Two Nashville-based Lipscomb University faculty members, Todd Christian and Joseph Parrish, became the first certified anesthesiologist assistants to manage anesthesia cases in Tennessee operating rooms on Oct. 20.
The cases took place at HCA Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. They mark the first time licensed CAAs have delivered anesthesia care to surgical patients in Tennessee since a state law authorizing their practice took effect Jan. 1.
Mr. Christian directs Lipscomb’s CAA program and holds Tennessee CAA license No. 1, issued in March. Mr. Parrish serves as the program’s associate director of didactic education, according to an Oct. 22 news release from the university.
Both worked within physician-led anesthesia care teams. They conducted preoperative assessments, induced anesthesia, managed airways, monitored patients throughout procedures and handled emergence from anesthesia under supervising anesthesiologists.
The Tennessee General Assembly passed the CAA law in 2025, placing licensure and oversight under the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. Health Resources and Services Administration projections show the state will have about 850 anesthesiologists to meet demand for 1,400 by 2036, a shortfall of 550, the release said.
Lipscomb’s program, the state’s first CAA master’s program, is also the first in the nation housed within a college of pharmacy. Its inaugural class of 24 students, selected from more than 300 applicants, started in August. Students will begin clinical training at Centennial and other partner hospitals in January 2027.
Lipscomb partners with Nashville-based HCA Healthcare and U.S. Anesthesia Partners on the 28-month program, which is designed to give each graduate 2,200 to 2,500 clinical hours across at least 650 cases, according to the release.
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