Comprehensive primary care for adults and older adults
Our Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) track within the DNP degree program prepares you to provide comprehensive, person-centered primary care for adults and older adults, with a focus on health promotion, wellness and the diagnosis and management of stable acute and chronic conditions.
AGPCNP practice focuses on:
- Promoting physical and psychosocial health
- Preventing disease and supporting long-term wellness
- Diagnosing and managing stable acute and chronic conditions
- Recognizing and referring patients requiring urgent, emergent or specialized care
You will learn to care for patients across the adult lifespan, from late adolescence through older adulthood.
Program format
The AGPCNP track follows the standard DNP program format: online coursework combining required live online sessions with asynchronous work, plus up to one on-campus intensive each quarter. Clinical placements begin in spring quarter of year two. All clinical placements are arranged by the UW School of Nursing and are located in Washington state.
Choosing the right track
The AGPCNP track focuses on health promotion, disease prevention and ongoing care for medically stable patients. If your interests center on stabilizing and treating adults with acute, critical and complex illness, explore our Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track.
The two tracks also differ in format; the acute care track requires regular on-campus coursework and simulation beginning in year two.
Both this track and the Family Nurse Practitioner track prepare you for primary care practice; the difference is population focus. If you want to care for patients of all ages, including children, explore our Family Nurse Practitioner track.
What makes our DNP-AGPCNP track different?
The AGPCNP track combines broad primary care preparation, healthy-aging expertise and coordinated clinical placements. You’ll develop the clinical judgment to care for adults and older adults across settings, from community clinics and rural practices to internal medicine and specialty care.
Learn within a nationally recognized healthy-aging community
Connect with faculty expertise, research and professional development opportunities through UW Nursing and the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging.
Build clinical competency through hands-on simulation
Strengthen your assessment, diagnostic reasoning and patient communication skills during your on-campus intensives in our INACSL-endorsed Simulation Center, a controlled, psychologically safe environment for developing advanced practice competencies.
We coordinate your clinical placements
UW works with an extensive network of clinical and community partners to integrate primary care, specialty and community-based experiences into your program plan.
Build the clinical judgment to lead primary care
Curriculum
You’ll build a foundation in population health, health policy, evidence appraisal and translation, leadership and health systems alongside DNP students from every specialty track, while advancing your knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics and comprehensive health assessment.
Specialty coursework in health promotion, diagnostic reasoning and the primary care management of adult health conditions leads into a sequence of advanced clinical practica, clinical immersion and your DNP Project.
National certifications
Graduates of our DNP-AGPCNP program may be eligible to apply for the following national certifications:
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (AGPCNP-BC): American Nurses Credentialing Center
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGNP-C): Nurse Practitioner Certification Board
Why choose adult primary care at UW?
“This program has given me opportunities to learn about the different sectors of nursing, something I wouldn’t be able to do alone because no one in my family has a healthcare background. I’m a first-generation college grad, so navigating academia has been a little challenging in various ways. The faculty has helped me to spread my wings in a safe space while giving me guidance when I need it.”
“Practicing in rural areas, you need to have knowledge in multiple specialties … we frequently have to figure it out on our own.”
Application deadlines
You may apply to each specialty track once per admissions year.
Review application requirements
Apply through the UW Graduate School