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.

Penn Nursing can initiate new contract/affiliation agreements with health care agencies across the country. To assist us in being strategic in this effort, we ask that you reach out to Alyssa Maizan Clinical Site Coordinator for the Streamlined AGACNP program at amaizan@nursing.upenn.edu. She will obtain information from you about the agency where you plan to complete clinical hours to determine if we already have a contract or if one does not exist. If a new contract needs to be developed, will obtain additional information regarding who at the clinical agency establishes new agreements so the process can begin.

If you plan to fulfill this program’s clinical training requirements at your place of employment, be aware that you may not earn academic credit for activities for which you receive compensation. Therefore, clinical training hours must be completed separately from your employment (compensated) time. A clinical preceptor, which can be a nurse practitioner or physician, must be identified at the clinical agency where training will occur. Ideally this person should be an employee of the agency. If your preceptor is not a direct employee of the clinical agency, an additional contract agreement will be required and must be in place before clinical hours can be initiated.

We are granted authorization by the New York State Board of Regents on the number of clinical placements we are permitted in the state each year. Due to the high demand for this program from applicants licensed in New York, we have reached the allowable capacity of enrollments for this program for 2023. However, if you are a resident of New York, but have a license in NJ or PA, you may be able to complete your clinical training in one of these states. Please contact Alyssa Maizan Clinical Site Coordinator for the Streamlined AGACNP program at amaizan@nursing.upenn.edu to find out more.

If you are a New York resident and want to be placed on our waitlist so you can be contacted by our office when the next application cycle for admission in 2024, please fill out this form to indicate your interest in being contacted when the application opens.

Currently, the Streamlined Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP program cannot serve students who live in the States of Louisiana and Tennessee. However, we ask that you please fill out this form to indicate your interest in pursuing the Streamlined Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP program, if it becomes available in your state. If it does, we will contact you.

Lastly, if you have a valid multi-state license or are licensed in a state other than Louisiana, Tennessee, or New York, you are eligible to apply to the Streamlined program.

For information regarding Penn Nursing accreditation, 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

2025 Enrollment Deadlines:

Spring Start: October 15, 2024

Decision Notification: mid-December

Summer Start: March 15, 2025

Decision Notification: mid-April

Fall Start: April 1, 2025

Decision Notification: early-May

*Dates subject to change without notice.

Costs & Tuition

Your program costs will depend on your individual plan of study. Tuition is charged per CU based on your enrollment for the semester.

	Summer 2024, Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 Per CU rate
Tuition	$6,640
Online Service Fee	$156
Tech Fee	$120
Total	$6,916

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a nurse practitioner who is seeking to earn a nurse practitioner certification in another NP population, and match the following criteria, you should consider an APRN Certificate.

You have completed either a MSN or DNP for your current APRN role
You now want to focus on acutely ill and chronically complex patients
You are considering specializing in adult gerontology

Streamlined Adult Gerontology Acute Care

Contract/Affiliation Agreements with Health Care Agencies

Important Note About Earning Clinical Training Hours

New York Prospective Applicants

Louisiana and Tennessee Prospective Applicants