Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Track

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This advanced practice nursing track prepares nurses to practice in a wide variety of settings including medical and surgical critical care, acute care, and specialty clinics. The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) focuses on the care and/or management of young adults, adults, elderly, and frail elderly patients over a continuum of wellness, acute illness and chronic illness.

The AG-ACNP track prepares the student to use evidence-based knowledge and skills to manage patients as a nurse practitioner in collaboration with other members of the health care team. The AG-ACNP is prepared as a generalist in the first practicum but may specialize in an area specialty in the second semester practicum. Emphasis is placed on providing the student with the advanced theoretical knowledge and practice skills needed to care for acutely and chronically ill patients through all phases of their hospitalization and clinical follow-up. Diagnostic and clinical decision-making, preparation for prescriptive authority, collaboration with physicians, and outcomes management are emphasized.

Students who complete the track are eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) examinations for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification.