Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP)
The University of Virginia prepares Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) either within the Master’s Program or as a post-Master's certificate. The ACNP is an Advanced Practice role that provides direct patient care in medical/nursing subspecialty areas in collaboration with other members of the health care team.
ACNPs deliver care along the continuum of critical, acute and chronic care. Emphasis is placed on providing the student with the advanced theoretical knowledge and practice skills needed to manage acutely ill patients through all phases of their hospitalization and clinical follow-up. Diagnostic and clinical decision-making, preparation for prescriptive authority, collaboration with physicians, and outcomes management are emphasized. Evidenced based practice and clinical research are also emphasized.
The curriculum builds on both the theoretical knowledge and clinical experience of the bachelor's prepared nurse.
Full-time students can complete the MSN in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in 20 months. In the first year you would have didactic classes on Thursdays and Fridays. In the second year, the didactic component is on Thursday, and clinicals are Monday-Wednesday.
Students in the Acute Care NP program can select to pursue Wound, Ostomy & Continence Nursing specialty preparation. Students in this program would complete 2 didactic courses in WOCN, as well as an additional preceptorship. This would enable you to sit for AWOCN certitication.
Program Coordinator: Arlene Keeling, PhD, RN; (434)924-5906, email: awk2z@virginia.edu
Direct all questions on admissions and financial aid to Assistant Dean Clay Hysell (434) 924-0141, email: hysell@virginia.edu
- Clinicals
- Certification
- Admission Requirements
- Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
- The admissions application is available on your My Grad UVa page. If you have not created a MyGrad UVa page, then please click here to create your account.
- For More Information
Clinicals
Students complete 560 clinical hours, divided evenly between GNUR 7311 and GNUR 7312. The first clinical course (GNUR 7311) must be completed at the UVA Medical Center. The Medical Center adjoins the School of Nursing. UVA Medical Center, is a 590-bed, Level I trauma center with 8 ICUs. It provides an excellent clinical cite with a wealth of professional and technological resources. The second practicum (GNUR 7312) may be completed at another facility in Virginia with prior arrangement or the program director.
The individual student determines the focus of his/her specialization (ie: cardiology, ER/trauma, digestive health, nephrology, wound/ostomy/continence, neurology or neuro-surgery, general surgery, pulmonary, transplant, oncology, etc). The acute care graduate program can accommodate students interested in preparing for more than one specialty. In such cases, students should expect additional clinical hours, and will receive individual faculty advisement.
Certification
At the completion of the ACNP program (MSN or post-Masters certificate), the student is qualified to sit for the ANCC certification examination for the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the School of Nursing is competitive and based on evaluation of all portions of the application. To be considered for the Master's of Science in Nursing, applicants must submit a completed application and:
- Have a baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited school.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate study.
- Be licensed as a registered nurse. You will need to obtain a Virginia RN license for your practica.
- Submit three satisfactory academic and professional recommendations. One of these letters should be from an APN.
- Submit a copy of your resume or C.V..
- Have completed an undergraduate or graduate statistics course within the past 5 years.
- Be available for an interview if requested.
Note: New BSN graduates may apply for any of the MSN specialty tracks. If you are a new nurse and applying for an Advanced Practice specialty track (NP or CNS), you should apply as a part-time student. You need at least one year of relevant post-BSN clinical nursing experience before enrolling in GNUR 6020 (Advanced Pharmacology) and GNUR 6030 (Advanced Health Assessment).
Application deadline:
Fall or Summer entry: April 1
Spring entry: November 1
*Submission of scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional. If you want to have GRE scores sent to the University, the Institutional Code is R-5820. The School of Nursing accepts GRE scores that are more than 5 years old. If you have your 'older' scores, you may submit a copy of the Student Report.
International applicants have additional admissions requirements that can be found here.
Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
- Informational Flyer on Acute Care MSN Program
- Program of Study for MSN in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (full-time status)
- Program of Study for MSN in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (part-time)
- Program of Study for MSN in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (with WOC)
The admissions application is available on your My Grad UVa page
For additional information on admission to and programs of study at the UVa School of Nursing, please fill our our online form. You are also welcome to call the Office of Admissions at (434) 924-0141 / (888) 283-8703.
Questions on admissions and financial aid should be directed to Clay Hysell, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Services, email hysell@virginia.edu