Acute & Specialty Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
The School of Nursing prepares nurses for the care of acute and chronically-ill adults within the Acute & Specialty Care CNS program at the MSN or post-master's level. This is an Advanced Practice role that prepares the student to assume the roles of clinician, educator and researcher, as well as clinical consultant and clinical leader. Emphasis is placed on providing the student with the advanced theoretical knowledge and practice skills needed to function in increasingly complex care settings across the care continuum. Evidenced based practice, outcomes management, clinical research, and advanced clinical decision-making are also emphasized.
The curriculum builds on both the theoretical knowledge and clinical experience of the bachelor's prepared nurse.
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.
Full-time students can complete the MSN in Acute & Specialty Care CNS 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.
WOC Nursing: Students in the Acute & Spcialty Care CNS program can select to pursue Wound, Ostomy & Continence Nursing specialty preparation. Students in this program would complete two 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, & 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.
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 580-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 of 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 program, the student is qualified to sit for the ANCC certification examination for either Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist or Critical Care CNS.
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 before you start your practicum.
- 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 550 (Advanced Pharmacology) and GNUR 551 (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 viewed here.
Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
- Informational Flyer on Acute Care MSN Program
- Program of Study for MSN in ASC-CNS (full-time enrollment)
- Program of Study for MSN in ASC CNS (part-time enrollment)
- Program of Study for MSN in ASC CNS(Woc) (with WOC specialization)
- The admissions application is available on your My Grad UVa page
For More Information
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 Addmissions 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
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