MSN: Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Major: Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Acute Care
Degree Awarded: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 57.0; 800 clinical hours
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.3801
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1141
About the Program
The online Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-AC) program is designed to prepare practitioners for professional practice in the management of medical, surgical and critical care pediatric patient populations. Concurrent theory and clinical courses provide a knowledge base for the management of pediatric complex acute, critical and chronic healthcare conditions. Clinical practicum rotations allow students to put the principles they have learned into practice in medical, surgical and critical care settings. Upon completing the program, graduates pursue practice roles across the continuum of acute care services ranging from high-acuity, hospital-based emergency or intensive care settings to specialty-based practices. Graduates are eligible to sit for the PNCB's Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination.
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 642 for five 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.
The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
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 MSN Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner webpage and on the Drexel University Online MSN Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner 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 646 | Pharmacology for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner | 3.0 |
| NURS 664 | Professional Issues for Nurse Practitioners | 1.0 |
| Clinical Courses | ||
| NURS 642 | PNP I: Primary Care of Infants, Children and Adolescents | 5.0 |
| NURS 643 | PNP II: Episodic Care of Infants, Children and Adolescents in Primary Care | 5.0 |
| NURS 649 | Ped Nurse Pract AC I:Acute-Chronic Care of Infants, Children and Adolescents Management | 5.0 |
| NURS 650 | Ped Nurse Pract AC II:Acute-Chronic Care of Infants, Children and Adolescents Management | 5.0 |
| NURS 651 | PNP Management of the Medically Fragile and Technology Dependent Child in the Community | 5.0 |
| Elective * | 3.0 | |
| Total Credits | 57.0 | |
- *
Nursing Electives can be any course with the prefix Nursing (NURS, NUPR), Interprofessional Studies (IPS), or Complementary and Integrative Health (CIT), with course number ranging from 500-699. Other graduate courses outside of these designations will need to be approved by the department chairperson.
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 | RSCH 503 | 3.0 | RSCH 504 | 3.0 | Elective | 3.0 |
| NURS 502 | 3.0 | NURS 544 | 3.0 | NURS 548 | 3.0 | NURS 549 | 3.0 |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||||
| Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NUPR 520 | 0.0 | NURS 646* | 3.0 | NURS 550 | 4.0 | NURS 642 | 5.0 |
| NURS 664 | 1.0 | ||||||
| 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||||
| Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 643 | 5.0 | NURS 649 | 5.0 | NURS 650 | 5.0 | NURS 651 | 5.0 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Total Credits 57 | |||||||
* 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.
Note: Some terms are 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 these terms.
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.