Streamlined Adult Gerontology Acute Care

An online program that prepares primary care nurse practitioners for the management of acutely ill, traumatically injured, and chronically complex patients across the country.

Home healthcare nurse, physical therapy with senior adult woman at home.

About the Program

We know that many Primary Care prepared Nurse Practitioners manage the care of adult patients across the age continuum who are acutely or critically ill, or have chronically complex diseases. Many of these NPs are interested in becoming certified as Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners. In response to this, and in compliance with the APRN Consensus Model, Penn Nursing created a Streamlined Post Graduate APRN Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP Certificate program. 

The APRN Consensus Model, published in 2008 by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing calls for greater congruence between licensure, accreditation, certification, and education requirements between healthcare agencies and State Boards of Nursing. This means that if an NP graduated from a primary care NP program, then they should manage patients who have primary care issues. Likewise, if an NP is educated and certified as an acute care nurse practitioner, then this NP should work with acutely or critically ill, or chronically complex patients. This does not mean that all NPs working in inpatient settings must be acute care prepared. It means that each NP must evaluate the care they provide every day to their patients and decide if the majority of problems managed are primary care or acute care focused. If they are acute care focused, then the NP should align their certification and licensure with the care they provide. To do this, additional formal education is required.

 

All of Penn Nursing’s programs are accredited. To learn more about the accreditation and pass rates, please visit our Accreditation page.

Program Information

Part-Time

Program Length

12 months

Financial aid available?

No

Start Semester

Year-round

Learning Format

Online

Program Details

Curriculum

Click the link below to view the curriculum for this program in the University catalog.

View the Curriculum

Requirements

Minimum qualifications for the program

BSN and MSN with a minimum GPA of 3.0

Prerequisites

Distinct courses in Advanced Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Physical Assessment that cover across the lifespan

Licensure

RN and APRN

Experience

Minimum of three months working as an APRN, off orientation, managing the care of acutely, critically, or medically complex patients

International Applicants

Click here for additional requirements

Application Deadlines

2024 Enrollment Deadline: March 15, 2024

Latest Decision Notification:
Summer start: mid-April
Fall start: mid-May

*Dates subject to change without notice.

Costs & Tuition

Your program costs will depend on how many course units (CU) you take per semester. Below are the projected academic year Summer and Fall/Spring costs per CU. These can be multiplied by the total number of CUs in your part-time plan of study to estimate the total cost of the program:

School of Nursing certificate programs are not eligible for federal aid. However, some tuition assistance may be available to you via alternative loan programs, please follow this link to find out more: https://srfs.upenn.edu/financial-aid/loans/private-alternative. Students can always apply for personal loans through their bank.

Students can also sign up for a payment plan if they do not have tuition reimbursement from their employer or if they can’t pay their bill in full. The link for the Penn Payment Plan is: Penn Payment Plan | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn SRFS (upenn.edu).

Program Outcomes

A MSN advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) will integrate theoretical and clinical expertise to demonstrate mastery of specific population focused student learning outcomes. The student learning outcomes specific to advanced nursing education for practice specialties include:

  • Formulating plans of care for population-specific diagnoses.
  • Delivering educational and therapeutic interventions using advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and genetics.

Certification

While program curricula prepare students to sit for national certification within their role and population area, APRN graduates may be required to complete additional state specific requirements before being permitted to practice.

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Ready to take the next step?