TrueLearn acquired APEX Anesthesia in December 2022. We love that you have questions about APEX joining the TrueLearn family, and we understand that change might feel a bit scary. Rest assured, the APEX you love and trust isn’t going anywhere!
Sadly, we’ve heard some fear-based myths circulated in the CRNA community. We’re here to set the record straight by giving you all the facts. You can’t believe everything that’s on the internet.
Spoiler alert… TrueLearn’s CEO is NOT an anesthesiologist. If this is news to you, you’ll definitely want to keep reading…
| Table of contents
- Is TrueLearn’s CEO an anesthesiologist? No.
- Do nurses hold key leadership positions inside TrueLearn? Yes.
- Why did APEX join the TrueLearn family?
- How will APEX and TrueLearn help me?
- Does APEX educate anesthesiologist assistants (AAs) in any way? No.
- Does TrueLearn fund the ASA or AAAA? No.
- How does TrueLearn support nursing education?
- Who operates APEX?
- Did anything change with the original APEX team? No.
- What’s going to happen to APEX (Is APEX going away)?
Is TrueLearn’s CEO an Anesthesiologist? No.
TrueLearn’s CEO is Kevin Sayar. He’s not an anesthesiologist or a physician (he’s actually an attorney). Kevin has a strong track record of building and transforming educational technology companies with a strong focus on learner experience. What does this mean for you? You can expect that your APEX experience will get even better!
You might wonder why you heard otherwise. Before Kevin Sayar assumed the role of CEO, TureLearn was founded and operated by Josh Courtney, D.O.
Do nurses hold key leadership positions inside TrueLearn? Yes.
When APEX sought a strategic partner, an organization with strong nursing representation in leadership was a non-negotiable.
TrueLearn’s board of directors includes two nurse leaders — Kevin R. Baker, MSNA, CRNA (one of the APEX co-founders) and Mary Ann Christopher, MSN, RN, FAAN. Both Kevin and Mary Ann have long track records of nursing leadership and advocacy. As an aside, there’s only one physician on the board of directors.
TrueLearn’s executive team includes Kevin R. Baker, MSNA, CRNA as Chief Nursing Officer as well as Kate Campbell, MSN, FNP, who sits on the National League of Nursing Advisory Council. Of course, there are many other nurses throughout the organization as well.
Daniel Frasca DNAP, CRNA (APEX’s other co-founder) continues his roles in both editorial and customer facing functions.
Why did APEX join the TrueLearn family?
The short answer is that we want to create the most compelling nurse anesthesiology education on the planet!
The ed-tech landscape is shifting rapidly, and we wanted to position APEX to serve our learners well into the future. Our top priority was picking a strategic partner that shared our mission and values.
When exploring the idea of finding a strategic partner, we quickly realized that we had a LOT of options. We carefully vetted each one, allowing us to pick a 100% pro-CRNA organization that would help us accelerate our mission.
Any potential strategic partner that was not 100% pro-CRNA was immediately kicked off our list of consideration.
TrueLearn understands our DNA, and we’re greatly aligned in education and business philosophy. They’re incredibly passionate about prioritizing the entire nursing community, and we love that they care deeply about learners as we do.
How will APEX and TrueLearn help me?
TrueLearn partners with a broad range of healthcare professional programs to offer a comprehensive learning platform that serves the needs of both institutions and learners throughout their professional journey.
The synergies between TrueLearn and APEX are vast. We’re evaluating the best way to leverage the TrueLearn platform to further support the continued success of the CRNA and student communities and valued APEX partnerships. Our first order of business is launching our new NCE/SEE question bank that utilizes the TrueLearn SmartBank platform.
For learners, TrueLearn’s platform offers a proprietary exam preparation methodology with a data-driven approach that deploys proven learning science designed to maximize exam performance.
For institutions, we provide a robust analytics portal that generates predictive insights and benchmarking for learners, cohorts, and the overall program and offers a range of tools to support curriculum integration and evaluation.
Our ultimate goal is to collaborate with our partners to deliver best-in-class educational content so that our CRNAs and students can learn more in less time.
Does APEX educate Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAs) in any way? No.
Our content will not be marketed or modified to align with the education of AAs.
APEX will continue to exist as its own brand that will focus exclusively on nurse anesthesia education.
Does TrueLearn fund the ASA or AAAA? No.
TrueLearn has not funded the ASA or AAAA, nor do they intend to fund them in the future.
TrueLearn is an education company (NOT a politically-minded one). They seek to deliver the highest quality education to students and clinicians in over 20 healthcare verticals (many of which are nurses and NPs).
How does TrueLearn support nursing education?
TrueLearn’s commitment and footprint in nursing education have steadily expanded for over a decade. They offer Q-banks for NCLEX-RN as well as nurse practitioner certification exams.
Here’s the bottom line — TrueLearn demonstrates a long history of supporting, innovating, and giving back to the nursing community.
Who operates APEX?
APEX was founded by two CRNAs — Kevin R. Baker, MSNA, CRNA and Daniel Frasca, DNAP, CRNA.
After joining forces with TrueLearn, Kevin and Danny will continue to lead APEX as we embark on our mission to give you the most compelling CRNA education available.
Did anything change with the original APEX team?
Everyone on the APEX team continues to serve the same way they always have. The primary difference is that we’ll be better resourced to accelerate our CRNA-focused mission and serve the CRNA community at a higher level.
What’s going to happen to APEX (Is APEX going away)?
The APEX you know and love isn’t going anywhere!
Our entire team continues to do what we do best. How our institutions, CRNAs, and students interface with us will remain the same.
APEX will continue to exist as its own brand that will focus exclusively on nurse anesthesia education.
The bottom line
Our commitment to our profession is as strong as ever. We hope we maintain your trust as we seek to elevate the educational experience for everyone on their CRNA journey.
Here are the key takeaways:
- The APEX you know and love is only going to get better!
- Nurses hold key positions inside TrueLearn — on the board of directors (including one of the APEX co-founders), on the executive team, and elsewhere throughout the organization.
- Absolutely no one inside of TrueLearn is anti-CRNA. We wouldn’t have joined forces with them if that were the case.
- APEX does not (and will not) market or modify its content to align with the education of anesthesiologist assistants (AAs).
- The APEX founders continue to lead and operate APEX, and the entire APEX team remains in place.
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