Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, D.N.P.

The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP), Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is a practice degree designed to prepare nurses as clinical practitioners/scholars to assume advanced practice clinical roles. The curricular plan is designed for the student who has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.). The degree prepares graduates to provide direct patient management in acute and complex care settings as well as population based and application science to improve patient outcomes. Graduates are employed in a variety of acute care settings ranging from critical care, trauma, cardiology, pulmonary, nephrology, gastroenterology, and surgery.

This curriculum prepares nurses to sit for the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner national certification.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Identify direct and indirect clinical problems related to adult and gerontologic patients in complex acute care health settings and work with interprofessional teams to address them.
  2. Differentiate theoretical knowledge as it applies to direct or indirect clinical care.
  3. Translate evidence to address population health problems.
  4. Integrate databases and information literacy in designing interventions for advanced practice.
  5. Execute evidence-based interventions to improve health care outcomes.

Entry

The AGACNP, DNP program offers one entry point for students:

B.S.N. entry - a student must hold a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from a program that is nationally accredited.

Requirements for Earning the D.N.P. Degree include:

  1. Doctoral residency of at least 18 graduate credit hours for three consecutive major semesters. Enrollment in a summer term is not required to maintain continuity, but credits earned during summer terms (including May session) will count toward the 18 hours required for Residency. The residency requirement may be met only after admission to the D.N.P. program;
  2. Completion of an approved program of study;
  3. Comprehensive assessment through defense of project proposal;
  4. Completion of a research utilization / evidence-based practice project and oral defense.

 Required Courses  (73 hours)

Course Title Credits
NURS 702Pharmacologic Mgmt in Pediatric, Adult, & Gerontological Patients Across Hlthcare Delivery Continuum3
NURS 704Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning 13
NURS 707Advanced Pathophysiology for Nurses3
NURS 717Application of Basic Statistics for Nursing Practice & Service Management3
NURS 718Diagnostic Interpretation and Therapeutic Modalities3
NURS 720Clinical Application of Population Analysis3
NURS 737Foundations for DNP Development3
NURS 772Introduction of Acute Care Adult and Gerontological Health Problems3
NURS 773Principles of Acute Care Adult and Gerontological Health Problems I 1, 26
NURS 774Principles of Acute Care Adult and Gerontological Complex Health Problems II (2 ) 26
NURS 778Advanced Practice Role: Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP (AGACNP) 22
NURS 778APracticum of Advanced Practice Role: Adult Gerontology Acute Care NP (AGACNP) 22
NURS 779Health Policy 23
NURS 780Organizational Theories and Systems in Healthcare 23
NURS 781Applied Technology in Health Care3
NURS 783Clinical Project Immersion & Proposal Development 23
NURS 790Research Methods for Nursing3
NURS 805Advanced Nursing Leadership3
NURS 808Advanced Nursing in Population Health3
NURS 817Application of Statistics for Evidence Based Nursing Practice3
NURS 819Evidence and Nursing Practice3
NURS 897DNP Project Preparation and Residency 26
1

Indicates on campus immersion course.

2

Indicates practicum course.