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Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care Graduate Certificate
On this page:
- Why Choose the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care Certificate Program?
- Academics and Curriculum
- Admission
- Program Outcomes
- Contact Information
Why Choose the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care Certificate Program?
This post-master’s degree certificate as a pediatric nurse practitioner - primary care (PNP-PC) builds on your original master's degree curriculum. A gap analysis will be completed to identify which courses are required to complete the certificate program. All courses for the PNP-PC certificate program must be taken at Wright State University. The coursework in this program is delivered fully online (with some synchronous coursework—set meeting time), making this program highly accessible. This program does include direct care clinical hours.
- Most courses can be taken online.
- The pediatric nurse practitioner acute care and primary care degrees can be combined into a dual degree, making you more knowledgeable and competitive in your field.
The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) specialty is designed to help you prepare to become an advanced practice nurse who can provide care for children from birth to 21 years. Since 1965, PNPs have worked with pediatricians and other health care providers to provide comprehensive care to children and families by focusing on health maintenance and education, illness prevention and minor and chronic illness management.
This concentration provides a broad theoretical and research foundation in advanced concepts of parent, child, and adolescent nursing. Clinical experiences occur across a variety of settings and focus on providing care to well and ill children. As a PNP, you will be qualified to perform complete physical exams, take health histories, diagnose and treat common acute minor illnesses or injuries, order and interpret lab results and x-rays, manage stable chronic illness, counsel clients and provide health education. Many may prescribe medications according to state law.
Coursework aligned with clinical experiences specific to specialization focus provides the knowledge, skills, and values inherent in the development of clinical excellence as a PNP. You will have course assignments and clinical experiences specific to the primary care area. You will be precepted by pediatricians or PNPs with clinical experiences in a variety of primary care settings.
Primary care PNPs offer a variety of services including:
- Provide health maintenance care for children, including well-child examinations
- Perform routine developmental screenings
- Diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses
- Provide anticipatory guidance regarding common child health concerns
- Provide childhood immunizations
- Perform school physicals
- Primary care PNPs may practice in a variety of pediatric specialty areas, such as cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and many others.
Visit the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners website for more information
Upon successful completion of the concentration, graduates will be eligible to sit for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Primary Care Certification examination offered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB). National certification is necessary to obtain advanced practice licensure in most states.
Academics and Curriculum
View the pediatric nurse practitioner - primary care certificate program information and degree requirements in the Academic Catalog.
Year 1
- NUR 7550 (6 credit hours)—Health Promotion & Management of Pediatric Minor Illnesses & Injuries
- NUR 7551 (6 credit hours)—Health Promotion & Management of Pediatric Minor Illnesses & Injuries
- NUR 7552 (6 credit hours)—Practicum for Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Total: 18 credit hours, 560 clinical hours.
Admission
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply to this post master's certificate nursing program, applicants must meet the following criteria:
1
Master’s degree as a nurse practitioner from a CCNE-accredited master’s program (official transcript from accredited master’s program required)
Note: Post-master’s students who are not pediatric nurse practitioners may also apply. A gap analysis will be completed to determine required hours. Greater than 22 hours will be a second master's degree.
2
Current unencumbered licensure as RN in the state where clinical experiences are planned.
3
Apply to the Wright State Graduate School
Keep in mind that it takes 2-6 weeks to process an application in the Graduate School. Once all your application materials have been received, you will be contacted to interview with the director.
4
Clear OBI/FBI background check.
Graduate Financial Aid Application (PDF)
Program Outcomes
The M.S. graduate will:
- Examine scientific findings from nursing, biopsychosocial fields, genetics, public health, quality improvement, and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care across diverse settings
- Demonstrate leadership skills necessary for ethical and critical decision making, effective working relationships, and a systems-perspective to promote high quality and safe patient care
- Apply quality principles within an organization and articulate the methods, tools, performance measures, and standards related to quality
- Apply evidence-based outcomes within the practice setting, resolving practice problems, working as a change agent, and disseminating results
- Use communication strategies and patient-care technologies to integrate, coordinate, deliver, and enhance care
- Examine the policy development process and advocacy strategies necessary to intervene at the system level to influence health and health care
- Use communication strategies necessary for interprofessional collaboration and consultation to manage and coordinate care
- Integrate broad, organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations
- Demonstrate advanced level of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences as well as the ability to integrate this knowledge into practice including both direct and indirect care components that influence health care outcomes for individuals, populations, or systems
Contact Information
Tonya Schmitt, DNP, CPNP-PC, APRN
Assistant Professor
Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Director of Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree Program
Director of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Program
Phone: 937-775-3851 or 734-368-1727
Fax: 937-775-4571
General Contact Information
School of Nursing
Location: 225 Millett Hall
Phone: 937-775-3132
Fax: 937-775-4571
Email: nursing@wright.edu
Questions about the graduate school application? Contact:
The College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies
Location: 160 University Hall
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Phone: 937-775-2976
Fax: 937-775-2453
Email: wsugrad@wright.edu
