Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

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The more I learn about the field of Nursing, the more I LOVE it! I had never heard of an ACNP until I read my the article in my new Critical Care magazine called "ACNP: Expanding the nurse's role."

As a student, I am about 99% sure I want to work in a critical care environment (though, I'm trying to keep an open mind about other possibilities). I am extremely analytical, and really love to be challenged and becoming an ACNP might just be a challenging job! :D

I have been researching CRNA's and have generally liked that route, but I want to "diversify" my long-term plans a little. I even found a program that is close to my location! The nearest school for nurse anesthesia is 3 hours away, but the nurse practitioner program is 45 minutes away.

For those that are ACNPs please tell me a little bit about your roles and responsibilities.

Nursing ROCKS!!

Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
Hi! I am an RN,BSN in search of an MSN acute care/intesive care nurse practitioner program that can be primarily accomplished through an online format. Is anyone aware of such a program? I have found several programs with emphasis on women's health and family nurse practitioner studies. If anyone has ANY information they think might be helpful. Thank you for your help in advance!! billswife

There are quite a few online ACNP programs. Univ of Southern Indiana, Univ of South Alabama, Univ of Alabama Birmingham, and St. Louis Univ are ones that I can recall. While some traditional classroom-based programs are labelled as Critical Care Nurse Practitioner track, these are actually programs that follow the ACNP coursework but provide a focused critical care clinical rotation. However, there is no specific certification for NP's in critical care. The closest NP exam that can test one's comptence in some critical care concepts are the ACNP exams given by ANCC and AACN.

I know that individual students have different learning styles. Some students can learn didactic material on their own via online format. However, be aware that online programs typically don't arrange your clinical rotations as some students may be in a location hundreds of miles away from the campus. This can present as a challenge especially for a student with a particular need for a specialty preceptor. Hopefully, you can find critical care preceptors in your location.

Having graduated from a classroom based program, I'm not aware of how online programs monitor student progress in the clinical setting. Our program director and other faculty members routinely visit students in the clinical setting during clinical rotation and get to see what students are actually doing. The school is quite familiar with every preceptor making it easy to match a student with the preceptor who can meet the student's goals. Our preceptors regularly provide feedback to the program director about student progress.

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My true interest is in forensics, which I have researched several programs (Vanderbilt and Duquesne) and they have Masters in forensic nursing tracks. So my dilemma is this, do I continue at my institution because it is convenient as well as financially appealing, or spend $25,000 on an online out of state program. I dont want to settle, and moving is not an option. I have been struggling with this for quite some time. Thanks for your input!!!

First off, if you're planning on attending Vanderbilt, you will be expected to travel there several times during the year and you will have to stay for a full week at a time. So, don't consider it "online," b/c it's not. The students are required to spend "blocks" of time on campus and this can get very expensive.

Secondly, I know several people who attended the Adult NP/Forensic track at Vanderbilt and I only know of one person who was able to get a job in the "forensic" area. I believe she works for a medical examiner somewhere. Also, before starting a program like that, you need to make sure it will be accepted in your state. If I had completed the Adult NP program with the forensic's subspecialty, it (the ANP) would NOT have been accepted in Texas.

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Specializes in Neuro/Neurosurgery/General Surgery.

I have a question about one's previous experience as an RN and how it influences likely clinical placements in an ACNP program and, ultimately, job options. For example, I got into nursing through a master's entry program and am slated to start the ACNP master's portion next fall. By that point I'll have about 2 years med/surg experience. It seems like every ACNP I talk to had years of ED or ICU experience before getting to where they are today. Will I be bumping up against a glass ceiling as I start my career because of this lack of experience? Any advice appreciated.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
I have a question about one's previous experience as an RN and how it influences likely clinical placements in an ACNP program and, ultimately, job options. For example, I got into nursing through a master's entry program and am slated to start the ACNP master's portion next fall. By that point I'll have about 2 years med/surg experience. It seems like every ACNP I talk to had years of ED or ICU experience before getting to where they are today. Will I be bumping up against a glass ceiling as I start my career because of this lack of experience? Any advice appreciated.

It is not unusual to find ER and ICU nurses in ACNP programs. However, you are referring to a master's entry program so things may be a little different. The two schools that offer the ACNP program in my home state arranges clinical placements for students and typically do not send their ACNP students who have no critical care experience to ICU rotations. However, adult ED rotations are allowed for anyone interested in that field. I would ask your program director if you can have an ICU rotation even though you have no nursing experience in that field. If the answer is no and you still want to have that ICU background on your resume, then you have the option to seek a transfer to a critical care unit where you work so that you can have the ICU experience. Many people may tell you that it is hard to start in a new unit while being in school at the same time but some students have been able to do that in the past. You know what your capabilities are and you can pretty much judge how well you can handle the stress and change of pace so the decision is really up to you. I think seeking out a variety of experience will only help you in your future job options. But also realize that if all your experience is in Med/Surg alone, you're not totally out of luck for any job. I think Med/Surg experience is a perfect fit for future hospitalist NP positions.

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Specializes in ICU.
Hi! I am an RN,BSN in search of an MSN acute care/intesive care nurse practitioner program that can be primarily accomplished through an online format. Is anyone aware of such a program? I have found several programs with emphasis on women's health and family nurse practitioner studies. If anyone has ANY information they think might be helpful. Thank you for your help in advance!! billswife

Hi billswife, I am an RN going in for my BSN soon and am interested in doing an acute care NP program in the future also. The one that I hope to attend is the University of Arizona which is completely online (at least that's what it says). Right now they are one of the few nursing schools who have Doctorate of Nursing Practice programs which will be the terminal degree for advanced practice nurses. So it is not a Masters program, it is actually a Doctorate program. They have a BSN to DNP bridge and they have an Adult Acute Care NP specialty. It is a full time program and if you start as a BSN it will take 4 years with a total of 87 credits and 810 clinical hours, which is more than the other specialties by about 100 hours. Their website is www.nursing.arizona.edu and go to their academic programs on the left side. Hope this helps, and good luck!:nurse:

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