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Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care, Post-Master's Certificate & Post-Doctoral Certificate

Advance the scope of your practice caring for adults experiencing acute and unstable conditions with a Certificate in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nursing.

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About this Program

Your Practice, Expanded for the Greater Need.

In only 18 months, you’ll expand your current knowledge of primary care and adult-geriatric nursing to encompass providing care to adults experiencing acute and unstable conditions. Built to accommodate working nurses, on-campus courses only occur once per month in a 3-day block on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can also work in your home community to gain hours in a focused sub-specialty, such as Hospital Medicine/ICU, Cardiology, and Emergency Medicine/Trauma.

Certifications

Graduates of the AG-ACNP certificate are eligible to sit for both the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and American Association of Critical Care Nurses (ACCN) AG-ACNP certification exam. 

Before Applying You’ll Need:

  • Certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner or an Adult-Geriatric Nurse Practitioner.
  • Graduate degree in Nursing from a CCNE or NLNAC accredited nursing program and a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Statement of professional and personal goals. Include reasons for choosing the AG-ACNP program as well as the fit with the Seattle University and College of Nursing mission and values.
  • Résumé specifying education and work experience (two years of work experience preferred).
  • Two letters of recommendation (one from an academic source; the other from an employer). Both must address your potential for success in an acute care advanced practice nursing program.
  • Completed Application for Graduate Admission.
  • International applicants and applicants for whom English is a non-native language can find additional admissions requirements on the International Students admissions page.

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate at a Glance

Increase your scope of practice by pursuing a post-graduate certificate in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care.

The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) Certificate program prepares nurses who already hold a master's or doctoral degree for certification as an AG-ACNP. The program of study requires six consecutive quarters of full-time study and completion of 41 credit hours. Students interested in completing the AG-ACNP certificate as part of the DNP program should meet with a DNP advisor to create an individual program of study.

Program of study shown is based on 2024-2025 AY. Programs of study and course sequencing may change periodically due to state and national certification changes. All courses begin with prefix NURS.

Winter Year 1 (6 credits)

6401 Diagnostics and Procedures (3)

6406 Advanced Inpatient and Critical Care Pharmacology (3)

Spring Year 1 (5 credits)

6402 Acute Care I: Management of Chronic Conditions in the Acute Care Setting (3)

6412 Acute Care I: Lab (2)

Summer Year 1 (5 credits)

6403 Acute Care Practicum I: Management of Chronic Conditions during Acute Alterations in Health (5)

Fall Year 1 (10 credits)

6404 Acute Care II: Management of Acute and Complex Conditions (3)

6414 Acute Care II: Lab (2)

6405 Acute Care Practicum II: Management of Acute Conditions During Altered States of Health (5)

Winter Year 2 (10 credits)

6407 Acute Care III: Management of Critical and Unstable Conditions (3)

6417 Acute Care III: Lab (2)

6408 Acute Care Practicum III: Management of Critical or Unstable Conditions during Altered State of Health (5)

Spring Year 2 (5 credits)

6409 Acute Care Practicum IV: Specialty Focus (5)

Post-Graduate Certificate graduates will:

  1. Synthesize knowledge from nursing and other disciplines in the provision of evidence-based advanced practice nursing care.
  2. Demonstrate competence in an advanced nursing practice specialty.
  3. Demonstrate effective communication and interprofessional collaboration in the promotion of healthcare access, quality, and outcomes.
  4. Apply ethical decision-making in complex clinical situations.

Advanced Health Assessment and Health Promotion*
Advanced Pathophysiology*
Advanced Pharmacology for Nursing Care *
Differential Diagnosis
Epidemiology / Population Health
Ethics and Health Policy
Critical Inquiry / Research
Advanced Nursing Practice Roles 
Primary Care Management

*Must be taken within 3 years of application, unless applicant has maintained current clinical practice

What You’ll Learn

Learn about the classes you’ll take as a student here.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) CCNE Accredited

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing/Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Seattle University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Featured Faculty

Get in Touch

For more information, contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Oz Sener

Graduate Program Specialist