Department of Nursing
Certificate Director
Dr. Valerie O’Dell, MSN Director
3132 Cushwa Hall
(330) 941-2177
vmodell@ysu.edu
Dr. Cynthia Shields, AG-ACNP Coordinator
2328 Cushwa Hall
(330) 941-1345
cmshields@ysu.edu
Certificate Description
The online Post Masters Adult Gerontology – Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) Certificate program option is designed to prepare the post-masters prepared nurse with opportunities to build upon their current knowledge and obtain additional advanced practice knowledge and skill to enable them to provide direct acute care to adult and older adult individuals and families.
The program is delivered in a fully online format.
Youngstown State University online nursing program must meet the standards of the state(s) in which we possess authority to provide education and may only admit students from states in which we have approval. Online nursing program students must complete the program in the state of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, or Florida.
Graduates of this program will be qualified and eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center AG-ACNP certification examination. Following national certification, graduates are also qualified to be recognized as an Adult Gerontology – Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and is granted prescriptive authority through the State Board of Nursing.
Advanced Standing Program (18 hours)
Applicants who have already earned an MSN degree with nurse practitioner qualifications are automatically considered for advanced standing status. The advanced standing program permits students to complete all requirements of the Adult Gerontology - Acute Care Nurse Practitioner option in 18 hours. This unique program blends online coursework and clinical experiences, including a practicum consisting of 600 hours in a variety of primary care settings.
Admission Requirements
- MSN degree in Nursing from an accredited college/university
- Official transcript from each college or university attended (except YSU)
- Overall grade point average of 3.0 in graduate work
- Current Ohio Registered Nurse licensure or eligibility for Ohio licensure as a registered nurse
- Current CPR certification and current immunization
- Personal statement describing career goals
- Three letters of reference: one each from a faculty member, an employer, and a colleague
- Computer competency that includes word processing skills and the ability to communicate electronically
- Letter of intent (300 words) maximum stating one’s professional career goals and how graduate education in nursing will help fulfill said goals
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| NURS 6902 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 3 |
| NURS 6903 | Advanced Pharmacology (unless completed previously ) | 3 |
| NURS 6904 | Advanced Health Assessment (unless completed previously ) | 3 |
| NURS 6917 | Differential Diagnosis | 3 |
| NURS 6918 | Advanced Diagnostics and Technologies | 3 |
| NURS 7003 | Role Development in Advanced Practice | 3 |
| NURS 7037 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 1 | 3 |
| NURS 7038 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 1 Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 7039 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 2 | 3 |
| NURS 7040 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 2 Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 7041 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 3 | 3 |
| NURS 7042 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 3 Practicum | 3 |
| Total Semester Hours | 36 | |
Advanced Standing Program (18 hours)
Applicants who have already earned an MSN degree with nurse practitioner qualifications are automatically considered for advanced standing status. The advanced standing program permits students to complete all requirements of the Adult Gerontology - Acute Care Nurse Practitioner option in 18 hours. This unique program blends online coursework and clinical experiences, including a practicum consisting of 600 hours in a variety of primary care settings.
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| NURS 7037 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 1 | 3 |
| NURS 7039 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 2 | 3 |
| NURS 7041 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 3 | 3 |
| NURS 7038 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 1 Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 7040 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 2 Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 7042 | Adult Gerontology Acute Care 3 Practicum | 3 |
| Total Semester Hours | 18 | |
Centofanti School of Nursing - Post-master's Certificate Grade Requirements
Satisfactory academic progress at the graduate level is maintained by satisfying the following criteria:
- A degree-seeking graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Any required course grade of D or F must be repeated and passed with a grade of C or better.
- A degree-seeking graduate student must successfully meet the requirements, including the time requirement, of all comprehensive examinations of the degree program.
- A degree-seeking graduate student must complete with a passing grade any thesis requirements (or the equivalent) of the degree program.
- A non-degree graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
- Grades of D and F carry no graduate credit but will be used to determine the student’s grade point average. A student has the privilege of repeating a course once, but the repetition is treated merely as another course, along with the first, in calculating the student’s grade point average.
- Any required course grade of D or F must be repeated and passed with a grade of C or better. Students may not advance in the program until they have taken the failed course, passed with a grade of C or better and maintain a GPA of 3.0.
For degree programs requiring up to 39 semester hours for completion, a student may count no more than six semester hours of coursework with a grade of C toward the minimum graduation hour requirements. For students in programs requiring 40 semester hours or more for completion, no more than nine semester hours of coursework with a grade of C may count toward the minimum graduation hour requirement.
Learning Outcomes
- Provide direct acute care to the adult and older adult population within the Health Care Delivery System.
- Incorporate a variety of theories from nursing and related fields into the acute care nurse practitioner role.
- Analyze social issues related to the Health Care Delivery systems and Advanced Nursing Practice.