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Post-Master’s Certificate/Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Track
The Post-Master’s Certificate/Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track is a 12-month curriculum divided into a blended learning didactic phase (4 quarters), one mandatory on-campus intensive, and an overlapping clinical phase (3 quarters). The degree consists of 35 quarter credits and 640 clinical hours in the area of focus. The initial portion of the track emphasizes the professional role of the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in health promotion, screening and diagnostic measures, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, and disease prevention through evidence-based practice within primary care settings of the population foci (adolescence through geriatrics).
All nurse practitioner students are expected to attend one 5-day residency to ensure competency of both skills and knowledge prior to entering practicum experiences. This residency is mandatory, and dates are provided early so that students can plan well in advance.
The clinical phase begins in the Winter Quarter of the program. This phase of the program provides students with the necessary hands-on experience to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitude essential to the practice of the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in a variety of practice settings. The didactic curriculum and applied practicum experiences allow each student to demonstrate attainment of the ten core competencies (AACN Essentials).
Students may be able to rotate to multiple primary care clinical sites. These sites provide students with a broad scope of experiences in rural, urban, and suburban clinics, as well as specialty rotations in internal medicine, long-term care/assisted living, hospice, home health, and pharmacy.