Our Graduate Certificate in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Acute Care (PNP-AC) prepares you to specialize in the care of children with acute, critical, and chronic illnesses or injuries. PNP-ACs provide healthcare to children from infancy through young adulthood, as well as their families, in inpatient, emergency, and specialty care settings. The practice emphasizes restorative and palliative care.
This certificate is designed for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), such as clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists seeking to expand their current scope of practice.
In this Graduate Certificate program, you’ll complete 12 to 15 months of study. Your program plan, including fieldwork placements, is tailored to your needs through close collaboration with a faculty adviser, based on a formal gap analysis and an evaluation of your prior education and experience.
Clinical practice experiences are available in both urban and rural settings. Many core Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Acute Care (PNP-AC) courses require weekly in-person classroom attendance, along with additional clinical practicum hours.
At the end of the program, the graduate will:
- Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as a pediatric acute care nurse practitioner.
- Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of health needs among children, families, and populations.
- Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to children and families.
- Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for children, families, and populations.
- Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
- Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in pediatric advanced practice nursing.
After successfully completing the PNP-AC graduate certificate, students are eligible to sit for the PNP Acute Care examination through the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB).
Not yet an APRN?
If you’re interested in pediatric care but are not yet an APRN—whether you’re a nurse educator, nurse informaticist, or nurse leader—we encourage you to explore our Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) tracks.