Paul S. Bennetts, Ph.D., CRNA

Professional Background

Paul Bennetts, Ph.D., CRNA, is clinical assistant professor and director of student projects for the KU Department of Nurse Anesthesia Education at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. He has more than 30 years of experience in nurse anesthesia practice, having worked nine years for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and nine years in private practice.

Bennetts served as a nurse anesthetist on active duty in the U.S. Army Reserves in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. In addition, he worked extensively in solo and all-CRNA group practices in rural hospitals and has also provided locum tenens services to hospitals and surgery centers in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. Bennetts entered academic nurse anesthesia at KU Medical Center in 2007.

Academic Background
Bennetts received a diploma in nursing from Research Medical Center School of Nursing in 1979 and a bachelor's degree in nursing from Saint Mary University in 1986. In 1989 he graduated from the University of Kansas with a master's degree in nurse anesthesia and completed his doctorate in 2013, also from KU.

During his training, Bennetts has been recognized with outstanding student awards in both nursing and nurse anesthesia programs and received the 1990 AANA Research in Action award for his master’s thesis work. In 2017, he was a recipient of the University of Kansas Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2025, Bennetts was recognized with the 2025 Stata Norton Distinguished Teaching Award. It recognizes a faculty member in the KU School of Health Professions for an enthusiastic commitment to teaching, for effectively imparting knowledge to students and outstanding contributions to their profession.

Clinical and Academic Focus
Bennetts is retired from clinical anesthesia where he practiced and taught cardiothoracic anesthesia but continues as an instructor of didactic courses in basic sciences, advanced physiology, theory and research, statistics, and evidence-based practice. He is also a guest lecturer for other courses in the program and has been a speaker for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists national meeting, as well as for multiple states’ association meetings.

Research

Overview

Bennetts’ research interests are in the area of understanding the role of reactive oxygen species in hemorrhagic shock and other models of ischemia-reperfusion injury. His long-term goal is the development of a departmental focus to prepare students as specialists in the evidence-based practice of nurse anesthesia.