Health care in the acute care setting is rapidly changing and becoming increasingly complex.  The Acute Care NP program prepares nurses to provide advanced practice in acute and critical care settings through a program of study focused on the care of acute and critically ill patients and their families. Graduates are eligible for certification as an acute care nurse practitioner from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).  

The program combines courses in advanced health assessment, clinical decision-making and diagnosis, advanced pharmacology, and management of acute and chronically ill adults with specialty seminars taught by expert clinicians.  Seminars and clinical experiences emphasize the physiological and psychosocial impact of acute and critical illness on the patient and family, as well as diagnosis and management of acute and life-threatening health problems.   

The three-semester, 41 credit hour program may be pursued in full-time or part-time enrollment status.  Graduates have over 600 hours of directly supervised clinical practice with physician and nurse practitioner preceptors.