The sample selected for this study included almost one quarter of the three most senior administrators of all of the schools of nursing anesthesia in the United States, and can be considered to be representative of this population of senior administrators. All members of the research sample had experience as certified registered nurse anesthetists, thus, there is no question concerning the qualifications of these individuals as nurse anesthetists. What the analysis of the educational qualifications of the members of the sample did reveal, however, is that more than one half of these individuals pursued master's degrees outside of the field of nursing, and then used these non nursing master's degrees to satisfy the postsecondary educational criterion for the position of senior administrator at a school of nursing anesthesia. Further, among the more than 55 percent who pursued non nursing master's degrees, only one in three studies administration or management, with the remaining two thirds pursuing master's degrees in fields that one would not typically associate with preparations for pursuing a career as a senior administrator in a school of nursing anesthesia. Before one concludes that this situation is a reflection of poor criteria development for the position of senior administrator in nursing schools of anesthesia, however, one must consider the finding that those members of the sample holding non nursing master's degrees tended to exhibit the most effective leadership styles. Thus, while this information does not indicate that certified registered nurse anesthetists holding nursing related master's degrees should not be sought as senior administrators by schools of nursing anesthesia, this information does suggest that individuals seeking such positions in the contemporary period will likely perform better as administrators if they have completed a non nursing related postsecondary education degree program.
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