Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Adult Acute Care NPs and Adult Health CNS'?

The CNS provides direct care to patients with complex diseases or conditions; improves patient care by developing the clinical skills and judgement of staff nurses and retains nurses who are experts in clinical practice.  Acute Care NPs diagnosis and manage disease and promote the health of patients with acute, critical, and complex chronic health conditions across the continuum of acute care services. 

What type of clinical experiences can I have?

We take special care to individualize your clinical experiences with your professional goals in mind. With your input, we determine how to best prepare you to meet the challenges of managing a particular cadre of patients.

Do I have to find my own preceptors?

No, we have an extensive list of preceptors who have experience precepting our students. We work with you to determine the types of clinical experiences you are looking for and consider personalities, types of practices and geographical location. However, if you know of someone who would be a good preceptor, we will contact the person to determine if they are able to precept you.

Can I concentrate in one area of acute care or can I stay broad with my experiences?

You can do either. All of the course work prepares you to provide care to the full spectrum of acute care illness. However, in the clinical portion, some students prefer to concentrate in a particular area such as cardiology, neurosurgery or trauma, while others want a more broad clinical experience. Again, we will work with you to create clinical practica that provide you the best preparation for your professional goals. 

Can I work and go to school?

That depends on a lot of factors, such as whether you are going full-time or part-time, what your timeline is for finishing the program, what your study habits are and many others. Most of our full-time students have found it difficult to work any more than a per-diem job, where the schedule can be very flexible. However, most of our part-time students work either full or part-time.

What happens after I apply?

As soon as your application is complete, someone from the Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist program will contact you to set up an interview date. Once that interview is completed, you will be notified regarding the admission decision. Once admitted, you will be asked to send back a postcard stating that you accept your position along with a deposit, as a way to save your spot. Then you'll receive registration materials.

If I start part-time and want to go full-time or vice versa, can I do that?

Yes. You can meet with someone from the program to determine how your plan of study will change.