Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (MS)

The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing offers a 42-credit Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program, leading to a master of science (MS) degree. This program prepares graduates to provide primary care for adults and older adults in the community and in a variety of health care settings.

Students learn to apply expert knowledge and research findings through 42 credits of coursework and 630 hours of supervised clinical experience. Graduates of the program are eligible for New York State NP certification and meet the educational requirements for national board certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board.

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners engage in primary care as providers of direct health care services. This includes practice in health promotion, health protection, and disease prevention. AGPCNPs employ evidence-based clinical practice to screen and identify health promotion needs, provide guidance and counseling to meet patient needs, diagnose typical and atypical health problems and illnesses, develop and implement treatment plans, and direct and oversee other aspects of clinical service delivery within an integrated system of health care.

The focus of the adult-gerontology primary care NP is to provide patient-centered, quality care to the adult and older adult population. Patient populations include young adults (including late adolescents and emancipated minors), adults, and older adults (including young-old, old, and old-old adults). Graduates of AGPCNP programs are prepared to provide comprehensive primary care in ambulatory, community-based settings.

Source: AACN (2010, March). Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Competencies.

MS-AGPCNP Program Plan

Students in the program must complete 630 hours of supervised clinical experience via a sequence of preceptorships undertaken in NURS 755, NURS 757, and NURS 768. Prior to beginning any clinical preceptorship, graduate nursing students are required to submit documentation for health clearance, including any site-specific requirements such as criminal background checks and/or drug screening.

Preceptorship hours are determined by clinical partnership site availability. Preceptorship schedules may include day and/or evening hours on any of the 7 days of the week. While the school tries to identify placement opportunities in line with student needs, there is no guarantee that personal scheduling preferences can be accommodated. The program encourages students to find suitable preceptorships through their existing professional networks when possible. Students should plan to devote at least one day during the week to clinical practicum requirements (some agencies will require two) during the fall and spring terms, and at least two days when taking a clinical practicum during summer session. It is essential that students understand the full scope and commitment involved in meeting clinical requirements and be able to adjust their schedules accordingly.

Review our admission equirements for all nursing master's specializations. Information on the application process is available from the Office of Graduate Admissions.

The program prepares graduates to:

1. Synthesize knowledge from nursing and arts/sciences to provide a theoretical framework for advanced practice.
2. Generate a philosophy and definition of advanced practice that emphasizes full range of health services for all members of society, affirms the worth and dignity of every human being, and demonstrates a humanistic caring approach that values diversity.
3. Collaborate with clients in managing their health-illness status through the advanced practice-nursing role.
4. Foster client participation and shared decision-making in health care and health care policy to maximize health and wellness for humans and the environment.
5. Evaluate specialized knowledge and skills needed to deliver care to clients and design programs to meet the health care needs of specific groups and communities.
6. Identify appropriate nursing science phenomena for nursing research to enhance practice.
7. Describe the nature of scientific inquiry in nursing as the basis for nursing practice.
8. Demonstrate activism, advocacy, and leadership in the health care environment and in the nursing profession.
9. Identify a nursing practice issue needing change and/or problem solving and use techniques for research utilization to translate and systematically use research findings and other credible information and data sources to facilitate evidence-based nursing practice.
10. Use the research process to systematically investigate ways to enhance nursing practice, improve delivery of health care services, and recommend innovative health policy initiatives.