Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Post Master’s Certificate

The acute care pediatric nurse practitioner (AC PNP) post master’s certificate is a 24-30 credit hour program that focuses on the knowledge and skills required to care for chronically and critically ill children. This program is designed as a hybrid program spanned over four semesters aimed to educate full time working individuals. Through weekly synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences as well as individually assigned clinical rotations in various pediatric settings, the student will learn the critical elements involved in caring for pediatric patients. Students complete 540-720 hours of supervised clinical practice.

The educational experiences are led by doctorally prepared nurses. Education includes skills labs, simulation experiences, and lectures given by experts in the field which are then supplemented by the clinical rotations to provide a wholistic understanding of acute care pediatrics.

This certificate is for students who have obtained a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in another specialty. By completing this program, the student will be able to take the Pediatric Nurse Certification Board (PNCB) certification exam for AC PNP. A second master’s degree will not be awarded, rather a post master’s certificate for the body of work. The program meets the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty's curriculum guidelines. The curriculum also includes coursework required by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) to be qualified as an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). Additional requirements and experiences for APN status are available from the BON.

Applicants to the AC PNP post master’s certificate program must be graduates of a Master of Science in Nursing degree and have at least two years of full-time clinical experience as a registered nurse in a pediatric setting.

A gap analysis of previous master’s level courses will be completed upon admission to determine exact course requirements to complete this program. For more information, visit our information sessions webpage.