To meet growing demand for the specialty, the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing聽has聽added聽a聽new graduate program聽in acute care nursing.
The Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program will be initially offered this fall as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for nurses with a bachelor’s degree聽in nursing (BSN). The college will expand the program to add two additional tracks in 2017 鈥� a graduate certificate track for nurses who already have聽a MSN聽degree and a post-BSN聽to a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree track.
All of the program鈥檚 tracks will include both online courses and classroom clinical courses at the Orlando campus, a format designed to support collaboration and interprofessional learning. Students will leave the program eligible for the AGACNP certification examination.
鈥淭here is a great need for more nurse practitioners certified to provide care for acute patients in our community and throughout the nation, and there has been increasing demand from our students for this type of program,鈥� said Susan Chase, associate dean for graduate affairs at the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing.
鈥淥ur college is always listening and responsive to the needs of the community and our students, and this program is another example of that. This dynamic and engaging program will enhance the knowledge, skills and performance of advanced practice nurses to serve patients in a variety of acute and critically ill environments,鈥� Chase added.
AGACNPs provide a full spectrum of care, from diagnosis to management, for adult patients with medically complex acute, critical and chronic illness across care settings, including hospitals, ambulatory care and home care. AGACNPs order, perform, supervise and interpret laboratory, diagnostic and imaging studies. They also prescribe medication and durable medical equipment, and make appropriate referrals. The certification was created in part as a response to a critical shortage of medical residency programs in hospitals, and today is the third-largest specialty of nurse practitioners in the U.S.
Applications are being accepted now
Classes for the AGACNP MSN program will begin in Fall 2016. Prospective students may apply now. Applications for this聽inaugural cohort聽are due June 1, 2016.
The college has also added a new graduate program in nursing and health care simulation.