Post-Master's Certificate in Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Certificate Level: Graduate
Admission Requirements: Master's degree
Certificate Type: Post-Master's
Number of Credits to Completion: 39.0; 800 clinical hours
Instructional Delivery: Online
Calendar Type: Quarter
Expected Time to Completion: 2 years
Financial Aid Eligibility: Aid eligible*
Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Code: 51.3801
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 29-1141
*The current plan of study for this program would only allow for federal financial aid (including Federal Direct Student Loans) for terms that are at least a minimum of 4.5 credits for graduate courses and 6.0 credits for undergraduate courses. This is based on current regulations from the U.S. Department of Education.
About the Program
The Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certificate is an elite postgraduate program that prepares students to deliver advanced care to infants, children and adolescents with acute, critical and complex health conditions. Students will build upon primary care experience through courses that emphasize evidence-based practice, interdisciplinary collaboration and the critical use of new technology. The program’s curriculum was developed and is taught by Drexel University’s renowned faculty from the nationally ranked College of Nursing and Health Professions. 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.
Program Requirements
| Required Courses | ||
| 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 |
| Concentration 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 |
| Total Credits | 39.0 | |
Sample Plan of Study
| First 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 548 | 3.0 | NURS 664 | 1.0 | ||||
| NURS 549 | 3.0 | ||||||
| 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Second 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 39 | |||||||
* Note: First Year Winter 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.
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 Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate webpage and on the Drexel University Online Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate webpage.