Master of Science in Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology
Overview
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology
The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions' Master of Science in Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology program can prepare you to care for and educate the growing adult and elderly population. If you are an experienced registered nurse, enroll in this accredited, online degree program so you can learn advanced practice nursing care in complex, acute and critical care settings through an evidence-based program of study.
As a student in this online Master of Science in Nursing program, you are engaged in learning advanced theories and practices related to all areas of direct acute care of gerontology patients. The nursing degree coursework ends with a capstone project that requires you to choose an area of focus in adult-gerontology, acute care or another relevant dimension of your program, and identify and develop an implementation plan to improve some aspect of the field.
The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master's degree in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice at GCU are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Select states may have additional requirements to meet their standards; reference your enrollment agreement or contact GCU for more information. Graduates may qualify for certification as adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners (ACNP-AG) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). This program is offered online in selected states. Please contact us for more information.
Degree Outcomes
Make a Difference in the Lives of the Elderly
This MSN Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program with an emphasis in adult-gerontology (AGACNP) combines courses in advanced health assessment, clinical diagnosis, procedural skill acquisition and care management of adult and geriatric acute care patients, sub-acute patients and/or patients with exacerbations of chronic illness. The clinical practicum experience allows you to collaborate with faculty members to select an appropriate population foci clinical site.
What You Will Learn
Diagnostic and Critical Care for Older Adults
Topics of this MSN program include:
- Managing the adult-gerontology patient who is highly vulnerable to complications
- Understanding normal function and diagnostic markers indicative of illness
- Disease detection and diagnosis
- Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of drug action
- Practicum course allows you practice in a supervised clinical
Career Outcomes
Become a Nurse Practitioner with an Adult-Gerontology Focus
This advanced course for acute care nurse practitioners addresses the completion and interpretation of a head-to-toe assessment in addition to focused assessments for chief complaints that include physical, psychosocial, spiritual, risk and functional assessments in acute and chronically ill adults and seniors. A post-master's certificate program is available to those nurses who already have a MSN degree.
Course List
Program Core Courses
Course Description
This course examines nursing as a profession and a discipline and the individual nurse's role as a member of the profession. The theoretical foundations for nursing practice and roles are explored and applied. Emphasis is placed on developing scholarly writing and presentation skills. Critical thinking skills are refined as students discuss and synthesize the literature that guides nursing practice with a special emphasis on caring, diversity, and spirituality.
Course Description
This course focuses on the critical analysis of nursing and health care research and its application to nursing education, nursing practice, and the delivery of health care services. Emphasis is placed on strategies to access current and relevant data, synthesize the information, and translate new knowledge to practice. Ethical issues in the design and conduct of research are addressed. Prerequisite: NUR-502.
Course Description
This course utilizes health care policy as a framework to analyze how health is defined and health care is designed and delivered in the United States and around the world. Emphasis is placed on issues of cost, quality, access, disparities, and finance. The various roles of the master's prepared nurse in the health care system are explored. Prerequisite: NUR-504.
Course Description
This course focuses on professional and legal issues related to advanced practice nursing and includes adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-AG) scope of practice, inpatient and outpatient documentation, and billing. Managing the adult-gerontology patient who is highly vulnerable to complications, physiologically unstable, technologically dependent during periods of transition, such as admitting, transferring, and discharging, is also covered. This course provides a review of concepts related to collegial practice, including interprofessional and intraprofessional relationships within the health care delivery system.
Course Description
This course focuses on advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles. This course is used to guide the advanced nursing practice student in understanding normal function and interpreting changes in normal function that result in symptoms and diagnostic markers indicative of illness. Emphasis is placed on the following systems: cellular environment and inflammatory changes; fluids, electrolytes and acid-base balance; genetics, genetic diseases, and the role of the environment; stress, disease, and the development of neoplasms; hematology and alterations in immunity. In addition, the physiology and pathophysiology of the endocrine, pulmonary, renal, digestive and integumentary, cardiovascular and lymphatic, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and neurological systems, including mood disorders, are addressed. Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate nursing program or college approval. NUR-502, NUR-504, NUR-508.
Course Description
This course focuses on the advanced pharmacology and therapeutic principles needed for the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-AG) and the adult-gerontology clinical nurse specialist (CNS-AG) to safely prescribe medication therapy. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of drug action are emphasized, with a focus on prescribing in a diverse patient population. Appropriate monitoring for efficacy and toxicity of prescribed therapies is highlighted. Evidence-based trials and clinical guidelines provide the basis for selecting safe, effective, and cost-efficient pharmacotherapeutic regimens for all patients. Appropriate patient education regarding prescription and nonprescription therapies is incorporated. This course covers principles of drug action, treatment of endocrine, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological, infectious diseases, and respiratory disorders. In addition, pain management, the patient in the intensive care unit, toxicology, medication error prevention, and medication management during transitions of care are addressed. Prerequisite: NUR-631.
Course Description
This course builds upon the student's undergraduate and clinical assessment skills, offering advanced health assessment content to provide the foundation for the advanced practice nursing role. This course addresses the completion and interpretation of a head-to-toe assessment in addition to focused assessments for chief complaints that include physical, psychosocial, spiritual, risk, and functional assessments in diverse populations and across age groups. Students learn a systematic method of diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making to establish differential diagnoses. Prerequisites: NUR-631, and either NUR-632 or NUR-633.
Course Description
This course focuses on evidenced-based theory and research related to adult-gerontology patients experiencing acute illnesses. Students synthesize data from a variety of health resources related to the care of the acutely ill adult-gerontology patient. Concepts involving Clinical Practice Guidelines are introduced and evaluated. Students analyze common problems seen in the acute care setting as they relate to the development of a prioritized differential diagnosis list. Students focus on ways to make clinical judgments and decisions regarding appropriate recommendations and treatments related to acute alterations in health. Prerequisites: NUR-631, NUR-633, and NUR-634. Co-requisite: NUR-636C.
Course Description
This course focuses on integration of adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner didactic learning competencies with application to clinical competencies for adult-gerontology populations seen in acute care settings. Clinical hours: 150. Prerequisites: NUR-631, NUR-633, and NUR-634. Co-requisite: NUR-636.
Course Description
This course continues the focus on evidenced-based theory and research related to acute illnesses in the adult-gerontology population in the acute care setting. Students continue to build on prior knowledge and synthesize data from a variety of health resources related to the care of the acutely ill patient. Utilizing a systems framework, students continue work on clinical judgment and decision making regarding appropriate recommendations and treatments related to alterations in different systems as they develop an evidence-based plan of care. Prerequisites: NUR-636 and NUR-636C. Co-requisite: NUR-637C.
Course Description
This preceptored practicum experience provides comprehensive health care to complex, acute, and critically ill adult-gerontology and frail elderly patients. This course builds upon prior learning. Clinical practice affords students the opportunity to refine their clinical decision-making skills in advanced health assessment, clinical diagnosis, procedural skill acquisition, and care management of acute and chronically ill adult-gerontology patients. Clinical experiences emphasize the physiological and psychosocial impact of acute and critical illness on patients, family, and community, and prepare the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-AG) in the diagnosis and management of acute and life-threatening health problems. Clinical hours: 200. Prerequisites: NUR-636 and NUR-636C. Co-requisite: NUR-637.
Course Description
This course continues the focus on evidenced-based theory and research related to care during acute, chronic, and exacerbated illnesses. Students continue to build on prior knowledge and synthesize data from a variety of health resources related to the care of the acutely ill patient. Utilizing a systems-framework, students continue developing appropriate clinical judgment and decision-making skills regarding appropriate recommendations and treatments related to alterations in different systems as they develop an evidence-based plan of care for adult-gerontology patients. Prerequisites: NUR-637 and NUR-637C. Co-requisite: NUR-638C.
Course Description
This culminating, preceptored, practicum experience continues the development of knowledge, skills, and abilities in the provision of health care to complex, acute, and critically ill adult-gerontology and frail elderly patients. This course builds upon prior learning. Clinical practice affords students the opportunity to refine their clinical decision-making skills in advanced health assessment, clinical diagnosis, procedural skill acquisition, and care management of acute and chronically ill adult-gerontology patients. Clinical experiences emphasize the physiological and psychosocial impact of acute and critical illness on patients, family, and community, and prepare the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-AG) in the diagnosis and management of chronic, exacerbated, acute, and life-threatening health problems. Clinical hours: 200. Prerequisites: NUR-637 and NUR-637C. Co-Requisite: NUR-638.
Course Description
This capstone course provides an opportunity for students to develop an evidence-based practice project proposal that addresses a problem, issue, or concern in professional practice. Students identify a problem amenable to research-based intervention; search literature; propose a solution; and develop a plan to implement the solution, evaluate its outcome(s), and disseminate the findings. Problems identified are those that are appropriate to students' specialty tracks: nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing public health, adult clinical nurse specialist, acute care nurse practitioner, and family nurse practitioner. Prerequisite: NUR-508.
Faculty Bios
Program Locations
Online
Evening
* The Department of Education defines how an institution must calculate a program's On-Time Completion rate for federal disclosure purposes. The On-Time Completion rate is based on a program’s published required number of months to complete all degree requirements as provided in the institution’s catalog. Completion statistics are updated every January and are based on the cohort of students who graduated between 7/1 – 6/30 of the preceding year. The On-Time Completion rate is determined by the number of students in the cohort who completed the program within the published program length divided by the number of students in the cohort who graduated.
Online and Evening program disclosures* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.