Certificate: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Acute Care Nurse Practitioners attend to adolescents and adults across the continuum of care, including urgent care centers, critical care units and inpatient medical-surgical or specialty units. Acute care offers a high-intensity environment that requires fast-paced critical thinking skills, which you will develop during this program.

This certificate option prepares registered nurses as advanced practice leaders and interprofessional team members to provide care for acute and critically ill patients and their families. Offered only as a part-time option, this certificate can be completed in five semesters.

Highlights

Assess complex acute, critical, and chronically ill patients using physical examination findings, interviewing techniques, diagnostic tests, and technology to determine their current status of physiologic stability and risk for life-threatening conditions.
Utilize critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to identify and prioritize patient problems and diagnoses.
Formulate and implement an individualized plan of care for each patient taking into consideration best practices, guidelines, research findings, patient and family preferences, and cultural considerations.
Function as an integral member of inter-professional health care teams.
Evaluate the quality of care provided to individual patients and larger groups within varying health care settings (individual practices, urgent care centers, hospitals, health care systems).

Who Should Apply

If you’re already working as a nurse, have a master’s degree in nursing and are interested in advancing your education to provide care in high-intensity emergency environments such as urgent care centers, critical care, and inpatient medical-surgical or specialty units, you should consider our Certificate: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP program.

Application Deadlines

Application Open: 09/01/23
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Priority: 12/13/23
Release Date: 01/17/24
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Final: 02/21/24
Release Date: 03/28/24

Requirements

Overview

The Certificate: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program consists of 20-23 credit hours and 650 clinical hours. Questions about program requirements should be directed to the program director.

Program of Study

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner post-masters certificate program of study (Summer entry, part-time)

Courses

For full listing of courses and descriptions, please visit the University Bulletin.

On-Campus Requirements

Students in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certificate program are required to attend two on-campus simulation-based learning events.

Virtual New Student Orientation

The virtual New Student Orientation is designed to provide students with the knowledge and tools needed to be successful in the School of Nursing. Students become familiar with academic resources, program requirements, course registration, online technology, and student expectations. They will also connect with fellow students, faculty members, and advisors.

Clinical Learning and Skills Intensive (CLASI)

Students visit campus during the Advanced Health Assessment course for evaluation of their history and physical examination skills. Skills are evaluated by expert faculty in the simulation center using standardized patients (SP)s. They also participate in several workshops aimed at professional development and progress toward NP competency.

Program Test Outs

All nurse practitioner students are required to complete an end of program skills assessment. During this final on-campus simulation-based learning event, students have an opportunity to showcase their assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and patient management skills.

Technology Requirements

Beginning fall 2018, each student admitted to the Certificate program is expected to own and have ready access to a laptop or tablet with basic productivity software for classroom use. View Policy.

Complete applications that are submitted by the priority deadline will be reviewed first. Applications do not have to be verified by the priority deadline, only completed and submitted. Questions? Contact the Office of Admissions at [email protected]

A completed application includes the following components:

Master’s degree in nursing from a regionally accredited college or university
Preferred scholastic GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from a regionally accredited college or university
Official transcripts (from all post-secondary schools)
Two letters of recommendation
Current resume
Statement of Purpose
Active and unencumbered nursing licensure

Note:

GW Nursing is subject to state authorization requirements in order to offer an approved nursing curriculum. View available states.
The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner requires students to be residents of the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia.

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner options require at least one year experience in critical care setting.

You must record a minimum of 650 hours of clinical experience with an approved preceptor. You are encouraged to find your own preceptor, but we can provide information on local clinical sites if needed. A clinical site visit will be conducted, usually during your second or final clinical course, by a faculty member.

The following clinical courses are required:

NURS 6235 (150 clinical hours in 10 weeks)
NURS 6236 (250 clinical hours in 15 weeks)
NURS 6237 (250 clinical hours in 15 weeks)
The summer elective NURS 8413 (350 to 400 hours) is optional.

Required Documentation

Current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certificate
Current advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) certificate
Immunization records including vaccination or immunity to hepatitis B; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); varicella; diphtheria; polio and tetanus
Documentation of negative test results for tuberculosis (purified protein derivative (PPD) and/or chest x-ray)

Questions about clinical placement requirements should be directed to [email protected].

A completed application includes the following components:

Master’s degree in nursing from a regionally accredited college or university
Preferred scholastic GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from a regionally accredited college or university
Official transcripts (from all post-secondary schools)
Two letters of recommendation
Current resume
Statement of Purpose
Active and unencumbered nursing licensure