Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

This non-degree certificate is designed for nurses with previous Master's or Doctor of Nursing Practice preparation as another type of nurse practitioner who are seeking to expand their role by certification in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Acute Care (PNP-AC).

The Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Post-graduate Certificate is designed for MSN- or DNP-prepared nurse practitioners who want to obtain the education necessary to be eligible to take the certification exam to become a certified Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (CPNP-AC).

PNP-ACs are prepared to provide quality health care to acutely, critically, and chronically ill children, birth through emerging adulthood, and their families. They work in collaboration with other health care professionals, most often in inpatient pediatric settings as well as pediatric emergency rooms and in specialty outpatient clinics. The sequence of courses in the program provides for a logical building of the clinical decision-making skills necessary to function as a PNP-AC. Clinical experiences may be in a variety of general or specialty pediatric acute care settings.

Graduates are eligible for national certification offered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) and legal certification as a CRNP and prescriptive authority through the State Board of Nursing of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by the Board of Nursing in the student's state of employment.