Post-Master Certificate
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Post-Graduate Certificate
Program Description
The post-graduate Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) certificate program prepares individuals who are already licensed advanced practice nurses with the skills and competencies needed to provide patient-centered care to adults across the lifespan who are physiologically unstable, technologically dependent, or highly vulnerable to complications, and require frequent monitoring and intervention. Didactic and clinical practicums prepare the graduate to provide a full-spectrum of care ranging from disease prevention to acute and critical care management and palliative care, with consideration to the developmental, life-stage needs of adults across the age spectrum. This 23 credit, one year program prepares advanced practice nurses, who are certified in another specialty, to take the AG-ACNP certification exam.
Course work is conducted primarily online with intensive on-campus sessions twice per year for competency training and testing and advisement. Clinical experiences are scheduled in proximity to the student’s’ residence. Students wear their UTHSC picture identification while on-campus and at clinical sites. Student placement in clinical sites is verified by preceptors, and faculty conduct clinical site visits or videoconferencing sessions with the student and preceptors.
Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the AG-ACNP certificate program, the graduate will be able to:
- Synthesize nursing and other scientific knowledge, with contemporary clinical knowledge, for the assessment and management of health and illness states of adult-gerontology patients.
- Demonstrate advanced levels of nursing practice including health promotion, health protection, disease prevention, treatment, and referrals for the acute, critical, and chronically ill or injured patient.
- Engage in advocacy, modeling and teaching to advance health outcomes of complex acute, critical, or chronically ill patients.
- Develop collaborative professional relationships.
- Provides leadership for the delivery of clinical services within an integrated system of health care.
- Analyzes practice outcomes to foster quality healthcare practices and improve patient outcomes.
- Integrate professional values and ethical decision-making in advanced nursing practice.