Registered Nurse (RN) Keith Hufstetler is poised to be the first student to complete the USF College of Nursing’s revitalized Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) program. The college relaunched the program back in May 2025. It is one of only two RNFA programs in Florida and the only one offered through the State University System of Florida.
USF College of Nursing’s RNFA program is the perfect fit for Keith because of its flexibility and efficiency. Over the course of one year, students complete three distinct phases:
1. Didactic Curriculum (online)
2. Clinical Skills Check-Off
3. Clinical Training Phase
Applicants must hold an RN license and meet the eligibility requirements to apply to this elevated nursing pathway. The RNFA program shapes a nurse into a leader in the operating room to ensure every patient’s safety is protected at the highest level, according to RNFA Program Director, Alicia Gill Rossiter, DNP, APRN, FNP, PPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN.
Keith Hufstetler in the OR at Moffitt Cancer Center.
Keith is currently in the third phase of the program, working directly with a surgeon in the OR. When he’s not training, he's employed at Moffitt Cancer Center as a surgical nurse.
His father inspired him to pursue this line of work. Keith’s dad was a perioperative nurse in general surgery for decades. “I shadowed him quite a bit in the OR, and I had the idea in my mind that this is what nursing is,” Keith said. “So, all my life I wanted to be a nurse.”
Keith’s path to the OR wasn’t completely straightforward, however. In 2014, just before starting the RN program at the University of Florida, he suffered a small aneurysm near his brain stem that required emergency brain surgery. While this shifted Keith's course, he never lost sight of the operating room. He was still recovering from surgery when he returned to nursing school. After that, he worked as a psychiatric nurse in Gainesville before returning to his hometown of Tampa. He took a job as a floor nurse at Moffitt and eventually transitioned into the OR.
Still, something was missing. Keith hadn’t yet reached his ultimate goal. When he heard about the RNFA program at USF College of Nursing, he didn’t hesitate to apply.
“This program will allow me to solidify my connections and strengthen my practice as a nurse and do more of exactly what I want to do rather than what’s assigned to me. If you absolutely love something, then keep going for it.”
Keith Hufstetler, RN
This course of study has provided Keith with the training he needs to take the next step in his nursing career. He credits the program with teaching him the skills and techniques he will need while allowing him to continue his work as a surgical nurse. After completing the final phase of the program, Keith will take the Registered Nurse Assistant at Surgery - Certified (RNAS-C) Exam and start his work as an RNFA.
This revitalized program makes training for the critical work of registered nurse first assistant accessible for working RNs like Keith. USF College of Nursing will begin accepting applications for the next RNFA cohort in Spring 2026. Click here to learn more about the program.