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Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Recorded Virtual Open House

Program

The Drexel Online Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) program is designed to prepare practitioners for professional practice in the management of medical, surgical, and critical-care adult patient populations who are acutely ill or injured.

Please note: Applicants must have a BSN degree to apply.

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 ANCC’s Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination (ACNP-BC) and/or AACN’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Adult Gerontology (ACNPC-AG) examination.

Upon completion of the certification exam, we ask that graduates of our Nurse Practitioner programs complete the below survey link to inform the department of their certification exam results: Nurse Practitioner Licensure Submission

Because students are being educated to diagnose and treat patients, this 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.

The majority of the track is online.

What you'll learn

The AG-ACNP program provides the knowledge and skills needed to provide healthcare services to meet the specialized needs of adult and geriatric patients with acute medical or surgical issues, including the critically ill or injured.

This is a 57-credit graduate track with an 800 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 of synchronized mandatory online lectures. Each clinical practicum course has a required 160 total clinical hours. Students typically complete two eight hour clinical days each week.

In tandem with the curriculum, clinical practicum rotations allow students to put the principles they have learned into practice. While on campus, students participate in simulated clinical learning experiences conducted in our new state of the art multidisciplinary patient simulation lab. In addition, students undergo standardized patient experiences, problem based learning, and hands on experience with technical skills.

The nurse practitioner faculty is committed to quality and excellence in the nurse practitioner (NP) programs. During your time in the program, you will participate in a mandatory on-campus and/or virtual intensive. The required intensive/s will be held during clinical courses. Exact dates and times will be confirmed with students prior to the term.

What makes the AG-ACNP program unique?

• Synchronous online lectures are offered in a highly interactive, e-learning method that challenges and engages students.
• Clinically active faculty with national board certification.
• You are part of the Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions with access to clinical practice environments and inter-professional simulated health care scenarios.

Types of Jobs and Job Settings for Program Graduates

Care for acutely ill or injured patients, and those suffering an exacerbation of chronic illnesses in inpatient practices such as intensivist (critical care), hospitalist, and specialty practices that do not treat children. Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners are generally not found in emergency rooms and on trauma services without additional board certification in caring for acutely ill or injured children.

*The nurse practitioner programs in the Division of Graduate Nursing at Drexel University provide students the flexibility of finding and coordinating their own clinical site and preceptor. The Division of Graduate Nursing offers students resources to assist in this process. Accessibility to clinical sites and preceptors varies from state to state. Students may be required to travel to access clinical sites/preceptors and achieve the necessary clinical hours.

COMPLIANCE

The College of Nursing and Health Professions has a compliance process that may be required for every student. Some of these steps may take significant time to complete. Please plan accordingly.

Visit the Compliance pages for more information.

Application Deadline

Fall 2023 Application Deadline: July 1, 2023

Admission Requirements

Technical Standards - Nursing 

Degree:
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing from program fully accredited by NLN and/or CCNE is required for all applicants. Must have a Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above from your BSN.

Standardized Tests:
N/A

Transcripts:

• Official transcripts must be sent directly to Drexel from all the colleges/universities that you have attended. Transcripts must be submitted in a sealed envelope with the college/university seal over the flap. Please note that transcripts are required regardless of number of credits taken or if the credits were transferred to another school. An admission decision may be delayed if you do not send transcripts from all colleges/universities attended.
• Transcripts must show course-by-course grades and degree conferrals. If your school does not notate degree conferrals on the official transcripts, you must provide copies of any graduate or degree certificates.
• If your school issues only one transcript for life, you are required to have a course-by-course evaluation completed by an approved transcript evaluation agency
• Use our Transcript Lookup Tool to assist you in contacting your previous institutions

Prerequisites:
Two years of current bedside acute care nursing experience is required.  Critical care experience is preferred.  Examples of the recommended nursing experience include, but are not limited to: ICU, CCU, ER, trauma and high acuity step down units.

References:
Two professional references required from previous or current supervisors, managers, nursing faculty members or program directors who can attest to applicant's clinical knowledge, skill, and potential aptitude for graduate study. References will not be accepted from colleagues or family members.

• You may use our electronic letter of recommendation service 
• If a recommender prefers to submit an original, hard copy letter, please remind them that it must include an ink signature and be submitted in a sealed envelope.

• Why you are choosing this particular program of study
• Your plans upon completion of the graduate degree
• How your current work experience will meet the criteria of 2 years of recent critical care experience.

Interview/Portfolio:
Admissions interview may be required

CV/Resume:
Required. Note: Resume should be detailed regarding work experience including specific job experiences/responsibilities/departments

Licenses:
A copy of your current, unrestricted United States RN license or eligibility for licensure as a registered nurse. License verification from your nursing license registry website are acceptable.

Clinical/Work/Volunteer Experience:
Two years of current critical care experience within the last five years is required.

International Students:
Requirements can be found here

Tuition and Fee Rates:
Please visit the Drexel Online MSN in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner tuition page.

Application Link (if outside organization):
N/A

This program is organized into four 10-week quarters per year (as opposed to the traditional two semester system) which means you can take more courses in a shorter time period. One semester credit is equivalent to 1.5 quarter credits.

Graduate students who utilize student loans (FAFSA) must maintain a minimum enrollment of 4.5 credits per term.

For Full List of courses, please visit Drexel Online.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Drexel University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington DC 20001, 202.887-6791.

These programs and the Post Graduate APRN certificates are also approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.