Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

The NEW Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track is NOW accepting applications for Summer 2013 Postmaster’s certificate students! The College of Nursing’s Postmaster’s Certificate program is available to students who already have a master’s degree in nursing and wish to be nationally certified in another specialty area. That deadline will be February 15, 2013. Please see Postmaster’s Study page for more details and how to apply!                                                  
The Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track will be offered  in both the BSN to DNP and Postmaster’s DNP programs beginning in Fall 2013. The admissions and applications process for this track will follow the normal admissions schedule. See below for more details.

Program Description

Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioners care for acutely ill, critically ill, and chronically ill children and their families in a variety of practice settings, including but not limited to, inpatient and outpatient hospital settings, emergency departments, and home care settings. Graduates of this program are prepared to provide expert clinical care to meet the specialized physiological and psychological needs of children and adolescents with complex acute, critical, and chronic health conditions and/or urgent, emergent, and life-threatening conditions.

As part of a world-class health science center and network of interdisciplinary health care centers, the UF College of Nursing offers Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner students access to a unique variety of clinical experiences ranging from work in acute care hospitals to family practices, as well as a wealth of expert pediatric nursing faculty and technological resources. The Shands Hospital for Children, part of the Shands at the UF teaching hospital, is ranked in the top 50 of a variety of clinical specialties for children and provides Acute Care PNP students special opportunities for clinical experiences.

Please be advised, progression in advanced practice nursing tracks requires supervised and precepted experience in specialized clinical settings. Students admitted to APN tracks are advised that they may be required to travel to clinical sites for these experiences, and that if they are unable to their progress in the curriculum will be delayed.

Graduates are eligible for national certification as an Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner by the Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses, Inc.

Application deadline for all graduate programs is March 15. (See below for more details)*

*Note: The March 15 deadline for the DNP program indicates the earliest date when the College will begin accepting students. After March 15, applications to the DNP program will be accepted until May 31st and students will be accepted on a space-available basis.

Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner applicants should refer to the Doctor of Nursing Practice page for admission criteria and application process information.

BSN to DNP Full-Time Curriculum Plan and Part-Time Curriculum Plan

Master of Science in Nursing Only Option

During the national transition from the MSN to the DNP, an option will be available for those students whose circumstances prevent completion of the DNP curriculum.
Students can elect to complete only the courses required to earn the MSN degree rather than complete the total DNP curriculum. This will require 5 semesters for full-time study or 8 semesters for part-time study. All DNP students are encouraged to continue in the program and earn the DNP, but if some students elect to exit after earning the MSN, they can return as a postmaster’s student to complete the DNP at a later time.
Please note that the option to exit with an MSN is temporary.

Contact Information

All general program inquiries should be directed to:

Brigette Hart-Sams
Coordinator, Academic Support Services, Graduate Programs
UF College of Nursing
PO Box 100197
Gainesville, FL 32610-0197
(352) 273-6331
bhart@ufl.edu

For specific information regarding this clinical track, contact:

Dr. Rose Nealis
Clinical Coordinator, Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program
(352) 273-6412
nealirm@ufl.edu