicants can verify shadowing experiences one of two ways:

1. To verify a shadowing experience electronically, an applicant will need to list the name(s) and email address(es) of those providing a shadowing experience verification form in the MSA Student Portal. After entering the information for each person electronically verifying the experience, an applicant will need to click “Send Email Request” in order for the person providing the verification to receive instructions for completing the online MSA Program Shadowing Experience Verification Form.
2. To verify a shadowing experience with the Shadowing Experience Verification Form, applicants must download, print, and complete the information at the bottom of the form. After completing the information, ask the provider who supervised your experience to sign and date the verification form. An applicant will need to list the name(s) and email address(es) of those providing a shadowing experience verification form in the MSA Student Portal (after the CASAA application has been verified). The PDF form should then be submitted directly to the MSA Student Portal. Once the MSA Student Portal has been submitted, no changes or additions to the MSA Student Portal, including the shadowing experience section, may be made.

Technical Standards and Student Portal

All applicants must submit the MSA program Technical Standards.

• Once the CASAA application has been verified, applicants will receive information related to the electronic completion of the Technical Standards.
• By receiving the information related to the Technical Standards, applicants will gain access to the MSA Student Portal. In the student portal, applicants must sign the technical standards and complete a final submission of the MSA Student Portal.

The final submission cannot be completed until the CASAA application has been verified, the General Application for Admission to UMKC has been processed, the Shadowing Experience Verification Form has been completed and the Technical Standards have been signed.

Applicants can only complete the final submission after all application components are marked as complete in the MSA Student Portal under the Supplemental Application tab.

Step 4: Submit MCAT or GRE Scores

For Official MCAT scores:

• All applicants must submit official MCAT scores to CASAA after self-reporting their MCAT scores and entering their AAMC ID number into the CASAA application. Applicants should contact AAMC to request their official scores to be released to CASAA following the self-reporting of their score and identification information.

For Official GRE scores:

• Applicants must release official GRE scores from ETS via the UMKC CASAA code: 4410.

Step 5: Interviews

After the review of all applications, the admissions committee will determine which candidates are selected for an interview. If selected for an interview, candidates are required to be present (virtually) at the date and time of the interview. All candidates invited to interview will be interviewed virtually unless otherwise informed.

After all selected candidates have completed the interview process, the admissions committee will extend offers of admission to those candidates who best qualify for the program. A holistic and individualized process is used when considering candidates. Candidates will be notified in writing of the program’s decision regarding admission.

Admission to the Master of Science in Anesthesia program is based on a combination of academic performance and demonstration of other non-cognitive characteristics including:

• Professionalism, including reliability and accountability
• Honesty and integrity
• Compassion and respect
• Maturity, including tolerance of anxiety and stress management
• Leadership
• Motivation for providing health care
• Co-curricular and work experience

– – – – –

Equal access to the School of Medicine will be offered to all candidates regardless of race, sex, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, or national origin, provided they meet the other criteria expressed in the statement of intent.  The School of Medicine does not employ a quota system when reviewing and admitting applicants.  All applicants are reviewed individually and holistically.

If you have any questions about your application or the application process, please do not hesitate to contact the School of Medicine Office of Admissions at 816-235-1870 or medicine@umkc.edu.

August 15 is the final deadline.

The CASAA application must be verified by this deadline, and all accompanying CASAA required materials must be received (official transcripts, official test scores, and reference forms).

The General Application for Admission to UMKC is also due by August 15. The UMKC MSA Student Portal submission, including acknowledgement of the Technical Standards and completion of the Shadowing Verification sections, must be complete two weeks after the deadline.

If any of these materials are submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late and reviewed with other late applications at the discretion of the admissions committee. The admissions committee does not guarantee the review of applications that become complete late. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Once admissions decisions have been made, no other applications for admission will be considered.

Our 29-month curriculum is intentionally designed to both prepare students for successful immersion into the OR during the first semester and gradually increase students’ competency throughout the program. The foundations of hands-on patient care are achieved early in the program and enable students to participate in patient care activities, while also completing didactic coursework and simulation and skills training. Students progress to the clinical phase where they complete clinical rotations experiences in the diverse specialties of anesthesia care, including pediatrics, cardiac, obstetrics, neurosurgery, and trauma. Upon graduation, students will have completed 111 credit hours, experienced more than 2,000 patient contact hours, and administered anesthesia to more than 700 patients.

First Year Curriculum: Didactic Phase
A significant element of the didactic phase (semesters 1-3) is foundational medical science coursework, including advanced coursework in applied anatomy and physiology, physics, pharmacology, and anesthetic sciences. Courses are taught by AA faculty members, as well as School of Medicine faculty who are experts in their fields of study (e.g. Anatomists, Pharmacologists, and Physiologists).

Didactic coursework is coupled with simulation and skills-based training to teach patient instrumentation and monitoring, as well as anesthetic-related procedures, such as intubation, IVs, arterial and central line. Additionally, students spend significant time simulating anesthesia cases with our high fidelity simulators. Students receive more than 100 hours of training during their first year in our state-of-the-art skills/simulation laboratory.

Students spend the first six weeks of the program in our “anesthesia bootcamp”: an intense didactic and simulation program that prepares students to enter the OR. Students engage in approximately 30 hours of training during the bootcamp phase.

Clinical work begins in the first semester and students will be scheduled for approximately 600 clinical hours in the first year. Our first year rotations occur exclusively in the Kansas City area, resulting in a curriculum that synchronously blends classroom-based work and clinical experience. Additionally, students have full access to on-campus facilities, labs, and student support resources.

Second and Third Year Curriculum: Clinical Phase
The clinical phase (semesters 4-7) immerses students in full-time clinical experiences, allowing them to apply the medical knowledge and clinical skills learned during the didactic phase and gain competence in providing direct patient care. Students complete 16 four-week rotations that provide access to a variety of case types (e.g. obstetrics, neuraxial blocks, peripheral nerve blocks, trauma, etc.) and the opportunity for more than 2,500 clinical hours in their clinical phase of training. In addition to clinical rotations, the clinical phase curriculum includes coursework to prepare students for the national certification exam and entry into professional practice.

UMKC has established rotation sites with healthcare facilities across the United States to ensure its students have access and exposure to quality and diverse clinical experiences. All clinical phase students are required to travel for rotations and should expect to rotate predominately at facilities that are located outside of the Kansas City area and at out-of-state locations. The establishment of new clinical rotations is ongoing as the needs of the program and profession evolve. Cities where UMKC students rotate frequently include:

• Kansas City Metropolitan Area
• Missouri: Joplin, Springfield, St. Louis
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
• Wisconsin: LaCrosse, Madison, Milwaukee
• Ohio: Springfield
• Texas: Austin, San Antonio
• Florida: Gainesville
• New Mexico: Albuquerque

Course descriptions are available from the UMKC Course Catalog. The curriculum schedule is outlined below.

Year 1 – Didactic Phase

Spring Semester (16.5 credit hours)

Summer Semester (12.5 credit hours)

Fall Semester (18.5 credit hours)

Year 2 – Clinical Phase

Spring Semester (17 credit hours)

Summer Semester (13 credit hours)

Fall Semester (17 credit hours)

Year 3 – Clinical Phase

Spring Semester (16.5 credit hours)

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Anesthesia program at UMKC School of Medicine is a nationally accredited 29-month (7 consecutive semesters) program that integrates didactic and clinical instruction.  With a January start date, the first year (semesters 1 to 3) is referred to as the didactic phase. A significant portion of the credit hours involve foundational medical science coursework, however; students also gain clinical experience in both the skills/simulation lab and the operating room. This combination of classroom and clinical learning is an integral component of the program.

Classroom instruction includes advanced coursework in applied anatomy and physiology, physics, pharmacology, and anesthetic sciences.  Simulation labs are incorporated early to emphasize patient instrumentation and monitoring, as well as technical skills required for the profession. Students will receive more than 100 hours of training during their first year in our state-of-the-art skills/simulation laboratory. Clinical work begins in the first semester, with incremental increases each semester.

Semesters 4 to 7 are considered the clinical phase of the program. Students primarily focus on gaining clinical experience within an operating room.   One-on-one supervision by an Anesthesiologist or a licensed Anesthesiologist Assistant is provided. During the clinical rotations students apply the medical knowledge and clinical skills gained during the didactic phase and gain competence in providing direct patient care. Upon graduation each student has experienced more than 2,000 patient contact hours and delivered more than 700 anesthetics. The clinical rotation schedule ensures experience with the specialties involved in anesthesia including pediatrics, cardiac, obstetrics, neurosurgery and trauma.  Rotations during the clinical phase will include some out of town and/or out of state clinical training sites of an affiliated hospital.

An Established Program with an Exceptional Reputation

The UMKC School of Medicine enjoys a rich history of innovation in medical education. The Master of Science in Anesthesia (MSA) program was started in 2008 to address a shortage of anesthesia care providers in Missouri and throughout the United States.

UMKC started the first anesthesiologist assistant program housed within a School of Medicine, leveraging the talented faculty and robust resources available in an academic medicine setting. Additionally, we were the first AA program located west of the Mississippi River, which impacted the increase of AA practice in Missouri and in the western United States.

Our program prepares highly skilled professionals who become integral members of the anesthesia care team. UMKC’s in-demand graduates are successful in securing AA employment in geographic locations, fields, and workplace environments that suit their interests and lifestyles.

• 100% of program graduates have passed the NCCAA certification exam. Our five-year, first-time pass rate is 97% (2019-2023).
• 100% of program graduates have entered AA practice upon graduation.
• Employment contracts are generally secured by UMKC graduates 3-6 months prior to graduation, with average starting salaries of $180,000-$200,000 plus benefits.
• Graduates practice in fields and geographic locations that suit their interests and lifestyles (e.g. surgery center, pediatric hospital, cardiac hospital, general hospital, or trauma center, etc.).
• Various types of shift work (e.g. 7am-3pm with no nights, weekends or holidays; afternoon shifts; night shifts; weekend shifts; part time work, etc.) is also available.

Why Choose Our Program?

The UMKC School of Medicine MSA program offers:

• Smaller class sizes, prioritizing quality educational experiences and faculty-to-student ratios
• Early integration into the clinical setting, with all first year clinical training occurring in the Kansas City area
• Diverse clinical rotations that offer comprehensive cases types and procedures (arterial lines, central lines, spinal blocks, epidurals, peripheral nerve blocks, one lung ventilation devices, etc.)
• Dedicated rotations for pediatric, cardiothoracic, trauma, and preoperative/IV experiences
• State of the art simulation center, with the latest technology and task trainers that not only simulate anesthesia cases, but also teach anesthesia-related procedures
• Kansas City is a vibrant and thriving community with an affordable cost of living

Accreditation

The University of Missouri-Kansas City Master of Science in Anesthesia Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Review Committee for the Anesthesiologist Assistants.