Expert acute care for adult and aging patients
Our Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) track within the DNP degree program prepares you to diagnose, treat, and manage adults and seniors with acute, critical, and complex chronic illnesses and/or injuries. AGACNP practice focuses on stabilizing and restoring medically unstable conditions, chronic condition management, and palliative or end-of-life care. You will learn to work with adults in adolescence through older adults.
#2 ranking
Of public schools offering a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
$3.8M in funding
147 DNP scholarships funded in 2023-24, totaling $3.8 million.
Pre-arranged clinicals
We manage your clinicals, setting us apart from most other DNP programs.
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:
- Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests and procedures
- Perform the following procedures:
- point-of-care ultrasound
- endotracheal intubation
- central venous catheter
- arterial line
- thoracentesis
- paracentesis
- chest tube insertion
- Generate differential diagnoses and diagnose and manage acute and complex illnesses and complications
- Partner with patients and families for health promotion and disease prevention and treatment
- Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
- Utilize developmental, patient-and family-centered approaches
- Advocate for nursing and the role of the AGACNP
Graduates from our AGACNP track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:
- Hospitalist
- Inpatient and Outpatient Specialist Services (e.g., gastroenterologist, infectious disease, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology, hepatology)
- Cardiology (advanced heart failure, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, general)
- Surgical specialties (e.g., cardiothoracic surgery, orthopedics, trauma, otolaryngology)
- Emergency
The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.
View the current DNP Adult-Gero Acute Care NP curriculum grid
Students interested in focusing their practice on restorative care for adults with acute, critical and chronic illnesses and/or injuries should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track. Students interested in focusing their practice on health promotion and disease prevention in adults should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track.
After successfully completing the AGACNP track, students are eligible to sit for the AGACNP examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Association of Critical Care Nurses Certification Corporation (AACNCC)
It is highly recommended that AGNP-AC track applicants have recent direct patient care experience of at least one year as a registered nurse in acute, critical, emergency, or similar care settings.
“I decided to get my DNP at UW because I knew I wanted to get an advanced degree, stay in acute/critical care, and continue to work with patients! I think nurse practitioners make a huge impact in care delivery by providing excellent evidence-based care with an added holistic and individualized approach.”
What makes our program unique?
Pre-arranged clinical placements.
Student Spotlight
Neal Cragg shares his experience as a DNP student.
Interested in learning more? Join us for an upcoming online information session, or contact us at asknursing@uw.edu to find out if this program would be a great fit and how to create a quality application.