The School

Accreditation Status

The Frank J. Tornetta School of Anesthesia is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Education and the U.S. Department of Education.

La Salle University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and is fully approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.

History of the Frank J. Tornetta School of Anesthesia

The Frank J. Tornetta School of Anesthesia was founded under the direction of Frank J. Tornetta, M.D., Ph.D., in 1951 and has graduated a class of students each year since. Its graduates are highly respected in the academic and clinical areas of anesthesia and many hold top-level positions in educational, teaching and administrative fields. With over 420 graduates, the School has developed not only a wide and favorable reputation, but also a sense of tradition. The school has been fully accredited since its founding.

The Facilities at Montgomery Hospital Medical Center

Founded in 1889, Montgomery Hospital Medical Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian general hospital with approximately 300 beds serving Central Montgomery County. It is situated some 15 miles from Center City Philadelphia. Today, the hospital is at the hub of a thriving community of caring. Recent renovations and expansion include the Abrahamson Family Emergency Room, Lea and Arthur Powell Maternal & Child Care Center, the Red McCarthy Cancer Treatment & Education Center, a parking garage, business and medical office complex.

McShea Hall, formerly the home for student nurses, now houses the School of Anesthesia offices, library, student lounge, simulation center, and classroom, as well as clinical services, the human resources department, billing departments, and offices for community physicians.

As Central Montgomery County's complete medical center, Montgomery Hospital Medical Center provides the finest medical and surgical services along with the latest laboratory, radiology, physical medicine, psychiatry and ancillary services.

Montgomery Hospital Medical Center has nine operating rooms, three delivery rooms, and a 16-bed post-anesthesia care unit. It also has an award-winning Critical Care Unit, Short Stay Unit, and Cardiac Cath Lab. There is a 17-bed Psychiatric Unit, and a Maternal and Child Health Unit with a state-of-the-art nursery and six LDRP suites.

In total, approximately 9,000 anesthetics are administered annually at Montgomery Hospital, involving a wide variety of agents and techniques. These include the newest inhalation anesthetics, intravenous agents and a variety of regional anesthetic techniques.

The first of its kind in 1889, Montgomery Hospital Medical Center is proud to be among the finest medical centers in the country today.

School Philosophy

The School of Anesthesia is operated primarily for the education of the student. A professional nurse anesthetist is a specialist who performs an indispensable service for the patient. The nature of the work is critical and the standards to be met are of the very highest.

In order to practice anesthesia independently, safely and wisely, a solid preparation in the basic sciences is absolutely necessary. The application of this knowledge with sound judgment in the clinical setting results in a well-conducted and safely managed anesthetic.

The practice of anesthesiology involves a life-long learning process. It is the School's goal to establish a firm foundation for that process by providing the student with the basic didactic and supervised clinical instruction necessary for independent practice.

Students must recognize their responsibility to the School and their profession by pursuing further knowledge and challenging clinical experiences.

In this way, they will continue to enrich and enhance their profession, and be of valuable service to the community throughout their careers.

Clinical Affiliations

• Abington Memorial Hospital
  Provides students clinical experience in general surgery as well as neuroanesthesia and vascular surgery. The diverse surgical caseload offered at this Level II trauma center provides the student with a rewarding clinical educational experience.
• Albert Einstein Medical Center
  This dual clinical experience provides the nurse anesthesia student the ability to participate in an open-heart surgical experience and obstetrical anesthesia clinical experience. During the open-heart surgical rotation the student provides direct one-on-one patient care functions as a member of the open-heart surgery clinical team at Albert Einstein Medical Center. During the clinical rotation in obstetrics, the student provides direct patient care for cesarean sections, postpartum procedures, routine vaginal deliveries, and neonatal resuscitation. During the obstetrical rotation the student provides direct patient care with general and regional anesthesia techniques.
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  This clinical anesthesia experience is offered on a fellowship basis to students who are interested in pursuing a career in pediatric anesthesia. Students who successfully complete all the clinical behavioral objectives at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, are permitted to apply for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia clinical fellowship. This four week clinical anesthesia rotation provides the student with the ability to provide direct patient care at the prestigious Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
• Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital
  An emphasis on the administration of regional anesthesia including spinal, epidural, brachial plexus block and additional regional anesthetic techniques are provided to the students at this clinical rotation. In addition, students also participate in the general surgical experience including neuroanesthetic, vascular, thoracic anesthesia procedures and general surgical procedures.
• Mercy Hospital - Scranton, Pa.
  The clinical anesthesia experience afforded to the student rotating at the Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania gives them the opportunity to gain general surgical, vascular, open heart, urologic, and neurosurgical anesthesia experience. An emphasis on neuroanesthesia and vascular surgery enriches the students senior year clinical experience.
• Montgomery Hospital Medical Center
  This clinical facility provides the student with an ample opportunity to gain anesthesia skills through general surgery, ENT, orthopedic, vascular, OB, and urologic surgical techniques. Students are assigned to the Montgomery Hospital Medical Center site for their on-call anesthesia experience and at interim times during their junior and senior year.
• Lehigh Valley Medical Center
  Students assigned to the Lehigh Valley Health System receive a variety of general surgical experience in both their junior and senior year. Clinical experience in general surgery is obtained in a variety of practice settings which include both outpatient and inpatient surgical candidates.
• Reading Hospital and Medical Center
  Students participate in this specialized neurosurgical clinical experience with an emphasis on neuroanesthesia and surgical procedures. An emphasis on neuroanesthesia and general surgery help to enrich the student's clinical experience.
• St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
  This clinical rotation offers the student an intense pediatric anesthesia experience. Children range in age from neonates through early adolescence. Students assigned to the St. Christopher's Hospital clinical rotation enjoy the ability to work as a valuable member of the anesthesia care team and provide care through the entire pediatric anesthesia experience including preanesthesia assessment, perioperative care, and postanesthesia follow-up.
• St. Luke's Hospital
  Saint Luke's Hospital offers the student a challenging caseload for neurosurgical, trauma, and general surgical procedures. This Level I trauma center offers the anesthesia student the opportunity to participate as a member of the anesthesia care team in a challenging and rewarding educational environment.
• South Jersey Hospital, Inc. (Elmer and Vineland Campus)
  Students assigned on clinical rotation at either of the South Jersey Hospital sites are afforded clinical experience with MAC, TIVA, and general anesthesia experience. The clinical practicum at Elmer and Vineland campus provides both junior and senior nurse anesthesia students with the ability to master general surgical anesthesia experience in conjunction with specialty areas of practice.
• La Salle University School of Nursing and Health Sciences - ACADEMIC AFFILIATE
  An academic affiliation with La Salle University School of Nursing and Health Sciences was formed in July of 1998. The planned programmatic change awards a Master of Science in Nursing Degree. The academic affiliate was presented to the Council on Accreditation for Consideration at it's February 5, 1999 meeting. The Council on Accreditation approved (in a letter dated February 15, 1999) the programmatic change from our old academic affiliation with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

Directions to Montgomery Hospital Medical Center