Nurse Practitioner Programs

The role of the Nurse Practitioner includes direct patient care at the advanced practice level. Nurse practitioners are involved in patient history-taking, physical examination, diagnostic testing, diagnosis, and treatment. Graduates are prepared for independent and collaborative decision-making in health promotion and maintenance, disease prevention, and the management of health and illness. Nurse practitioners are educated at the graduate level, prepared to pass the national certification exam, and then licensed by the state to practice in primary or acute care.

Primary care nurse practitioners provide care across the continuum of care from wellness to illness.  The focus of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is to provide patient-centered, quality care to patients across the lifespan. The focus of the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) is to provide patient-centered, quality care to the adult and older adult patient population. The focus of the Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) is to provide patient-centered, quality care to women across the lifespan.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioners provide care to acutely and critically ill patients. The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG ACNP) provides care to adult-older adult patients who require frequent monitoring and intervention in order to stabilize the patient's condition, prevent complications, restore health, and/or provide palliative care.

MSN Nurse Practitioner Specialty Tracks and Curriculum

• Family
• Family with Emergency Nurse Practitioner Subspecialty
• Family with Cardiovascular Subspecialty
• Women's Health
• Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
• Adult-Gerontology Primary Care with Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care with Emergency Subspecialty

Clinical Experience Requirement

2,000 hours of recent clinical nursing experience is required prior to beginning the first practicum in the nursing specialty to which you are applying.