Adult-Gerontology Acute Care CNS + NP
Preparing students to be advanced practice nurses providing care to acute and chronically ill adults and as champions who use evidence-based practice and mentoring to improve units, systems, and patient outcomes.
BSN to DNP students who choose the dual Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist + Nurse Practitioner concentrations as their area of focus complete all requirements of the AGACNP and AGCNS tracks, alongside their DNP coursework, and emerge from the program prepared for the wide-ranging challenges and opportunities of a profession as both team and unit leaders who mentor others and use evidence-based change to drive practice and as expert clinicians and caregivers in whatever healthcare environment they choose.
- full-time program designed for military students only
- In-person class about 1x/month with the balance of learning completed online
- rich preparation for and eligibility to take the adult-gerontology acute care CNS certification exam administered by AACN or ANCC and the adult-gerontology acute care NP certification exam administered by AACN or ANCC
- Clinical experiences and faculty affiliations at UVA Health and beyond, and guidance in finding clinical placements with qualified preceptors
- Experience in the School's INASCL-endorsed clinical simulation learning center
- Guaranteed admission for UVA School of Nursing alumni
- Application deadline: January 5
The dual track plan of study is a demanding curriculum with implications for licensure, certification, and credentialing in one’s career as an advanced practice nurse. Successful dual track students typically do not work while concurrently attending school.
The ACACNS + NP concentration is available only as a specialty area for full-time military students enrolled in the BSN to DNP pathway program
Apply
Students who attend UVA are mentored by faculty members who are experts in their field as educators, clinicians, researchers. Their experiences are additionally enriched by access to other disciplines across the University, including religion, ethics, contemplative sciences, mindfulness, and medicine. All graduate nursing students are required to have a laptop.
Though it depends on the degree with which students enter the program (whether it's a BSN or MSN), as well as the specialty area DNP students choose, core courses typically include:
DNP Core Courses (29 credits)
- GNUR 8180: Healthcare Data Analysis (3 credits)
- GNUR 8620: Quality and Safety in Healthcare Systems (4 credits)
- GNUR 8645: Ethics and Leadership in Interprofessional Practice (3 credits)
- GNUR 8650: Information Systems and Patient Care Technology (3 credits)
- GNUR 8660: Evidence-Based Practice (3 credits)
- GNUR 8680: Culturally Sensitive Care/Population Health (3 credits)
- GNUR 9026: Health Policy, Economics & Finance (3 credits)
- GNUR 9027: Practice Change Management (2 credits)
- GNUR 9710: Implementation of Practice Change (3 credits)
- GNUR 9720: Dissemination of Practice Scholarship (2 credits)
Specialty Track Concentration and Elective Courses
- Electives (9 credits)
- Specialty track courses (22-26 credits)
Students select courses in consultation with their academic and faculty advisors based on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to conduct their DNP projects. Additionally, students select master's and/or doctoral-level didactive coursework from across the University.
DNP students may choose from one of seven concentrations:
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist specialty
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialty
- Family Nurse Practitioner specialty
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner specialty
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care specialty
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care specialty
- Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty
A dual-track Adult Gerontology Acute Care CNS + NP specialty is a full-time program and for military students only.
Practicum
All DNP students enroll in 14 credits (750 hours) in direct care practicum. Students select courses in consultation with their academic and faculty advisors based on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to conduct their DNP projects. Additionally, students select master's and/or doctoral-level didactic coursework from across the University.
Clinical requirements do not need to be met at the UVA Medical Center; the School has existing clinical contracts across the Commonwealth and beyond and students may also "bring their own" clinical sites from the area or outside of Virginia. Clinical/practicum activities are generally conducted within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Clinical/practicum activities may be conducted outside Virginia if the University is authorized to place students in that state and pending faculty approval.
The length of time required to complete the program depends on several factors: whether you have enter having already earned a BSN or MSN degree; whether you are a full-time or part-time student; the number of practicum hours required; and your final scholarly project. Full-time students with a BSN degree can typically complete the DNP pathway in 33 months; students in the combined Adult-Gerontology Acute Care CNS and NP (for military students only) typically complete the program in 36 months. Part-time students complete the program in 5-6 years.
The DNP program culminates in the successful completion of a DNP project—a significant, evidence-based contribution to existing nursing knowledge suitable for publication in a peer reviewed journal or a book—designed by the student in collaboration with a project team.
Nurses across the School's advanced practice specialty areas, including its MSN specialties, post-master's certificates, and DNP program pathways, earn clinical hours with qualified, highly-experienced mentor nurses, at sites across the Charlottesville-Albemarle area, central Virginia, the commonwealth, and the mid-Atlantic region, at sites including:
- Addiction Allies, LLC
- Bon Secours Blackstone Family Practice
- Bon Secours Patterson Avenue Family Practice
- Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital
- Capitol Pediatrics, PC
- Carilion Clinic Family Medicine - Brambleton
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial (Clinic & Hospitalists)
- Charlottesville Integrated Psychiatry, LLC
- Children's Hospital a.k.a. CNMC
- CVHS - Buckingham
- CVHS - Southern Albemarle
- Family Medicine of Albemarle
- Inova Fairfax Hospital - Inova Health System
- Inova Health System
- KidMed Urgent Care
- Mental Fitness Matters, PLLC
- Old Dominion University Student Health Services
- Planned Parenthood
- Raphine Medical Associates
- Revolution Healthcare LLC
- Sentara Cardiology Specialists
- Sentara Family & Internal Med Physicians - Hampton
- Sentara Family Medicine - Virginia Beach
- Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
- Sentara Obici Hospital
- The Pediatric Center - VCC Main Office
- UNC Medical Center (Neurosciences Hospital)
- UVA Child and Family Psychiatry
- UVA Child Development & Rehabilitation (was KCRC)
- UVA Children's Hospital
- UVA Developmental Pediatrics Clinic
- UVA Family Medicine Stoney Creek
- UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center
- UVA Heart and Vascular Center Fontaine
- UVA HIV Clinic
- UVA Infectious Diseases Clinic
- UVA Medical Center
- UVA Memory and Aging Care Clinic
- UVA Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Clinic
- UVA Midlife & Gynecologic Specialties Northridge
- UVA OB/GYN Outpatient Clinic
- UVA Pediatric Hematology/Oncology(Battle Building)
- UVA Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Clinic
- UVA Primary Care Locust Grove
- UVA Primary Care Riverside
- UVA School of Nursing Clinical Simulation Learning Center (CSLC)
- UVA Student Health and Wellness Center
- UVA Teen and Young Adult Health Center
- UVA Transplant Center
- UVA University Medical Associates (UMA) Clinic
- VCU CHoR - Hematology and Oncology Clinic
- VCU Student Health Services
- VCU Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
- Veterans Affairs, Richmond, VA (McGuire)
- Virginia Hospital Center Arlington Health System
- Virginia Skin Medical and Cosmetic Dermatology
Want to learn more?