This Graduate Certificate Program will allow primary care-certified pediatric nurse practitioners to acquire the nationally-specified pediatric acute and critical care content and clinical skills needed to take the national pediatric acute care certification exam and then to function competently within the acute care scope of practice. It will require satisfactory completion of sixteen credits of didactic content and clinical practice. The certificate provides nurses with essential knowledge and skills to assume acute care roles in a myriad of settings using a patient and family-centered care model. Courses focus on integrating advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, and acute clinical care and management. Specific clinical experiences in two of the courses will be tailored to meet needs of individual graduate certificate students. Students will be expected to acquire a minimum of 600 hours of acute care experience as required to meet the specialty competencies and the requirements to take the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Acute Care national certification examination from the Pediatric Nursing Certifying Board (PNCB).

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School and availability of College of Nursing Resources. Students must also meet the following criteria for admission:

1. Completion of a graduate (Master's or doctoral) degree in Nursing from a nationally accredited institution; academic transcripts. If the student is currently enrolled in the D.N.P. program, the certificate will not be awarded until the D.N.P. is posted on the transcript.
2. Current Michigan Registered Nurse licensure.
3. Two professional letters of recommendations.
4. Resume.
5. A personal goal statement.
6. PNP-PC certificate.