Preparing acute care nurse practitioners to provide advanced critical care to patients in a variety of settings
This online adult acute care nurse practitioner track is designed to prepare practitioners for professional practice in the management of patient populations in medical, surgical and critical care. The track provides the knowledge and skills needed to provide healthcare services to meet the specialized needs of patients with complex acute, critical, and chronic healthcare conditions. Emphasis is placed on diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making. The program is designed to prepare acute care nurse practitioners for roles as clinicians, educators, researchers, and leaders in a collaborative multi-disciplinary healthcare environment.
The online graduate adult acute care nurse practitioner program is a high-quality program that demands a major commitment of time by the advanced practice nursing student. Because students are being educated to diagnose and treat patients, the master’s program was designed to combine the convenience of online learning with the necessary rigor to become a competent and confident advanced practice nurse upon graduation.
*While the majority of the track is online, students are required to be on campus once per quarter starting with NURS 550 the Advanced Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning course and throughout all clinical practicum courses including NURS 570, 571, 572 and 573. While on campus students participate in simulated clinical learning experiences conducted in our new state of the art multidisciplinary patient simulation lab. .
Upon completion of the program, students are eligible for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification through ANCC or AACN.
Location Requirements
Applicants seeking admission into the MSN Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program must have a RN Nursing License in and be willing to complete the clinical practicum rotations in one of the following states:
- Pennsylvania
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- Virginia
- Washington DC
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- Maryland
Students living on the borders of these regions may be admitted with the understanding that all clinical practicum rotations must be taken only in the designated regional states.
On-Campus Requirements
The Nurse Practitioner Faculty are committed to quality and excellence in the online Nurse Practitioner (NP) Programs. Campus visits are essential.
Students meet on campus for:
- A minimum of 3 days at the beginning of the clinical practicum rotations
- A minimum of 3 days at the end of the clinical practicum rotations
The residency visits afford faculty the opportunity to provide students with direct support, guidance, and mentoring. They provide students with the opportunity to interact with faculty and collaborate with their peers.
Key Program Features:
- Synchronous online lectures are offered in a highly interactive, e-learning method that challenges and engages students.
- Clinically active faculty with national board certification
- *Mandatory on-campus visits:
- NURS 550 – Advanced Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning –Students are required to come to campus twice during the course: once for a midterm assessment and evaluation, and again at the end of the course for a final re-demonstration of clinical assessment skills
- Clinical Orientation coincides with the last day of the NURS 550 on-campus visit. Please note, all post-master’s students are required to attend the clinical orientation day.
- NURS 570 ACNP I – Summer Residency 5 days
- NURS 571 ACNP II – Fall Simulation Experience 2 days
- NURS 572 ACNP III – Winter Simulation Experience 2 days
NURS 573 ACNP IV – Spring Residency – 5 days This is a 55-credit graduate track with a 640 clinical hour requirement. Clinical practicum courses consist of two parts; didactic lectures and clinical practicum rotations that run concurrently. The didactic lectures are held once a week online for three hours. Each clinical practicum course has a required 160 total clinical hours. Students typically complete two eight hour clinical days each week.
Contacts
Track Coordinator:
Kate Morse, RN, MSN, CRNP-BC, CCRN
215-762-3260
cjm69@drexel.edu
Academic Advisor:
Gladys Clapano-Mozdzonek, BA
215-762-8564
Gc346@drexel.edu
Program Coordinator:
Jackie Shepeski, BS
215-762-1751
jpd47@drexel.edu
