Community & Public Health Leadership / Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner MSN Program
UVa offers a program that combines our Community and Public Health Leadership concentration with preparation as either a Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. This combined program emphasizes the health status and health delivery systems of communities and to design nursing interventions to better manage care in complex settings. Courses provide the required knowledge and expertise needed to plan, implement, and evaluate care in community settings, including public health departments, schools, home health agencies, and community nursing clinics. Care management strategies to assure continuity of health service delivery for individuals and groups at the local and global level are emphasized.
The MSN in Community & Public Health Leadership/ Nurse Practitioner is partially online and partially live. Many of the courses are offered via the internet. Class sessions for these online courses meet 'live' at the University twice per term. The Nurse Practitioner courses are offered in Charlottesville one day a week.
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 Community & Public Health Leadership / Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program in as little as 20 months. Part-time study is also available.
Please note: The combined CPHL/Primary Care NP curriculum is designed for students who intend to complete the requirements for either family or pediatric nurse practitioner certification. Students, therefore, must indicate their commitment to the entire program when they accept an offer of admission. If students are unsure about their desire or ability to complete the requirements for the combined CPHL/Primary Care NP program, they should apply to the Community & Public Health Leadership MSN Program.
Program Coordinators:
CPHL: Pam Kulbok, DNSc, RN (434)924-0128, email: pk6c@virginia.edu
PCNP: Susan Kennel, PhD, RN, PNP (434) 924-0205; email: sek2@virginia.edu
Clinicals
Students complete 672 clinical hours in primary care in a variety of settings (local, state, and private health locations). Clinical hours for the Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner programs are in a variety of settings and focus on the assessment and delivery of primary care to underserved populations.
All students in the FNP or PNP programs complete one half clinical requirement (336 hours) in a primary care setting outside of Albermarle County in order to develop experience with rural health care.
Certification
Pediatric NP students are qualified to sit for Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certification from either the Pediatric Nurses Certification Board or the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Students are qualified to sit for Family Nurse Practitioner certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center or from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. With the completion of one additional course in the summer, students are eligible to sit for certification as Community Health CNS from the ANCC.
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.
- Hold an unencumbered RN license in the state where you intend to complete your practica.
- Demonstrate satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination*.
- Submit clear written statements on educational and professional goals, as well as on diversity.
- 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
*All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. 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. Students who have already completed a graduate degree do not need to submit GRE scores. The Institutional Code for the University of Virginia is
R-5820. Because of some recent problems with receiving the ETS score reports, you may be asked to mail/fax a copy of your Student Score Report.
International applicants are required also to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination. Visit their websites for more information. The University of Virginia institutional code number is R-5820, nursing #0610.
Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
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