Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
An online program for the nurse practitioner specializing in Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nursing is offered at the University of South Alabama College of Nursing. The MSN program prepares graduates for advanced nursing practice and for doctoral study. Graduates of the program are able to synthesize and apply advanced knowledge, theories, and research to a specialized area of nursing practice and function as leaders in practice to contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.
Students entering the Adult-Geron Acute Care track must have at least two years of recent (within the past five years) direct patient care experience in Acute Care (i.e., EMERGENCY, ICU, or MED-SURG) with one of those two years required to be in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) upon admission. Specialty areas such as the Cath lab, GI lab, Radiology, OR, Recovery Room etc. are not considered Acute Care management.
A common core of courses are offered online including concepts, theory, research, and issues related to advanced nursing practice.
Students in the online track will be required to attend an orientation session on campus in the Fall when the AHN specialty courses begin. In addition, the students may be required to return to campus following semesters during their specialty courses and the last semester (internship) for a final exam and presentations. Details will be announced as the semesters approach.
All students in the Adult-Geron Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialty are required to attend one* mandatory Clinical Skills Intensives (CSI) during the fall term in which they are enrolled in AHN 568 and AHN 571.
The clinical skills intensive provides hands-on instruction for common advanced practice assessments and procedures pertinent to the acute care setting. Instruction is provided by the USA Simulation Program.
Students must sign-up to attend one session and can select preferred dates on a first come, first serve basis. Simulation will contact students via JagMail with information on how to sign-up three months prior to the scheduled dates.
Please note the dates are for Clinical Skills Intensives only. The track coordinator may provide orientation dates, which are separate from CSI and Simulation.
BSN-MSN students complete all support, MSN core, and MSN specialty courses for a total of 45 credit hours. The MSN degree must be completed within five years of matriculation.
| Curriculum |
|---|
| Support Courses |
| NU 518 - Advanced Nursing Assessment 3 credit hours |
| NU 545 - Physio-pathological Basis of Advanced Nursing 3 credit hours |
| NU 578 - Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses 3 credit hours |
| MSN Core Courses |
| NU 607 - Scientific Underpinnings of Advanced Nursing Practice 3 credit hours |
| NU 608 - Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Improvement in Healthcare 3 credit hours |
| NU 610 - Healthcare Policy and Finance 3 credit hours |
| NU 613 - Organizational & Systems Leadership 3 credit hours |
| Adult-Gerontological Acute Care NP Specialty Courses |
| AHN 568 - Introduction to Adult-Geron Acute Care NP 3 credit hours |
| AHN 571 - Health Promotion/Disease Prevention & Issues for Adult-Geron Acute Care NP 2 credit hours |
| AHN 572 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP I 3 credit hours |
| AHN 573 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum I - 180 Clinical Hours 3 credit hours |
| AHN 574 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP II 3 credit hours |
| AHN 575 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum II - 180 Clinical Hours 3 credit hours |
| AHN 576 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum III - 240 Clinical Hours 4 credit hours |
| AHN 577 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP III 3 credit hours |
| RN to MSN students who are registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a non-nursing discipline must also complete the following courses. |
| RN-MSN Courses |
| NU 506 - Evidence-Based Practice & Informatics for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours |
| NU 507 - Leadership & Management Roles for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours |
| NU 508 - Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours |
The University of South Alabama Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program provides
the skills necessary for a rewarding career. Graduates are prepared to complete the
appropriate national certification exam and may be eligible to apply for licensure
to practice as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
Contacts
For information and help with setting up your graduate degree program contact the CON Office of Graduate studies: congrad@southalabama.edu