Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Overview

The Pediatric NP – Acute Care Advanced Certificate program prepares pediatric nurse practitioners trained in primary care to additionally care for children with acute, complex, critical, and chronic illnesses, disabilities, or injuries. Students who pursue this two-semester advanced certificate program will be well prepared to work in a variety of acute care settings, such as pediatric intensive care units, pediatric inpatient units, pediatric emergency rooms, pediatric urgent cares, pediatric trauma centers, and pediatric specialties such as cardiology, pulmonology, and neurology. The program — the first of its kind in New York State — focuses on caring for children of all ages and prepares students to deliver high-quality advanced nursing care that restores health, prevents complications, and assists patients and families in navigating rapidly changing acute healthcare environments. Upon graduating from the program, students will be prepared to sit for the acute care pediatric nurse practitioner certification exam (CPNP-AC).

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Create comprehensive plans of care for diverse populations based on the interrelationships among person, environment, health, and advanced practice nursing.
2. Evaluate the impact of social determinants on advanced practice nursing interventions to promote, restore, and maintain mental and physical well-being.
3. Demonstrate nurse practitioner role competence in providing safe, ethical, and compassionate person-centered care to patients and families through collaborative partnerships.
4. Integrate theory, research, and informatics in the advanced care of patients and families.
5. Incorporate ethical and professional standards encompassing advocacy, policy, equity, leadership, and ongoing self-reflection into professional practice.
6. Apply the principles of quality, safety, and collaboration to improve outcomes for patients, populations, communities, and systems.
7. Synthesize knowledge from diverse sources and disciplines to develop, translate, and promote clinical scholarship.

Program Goals

1. Providers base clinical care, decision-making, and clinical services on scientific evidence which is grounded in careful analysis of the unique needs of the individual, group, or population.
2. Providers are actively engaged in scholarship through the clinical application of existing knowledge and the generation and dissemination of new clinical knowledge.
3. Providers maintain competence in their specialty through formal and informal educational opportunities and specialty certification and promote the ongoing education of others.