PNP/AC PNP

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner track is offered for the following programs:

MSN
Post-MSN Certificate
BSN-DNP
MSN-DNP

Program Overview

Advanced practice nurses (APRNs) provide high-quality healthcare services in a wide-range of problems from acute, chronic, complex, and wellness care to health promotion, disease prevention, health education and counseling. The core courses provide a solid foundation in the use of evidence-based practice guidelines and theory as a basis for the diagnosis and treatment of illness and the promotion of wellness. Clinical experiences are conducted with preceptors in community, inpatient, and outpatient settings.

The practitioner in a pediatric care role is responsible for independent and collaborative decision making with direct accountability for clinical judgement. Graduates of the UMKC PNP programs will:

Respond to national and local demand for both Primary Care and Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Take the certification test to be a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from PNCB.
Be encouraged to get involved with national NP organizations such as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), 121,000 members strong, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NAPNAP) the professional home for PNP’s and other advanced practice nurses who care for children.
Students who select the MSN degree are encouraged to continue on to the DNP degree through the post-MSN-DNP program option.

The UMKC NP graduate programs include three separate courses in:

Advanced pathophysiology
Advanced pharmacology
Advanced physical/health assessment

and content in

Health promotion and disease prevention
Differential diagnosis and disease management

MSN

The MSN educated Nurse Practitioner is prepared to enter advanced practice, ready to assume responsibility and accountability for the health promotion, assessment, diagnosis, and management of patient problems including the prescription of pharmacologic agents within a specialty area of clinical practice.

See the MSN AACN Essentials (PDF) and the National Nurse Practitioner Faculties Core Competencies for all nurse practitioners.

DNP

The BSN-DNP prepared Pediatric Nurse Practitioner is ready to assume responsibility and accountability for the health promotion, assessment, diagnosis, and management of client problems including the prescription of pharmacologic agents within their specialty area of clinical practice.

The DNP degree is also for those nurses seeking a terminal degree in nursing practice that offers an alternative to research-focused doctoral programs. DNP-prepared nurses are well-equipped to fully implement the science developed by nurse researchers prepared in PhD, DNSc, and other research-focused nursing doctorates. We offer an MSN-DNP track with the option to add either of the Pediatric Care NP roles to the plan of study via a Post-MSN Certificate.

Additional Resources:

See the DNP AACN Essentials (PDF) and the National Nurse Practitioner Faculties Core Competencies for all nurse practitioners.
The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NAPNAP) is the professional home for PNP’s and other advanced practice nurses who care for children and is a great resource.
Review the certification test to be a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB).
Take the certification test to be a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Primary Care PNP

The main emphasis of the primary care pediatric nurse practitioner (NP) is comprehensive, chronic, continuous care characterized by a long term relationship between the patient and primary care NP, in an outpatient primary care clinic. The primary care NP provides care for most pediatric health needs and coordinates additional health care services that may be needed.

Experience Required

A minimum of one-year, full-time equivalent pediatric RN clinical experience within the past three years is required for admission.

Acute Care PNP

The acute care pediatric nurse practitioner (AC PNP) focuses on restorative care that is characterized by rapidly changing clinical conditions. The AC PNP provides care for patients with unstable chronic, complex acute, and critical conditions most times in an acute care facility. Experience Required: A minimum of 2 years, full-time equivalent pediatric RN clinical experience within the past three years is required for admission.

Experience Required

A minimum of one-year, full-time equivalent pediatric RN clinical experience within the past three years is required for admission.

Program Requirements

On Campus Intensive Requirement

Students will be required to attend an on-campus intensive once per semester during clinical courses only. Intensives are two to three days in length, include skills labs, presentations and lectures from professionals in the field, exams, and more. Faculty and advisors will communicate intensive dates well in advance so students can plan accordingly.

State Regulation Requirements

We are now a part of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) which allows us to offer online programs to students in other SARA states. We are able to accept and enroll students into most of our online programs in 48 states, including Washington, DC. We highly recommend that you review this information prior to submitting your application. Please review the state regulatory map to verify the status of your state’s regulations.

How Does Online/Hybrid Distance Education Work?

We designed the graduate programs to give professionals flexibility. Our courses are conducted online, and some may require class/chat times. Class/chat times are scheduled on Thursdays or Fridays and are communicated well in advance.

Students use the Web-based software, Canvas, for their online courses. Courses are conducted in synchronous and asynchronous modes depending on the professor and class. You can log on to find homework, class assignments, a class list, a syllabus and more at any time. The program allows students to engage in interactive learning with faculty and other students in an online platform.