Oct 04, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Nursing - Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AGCNS) - DNP


72 credits

A Plan of Study is available on the Doctor of Nursing Practice website.

Description of Program (DNP)


Grounded in an environment of scholarship, the mission of the WSU Department of Nursing is to educate knowledgeable caring, ethical, creative, and accountable nurse leaders who provide person- and relationship-centered care for individuals, families, groups, communities and populations in a diverse society. This mission is based on the beliefs that:

  • a caring, diverse, and respectful community provides the best environment for students to learn how to care for themselves and others
  • optimal learning to care for self and others occurs in a caring, diverse and respectful community
  • faculty and students are accountable for maintaining and modeling professional standards of moral, ethical, and legal conduct
  • recognizing and valuing human diversity is essential to person- and relationship-centered care
  • individuals have different ways of knowing and learning about the world
  • creativity and innovation contribute to continuous quality improvement and sustainability
  • an enriched learning environment is the responsibility of faculty, staff, and students
  • effective nurse leaders engage in continuous professional development and lifelong learning

Graduates of the DNP programs are prepared for a variety of advanced nursing roles (e.g. nurse leaders, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists). These graduates also have the foundation for continued graduate studies (i.e. PhD). Graduates of the DNP program are prepared for the highest level of clinical nursing practice.

Nursing science core courses, taken by all graduate students, build on students’ baccalaureate nursing knowledge to integrate scientific underpinnings for practice, understand nursing information management and decision making, and advocate for health promotion. Students develop evidence-based knowledge and skills to enhance the quality and safety of health care while demonstrating leadership and professionalism. Courses within the selected programs of Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner ; Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist ; Family Nurse Practitioner ; Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner ; Nursing Leadership: Nursing and Organizational Leadership ; or Nursing Leadership: Practice and Leadership Innovations  provide specialized knowledge and practice opportunities in each advanced nursing role. A unique feature of this program is the targeted emphasis on the nurse’s use of advanced knowledge and skills of health promotion with individuals, families, and systems in diverse populations to address health care needs within complex environments.

Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (72 credits)


Students in the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AGCNS) program are prepared for the multi-faceted role of clinical nurse specialist with the adult-gerontology population. AGCNS students will demonstrate direct care (including prescriptive authority), consultation, systems leadership, collaboration, coaching, and research competencies and influence direct patient/client care, the practice of other nurses and nursing personnel, and healthcare systems/organization outcomes. Graduates are prepared for eligibility for the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist certification exam or the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Exam.

Graduate Electives (9 credits)


Choose 9 credits at 600/700-level Nursing.

Clinical hours: (1 clinical credit = 60 hours of contact time)


Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist: 1080 Clinical Hours