Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (CFNP) - Certificate

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24 credits

A Plan of Study is available on the Graduate Certificate in Nursing website.

This certificate program is designed to integrate Post Nursing Graduate students into the existing sequence of courses leading to preparation as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) or Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). This option provides nurses that already have graduate degree preparation in another area of nursing the opportunity to acquire the education, skills, and abilities to seek certification and practice as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Some of the courses are offered using distance teaching strategies. GC graduates are prepared for eligibility for the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Family NP exam or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner Certification Program’s FNP exam.

In 2007, WSU was selected for the “Outstanding Faculty Practice Award” from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).

*Clinical hours may be tailored based on prior experiences.

Admission Prerequisite

Graduation from a nationally accredited graduate program in nursing with evidence of prior completion of advanced pathophysiology, advanced health assessment (including diagnostic reasoning), advanced health promotion, and advanced pharmacology (within the last three years required in some states for credentialing) or enrollment and successful completion of these courses once admitted to Graduate Certificate Program prior to taking the specialty role courses.

Graduate Nursing Certificate Programs

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

The Graduate Programs in Nursing offer six Graduate Certificate programs for nurses interested in post-nursing graduate education: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner ; Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist ; Family Nurse Practitioner ; Nurse Educator ; Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner ; or Nursing and Organizational Leadership .

Required Courses (24 credits)

NURS 639 - Primary Care Clinical Introduction (1 credit)
NURS 640 - Primary Care of Adult and Gerontology Clients (3 credits)
NURS 641 - Primary Health Care Clinical I (4-5 credits) (5 credits required)
NURS 642 - Primary Care of Children I (2 credits)
NURS 643 - Primary Care Clinical II (5 credits)
NURS 644 - Primary Care of Adult and Gerontology Clients II (3 credits)
NURS 646 - Primary Care of Children II (2 credits)
NURS 747 - Procedures for APRNs (3 credits)

Clinical Hours

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