The nurse practitioner is a skilled healthcare provider who uses expert clinical judgment and decision-making to conduct comprehensive health assessments, make differential diagnoses, and prescribe pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions to treat health problems directly. Nurse practitioners function as care providers, case managers, researchers, consultants, and educators.

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (AGACNP) focus on the care of all adults with acute illnesses who practice in hospitals, hospital-based clinics, long-term care settings, and private practices. They provide expert interventions focused on patients who are physiologically unstable, technologically dependent, highly vulnerable to complications, and require frequent monitoring and intervention. AGACNP obtain medical histories, perform physical examinations, order screening, diagnostic tests, and provide pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment. Graduates of the AGACNP program are eligible to sit for national certification.

Please note:  The AGACNP Program is a hybrid program with on-campus and online components. Classes typically meet every other Wednesday except where noted.

Fall Admission Plan of Study Summer Admission Plan of Study

Acute Care

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner total clinical hours:

To meet the program objectives, you must complete 720 clinical hours. Of the total 720 hours, 600+ direct patient care clinical hours are a minimum.

It is expected that the NP student provides direct patient care distributed over the population-focused area of specialty (i.e., the acute adult-gerontology NP student should receive experiences with adults across the entire adult age spectrum from young adult to older adult, including the frail elderly). It is also expected that the NP student exceeds the minimum 600-hour direct patient care clinical hour requirement.
— National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (2016)

The 600 direct patient care hours must be one-on-one with a physician or a nurse practitioner in the clinical area. The remaining clinical hours would include clinical seminars, pre-approved CEs (12 per semester), simulation experiences, and other pre-approved (by Nurse Practitioner Coordinator) acute care specialty rotations.