MSN: Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Major: Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
Degree Awarded: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 52.0 quarter credits; 640 clinical hours
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code: 51.3801
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1141
About the Program
One of the major health care challenges of the 21st century will include the delivery of quality, comprehensive, cost-effective care for a rapidly increasing number of older adults. With the elderly population in the U.S. expected to double—if not triple—by 2030, it is imperative that there is an educated workforce of health professionals able to deliver high-quality and appropriate care to the adult and older-adult population. In response to this need, Drexel University has developed an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPC) program. The AGPC cares for individuals (aged 13 years and above) across the lifespan to promote maximal health, reduce risks and manage acute, chronic and complex health conditions. The AGPC is specifically trained to focus on health and wellness, disease prevention and quality of life in the aging population. The purpose of our AGPC program is to educate and prepare competent and compassionate AGPC graduates to provide comprehensive, quality and cost-effective care founded in evidence-based practice to adults across the lifespan on the continuum of health and illnesses.
All graduates will be eligible to sit for the certification exam as an adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and/or American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
The nurse practitioner faculty is committed to quality and excellence in the nurse practitioner (NP) programs. Students meet on campus for mandatory On-Campus Intensive (OCI) learning experiences, simulation and evaluation. Students will attend an in-person on-campus intensive in NURS 660 for four days during week one of the summer quarter. Dates are subject to change. During the OCIs, students engage in simulated clinical learning experiences conducted in the College of Nursing and Health Professions' state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary patient simulation lab. These visits provide direct guidance and mentoring from faculty and the opportunity to collaborate with peers. Mandatory, on-campus visits are essential to students transitioning into the NP role.
Additional Information
For more information about this program, contact:
Graduate Nursing Division CNHPGraduateDivision@drexel.edu
Additional information is available on Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) webpage and the Drexel University Online MSN Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) webpage
Degree Requirements
| Core Courses | ||
| NURS 500 [WI] | Confronting Issues in Contemporary Health Care Environments | 3.0 |
| NURS 502 | Advanced Ethical Decision Making in Health Care | 3.0 |
| NURS 544 | Quality and Safety in Healthcare | 3.0 |
| RSCH 503 | Research Methods and Biostatistics | 3.0 |
| RSCH 504 | Evaluation and Translation of Health Research | 3.0 |
| Support Courses | ||
| NUPR 520 | Nurse Practitioner Clinical Orientation Seminar | 0.0 |
| NURS 548 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 3.0 |
| NURS 549 | Advanced Pharmacology | 3.0 |
| NURS 550 | Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostic Reasoning | 4.0 |
| NURS 641 | Advanced Pharmacology for Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners | 3.0 |
| NURS 664 | Professional Issues for Nurse Practitioners | 1.0 |
| Clinical Courses | ||
| NURS 660 | Adult-Gero Primary Care I: Introduction to Adult-Gero Primary Care and Care of the Young-Adult | 5.0 |
| NURS 661 | Adult-Gerontology Primary Care II: Management and Care of Adult Patients in Primary Care | 5.0 |
| NURS 662 | Adult-Gerontology Primary Care III: Management of the Older-Adult Patient in Primary Care | 5.0 |
| NURS 663 | Adult-Gerontology Primary Care IV: Gerontology Management and Care | 5.0 |
| Elective | 3.0 | |
| Total Credits | 52.0 | |
Writing-Intensive Course Requirement
A [WI], Writing Intensive, next to a graduate course in this catalog indicates that the graduate course is a writing intensive course. The graduate course is a required course in your curriculum.
Sample Plan of Study
| First Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 500 | 3.0 | NURS 544 | 3.0 | NURS 548 | 3.0 | NURS 549 | 3.0 |
| NURS 502 | 3.0 | RSCH 503 | 3.0 | RSCH 504 | 3.0 | Elective | 3.0 |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||||
| Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NUPR 520 | 0.0 | NURS 641* | 3.0 | NURS 550 | 4.0 | NURS 660 | 5.0 |
| NURS 664 | 1.0 | ||||||
| 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||||
| Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| NURS 661 | 5.0 | NURS 662 | 5.0 | NURS 663 | 5.0 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Total Credits 52 | |||||||
* Note: This term is less than the 4.5-credit minimum required (considered half-time status) of graduate programs to be considered financial aid eligible. As a result, aid will not be disbursed to students this term.
Program Level Outcomes
- Practices within a legal and ethical framework of health care delivery.
- Advances the role of advanced nursing practice in the health care system through scholarship, clinical experience and political involvement.
- Demonstrates critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills in clinical decision-making.
- Integrates multiple technologies and relevant theories into the organization and synthesis of health data required to develop plans of care for patients, families and communities.
- Integrates culturally sensitive health promotion activities that contribute to the health and wellness of the community into clinical practice.
- Demonstrates leadership in nursing and health care through involvement in the development of outcome-based standards of care and practice-based health policy issues.
- Evaluates and modify the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice based on current research findings, standards of care and patient outcomes.
- Contributes to the advancement of nursing, health care and humanity through communication, collaboration and education.