This Graduate Certificate Program will allow acute care-certified pediatric nurse practitioners to acquire essential knowledge and skills in pediatric primary care with a particular focus on care of children with complex chronic conditions. It will require satisfactory completion of twenty-four (24) credits of didactic content and clinical hours. The certificate provides nurses with essential knowledge and skills to assume primary care roles in a myriad of settings using a patient and family-centered care model. Courses focus on integrating advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, primary care clinical care and management. Specific clinical experiences in the courses will be tailored to meet the needs of individual graduate certificate students. Students will be expected to complete a minimum of 675 primary care clinical hours as required to meet the specialty competencies. Upon successful completion, graduates are eligible to take the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care national certification examination offered by the Pediatric Nursing Certifying Board (PNCB). 

Admission Requirements

1. Completion of a graduate (M.S.N or D.N.P.) clinical degree in Nursing from a nationally accredited institution with a grade point average (g.p.a.) of 3.0 
2. Current Michigan Registered Nurse licensure.
3. Current PNP-AC specialty certification by a nationally recognized body in their area of specialization and applicant must upload the certificate. 
4. A personal goal statement.
5. Two professional letters of recommendation.
6. Resume.
7. Official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions. 
8. 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. 

Program Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Primary Care requires courses which must be taken in sequence over one calendar year with no transfer credit accepted. This certificate requires a minimum of twenty-four (24) credits which must be earned within three years. Any additional requirements are determined by a GAP analysis. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 must be achieved. All course work must be completed in accordance with the academic procedures of the College of Nursing and the Graduate School governing graduate scholarship and degrees.