Nurse Practitioner Postgraduate Certificate

The Postgraduate Certificate Program allows nurses who have a master’s degree in nursing from an NLN/CCNE accredited program to pursue further post-graduate study in APRN (Advanced Practice Nursing) in:

• adult-gerontology primary care,
• family primary care, or
• psychiatric/mental health.

Upon completion of any of the three programs, the graduate is eligible for the Advanced Practice Nurse Certification Examination.

Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements are in common across the three programs:

• 2.8 GPA (inclusive of all college transcripts)
• Graduation from an accredited entry-level nursing program in direct advanced practice patient care (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwifery)
• NJ Registered Nurse (RN) licensure
• English-language proficiency (see https://www.fdu.edu/admissions/international/english-proficiency/)
• Substantive healthcare experience

Optional/Preferred Requirements

• Letter of recommendation
• Substantive healthcare experience with population of interest
• A course in health assessment is required for all Nurse Practitioner tracks and strongly recommended for non-clinical tracks
• ANCC Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing board certification (PMH-BC) – preferred for Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner applicants

Program Outcomes

Graduates of the FDU MSN Post-Master’s Certificate Program will be able to:

• Integrate, translate, and apply established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge and ways of knowing, as well as knowledge from other disciplines, including a foundation in liberal arts and natural and social sciences.
• Incorporate person-centered care focusing on the individual within multiple complicated contexts, including family and/or important others.
• Manage population health that spans the healthcare delivery continuum from public health prevention to disease management of populations and describes collaborative activities with both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from affected communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others for the improvement of equitable population health outcomes.
• Demonstrate the generation, synthesis, translation, application, and dissemination of nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care.
• Apply established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science.
• Demonstrate intentional collaboration across professions and with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes.
• Participate in, analyze, and design policies and practices within complex systems of health care.
• Integrate information and communication technologies and informatics processes used to provide care, gather data, form information to drive decision-making, and support professionals as they expand knowledge and wisdom for practice.
• Form and cultivate a sustainable professional identity, including accountability, perspective, collaborative disposition, and comportment, that reflects nursing’s characteristics and values.
• Participate in activities and self-reflection that fosters personal health, resilience, and well-being; contributes to lifelong learning; and supports the acquisition of nursing expertise and the assertion of leadership.

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Required Courses (24 credits)

The ANPG post-master’s certificate program includes didactic and clinical experiences that focus on the primary care needs of families and communities. Designed for MSN-prepared nurses, who are interested in becoming Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners, graduates are eligible for national certification.

(Note: NURS6615 must have been taken within five years of entry into the Program; NURS7702, NURS6620, NURS6621 must have been completed within ten years of entry into the Program)

• NURS6615  Advanced Pharmacology (3 credits)
• NURS7702  Advanced Pathophysiology (3 credits)
• NURS6620  Advanced Health Assessment (2 credits)
• NURS6621  Advanced Health Assessment Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS6682  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care I Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS6683  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care I Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7735  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care II: Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS7736  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care II: Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7759  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care III: Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS7760  Advanced Nursing: Primary Care III: Practicum 1 credit
• NURS7813  ANP practicum 2-10 credits

Total credits required are determined on an individual basis after gap analysis of prior education and certification. Total clinical hours: 555 hours completed in the program

Family Nurse Practitioner Required Courses (24 Credits)

The FNP post-master’s certificate program includes didactic and clinical experiences that focus on the primary care needs of families and communities. Designed for MSN-prepared nurses, who are interested in becoming Nurse Practitioners, graduates are eligible for national certification.

(Note: NURS6615 must have been taken within five years of entry into the Program; NURS7702, NURS6620, NURS6621 must have been completed within ten years of entry into the Program)

• NURS6615  Advanced Pharmacology (3 credits)
• NURS7702  Advanced Pathophysiology (3 credits)
• NURS6620  Advanced Health Assessment (2 credits)
• NURS6621  Advanced Health Assessment Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS6682  Advanced Nursing: Adult Primary Care I Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS6683  Advanced Nursing: Adult Primary Care I Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7735  Advanced Nursing: Adult Primary Care II Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS7736  Advanced Nursing: Adult Primary Care II Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7794  Advanced Nursing: Family Primary Care I Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS7795  Advanced Nursing: Family Primary Care I Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7810  Advanced Nursing: Family Primary Care II: Lecture (3 credits)
• NURS7811  Advanced Nursing: Family Primary Care II: Practicum (1 credit)
• NURS7812  Family Systems (3 credits)
• NURS7813  APN practicum (2-10 credits)

Total credits required are determined on an individual basis after gap analysis of prior education and certification. If a student is not Nurse Practitioner, then they must complete Primary Care I and II as well as Family Primary Care I and II.

Total clinical hours: 650 hours to be completed in the program; 250 for each Family Primary Care Course for Graduates of our Nurse Practitioner program

Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Required Courses (24 Credits)

As Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse practitioners, graduates of the program will be qualified to diagnose and treat clients with a wide variety of mental illnesses. Students are eligible to take the family psychiatric/mental health practitioner examination (ANCC) to become certified in the field.

(Note: NURS6615 must have been taken within five years of entry into the Program; NURS7702, NURS6620, NURS6621 must have been completed within ten years of entry into the Program)

• NURS6615  Advanced Pharmacology (3 credits)
• NURS7702  Advanced Pathophysiology (3 credits)
• NURS6620  Advanced Health Assessment (2 credits)
• NURS6621  Advanced Health Assessment Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS6701  Psychopharmacology (3 credits)
• NURS7812  Family Systems (3 credits)
• NURS7815  Advanced Practice Role Development (3 credits)
• NURS6501  Advanced Psych I /Family & Children (3 credits)
• NURS6502  Advanced Psych I /Fam & Child: Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS6503  Advanced Psych II /Adults (3 credits)
• NURS6504  Advanced Psych II/Adults Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS6505  Advanced Psych III/Geriatrics (3 credits)
• NURS6506  Advanced Psych III/Geriatrics Practicum (2 credits)
• NURS7813  APN Practicum (2 – 10 credits)

Total clinical hours: 555 hours completed in the program.