The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, demanding highly skilled and specialized nurses to provide critical care. For Registered Nurses seeking to elevate their practice and make a significant impact in acute care settings, pursuing a Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a focus on becoming an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) is a strategic career move. These advanced graduate programs are designed to equip nurses with the expert knowledge and skills necessary to manage complex patient populations across the adult-gerontology spectrum.
Program Overview: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Masters Program
The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program is meticulously crafted to prepare advanced practice nurses to expertly care for adult and gerontology patients, ranging from young adults to the frail elderly. These patients often present with complex, acute, and chronic health conditions, requiring a nuanced and comprehensive approach to care. This rigorous masters program provides students with the essential knowledge, advanced skills, and professional attitudes to effectively manage patient care across the entire spectrum of acuity and within diverse healthcare settings. Notably, this program is offered through distance education, incorporating on-site requirements to ensure a well-rounded and practical learning experience.
Graduates of this acute care nurse practitioner masters program will be prepared to deliver advanced nursing practice grounded in research and evidence-based methodologies. The curriculum emphasizes developing effective solutions that address the multifaceted needs of patients, populations, and complex healthcare systems.
Comprehensive Graduate Program Outcomes
Upon completion of this masters of science acute care nurse practitioner grad program, graduates will achieve the following key outcomes:
- Evidence-Based Practice: Integrate nursing theory and research to make informed clinical judgments, forming the bedrock of advanced nursing practice.
- Person-Centered Care: Synthesize advanced scientific knowledge with collaborative skills to design and deliver holistic, respectful, just, and evidence-based person-centered care, acknowledging the interconnectedness of social determinants of health.
- Population Health Leadership: Collaborate across diverse settings to identify population health priorities, assess system capabilities, and lead the development of equitable healthcare policies and practices.
- Nursing Scholarship and Equity: Advance the field of nursing by applying unique nursing perspectives to translate evidence into practice, aiming to optimize care and address health inequities, structural racism, and system disparities.
- Quality and Safety Improvement: Apply principles of improvement science to evaluate care quality and safety, designing system-level enhancements and health policies to minimize patient and provider harm and maximize system effectiveness.
- Interprofessional Collaboration: Lead inter-professional communication and collaboration to effectively integrate evidence-based strategies, improving processes within healthcare systems and optimizing outcomes for diverse patient populations.
- System Optimization and Informatics: Optimize healthcare system effectiveness by leveraging care coordination, informatics, and technology to deliver safe, high-quality, equitable, and efficient healthcare services, adhering to best practices and regulatory standards.
- Professional Identity and Accountability: Model a resilient professional identity that embodies accountability, ethical conduct, and a collaborative approach, reflecting nursing’s core mission to individuals, society, and the profession.
- Lifelong Learning and Professional Growth: Demonstrate self-reflection and cognitive flexibility to cultivate environments that foster continuous learning, professional development, self-care, well-being, resilience, and leadership within nursing.
Admissions Requirements for Acute Care NP Masters Programs
To be considered for admission into this competitive acute care nurse practitioner masters of sciences grad program, applicants must meet the following rigorous criteria:
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Completed Application: Submission of a fully completed application form.
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Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): A Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing from an accredited nursing program is mandatory. Note: RN applicants with a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field should refer to the Clinical Practice Portfolio requirement.
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Minimum GPA: A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is required.
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Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts from all colleges/universities attended must be submitted. International transcripts require a course-by-course evaluation from a NACES accredited service like World Education Services (WES). Official transcripts will be required upon admission.
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Current RN License: Applicants must hold a current, unencumbered Registered Nurse license in the state where they will undertake their clinical practice.
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Curriculum Vitae/Resume: Submission of a current Curriculum Vitae or Resume detailing relevant professional experience.
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Relevant Experience: A minimum of one year of recent relevant experience is preferred to ensure applicants have a solid foundation in nursing practice.
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Letters of Recommendation: Three online letters of recommendation from professional references who can attest to the applicant’s potential for graduate studies and advanced practice nursing.
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Undergraduate Coursework: Completion of a three-credit undergraduate course in Health Assessment and a three-credit undergraduate course in Statistics is essential.
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Technical Standards: Applicants must meet the program’s Technical Standards for Admission and Retention, ensuring they possess the necessary abilities to succeed in the program.
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Clinical Practice Portfolio: Registered Nurse applicants with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree who receive conditional acceptance must submit a clinical practice portfolio. This portfolio will be evaluated to assess baccalaureate-level nursing competencies. Successful portfolio completion is required for full admission and program progression.
Additional Requirements for Accepted Students
Upon acceptance into the acute care nurse practitioner masters program, students must fulfill the following additional requirements:
- Official Transcripts and Evaluations: Submission of official transcripts from all institutions and official transfer equivalency credit evaluation certificates from a NACES accredited service (like WES) for international transcripts.
- CastleBranch Documentation: All newly admitted students will receive instructions via email from the School of Nursing regarding the CastleBranch web-based system. This system requires a one-time fee and is used for uploading and managing required health and professional documents.
- NP Student Malpractice Insurance: Malpractice insurance coverage is mandatory throughout the program, from admission to graduation.
- New York State RN License: A current, unencumbered Registered Nurse license from New York State is required.
- BLS and ACLS Certifications: Certification in Basic Life Support for Health Care Provider (BLS) w/AED and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) is mandatory.
- Technology Requirements: Students must meet the program’s specified technology requirements to participate effectively in the distance education components.
Clinical Experiences: A Cornerstone of Your Acute Care NP Masters
Practical clinical experience is integral to the acute care nurse practitioner masters program. The Office of Clinical Placements plays a vital role in facilitating clinical placement requests and contracts for all students. This office collaborates closely with faculty to secure suitable clinical sites. Once a site is identified, students submit a clinical placement request form. The program ensures that clinical affiliations are formally established through agreements and contracts between the university and clinical sites, providing students with diverse and enriching hands-on learning opportunities. It is important to note that the School of Nursing does not participate in clinical placements that require payment from the student or the school.
Curriculum: Masters of Science in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The masters of science acute care nurse practitioner curriculum is a comprehensive 45-credit program encompassing core nursing knowledge, specialized acute care content, and extensive clinical training. The curriculum breakdown is as follows:
| Graduation Requirements | Credits |
|---|---|
| Core | |
| HNH 503 Organizational Leadership and Role Transformation | 3 |
| HNH 504 Quality Improvement, Safety, and Health Care Technologies | 3 |
| HNH 505 Health Care Policy and Advocacy | 2 |
| Research | |
| HNG 541 Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice I | 3 |
| HNG 543 Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice II | 3 |
| Pharmacology | |
| HNG 540 Clinical Pharmacology | 3 |
| Health Assessment | |
| HNG 515 Advanced Health Assessment | 3 |
| Pathophysiology | |
| HNG 588 Clinical Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| Clinical Courses | |
| HNG 519 Advanced Theory and Clinical Practice in Adult-Gerontology Nursing Across the Continuum I | 4 |
| HNG 529 Advanced Theory and Clinical Practice in Adult-Gerontology Nursing Across the Continuum II | 5 |
| HNG 509 Advanced Theory and Clinical Practice in Acute Care Adult/Gerontology Nursing I | 5 |
| HNG 559 Advanced Theory and Clinical Practice in Acute Care Adult/Gerontology Nursing I | 5 |
| HNG 580 Advanced Skills, Technologies & Clinical Decision-Making in Acute Care | 3 |
| Total Credits | 45 |
Accreditation and Certification: Ensuring Program Excellence
The Baccalaureate degree program in nursing/Master’s degree program in Nursing/Doctor of Nursing Practice program and advanced certificate program at Stony Brook School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) https://www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE. This accreditation signifies the program’s commitment to high-quality nursing education.
Graduates of this acute care nurse practitioner masters program are eligible to sit for national certification exams, including the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC): https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/. Successful certification demonstrates advanced competency and enhances career prospects.
Contact Us to Learn More
For more detailed information about the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Masters of Science Grad Program, please contact:
Dr. Dolores Bilges
Email address: [email protected]
