Education Program for ACNP?

ACNP is definitely an option that can suit your goal. There are 3 programs in Chicago and all of them have good reputation (UIC, Rush, Loyola). Is there anything specific you want to know about the field?

ACNP will meet your goal if you are clearly set on a career in acute care. Couple things to be aware of is that the acute care NP tracks are age-focused and that there are basically three acute care tracks for NP's: NNP, PNP-AC, and Adult ACNP.

Your handle says ED BSN ACLS, would working in the ED be your ultimate goal? I personally know of Adult ACNP's who work in ED's. They do not see kids but that is not a problem where they work because the pediatric patients are seen in a separate section of the ED where there is a dedicated group of providers who only see pediatric patients. That is not the case everywhere especially in smaller settings where the ED is more integrated as one unit with one group of providers who see everyone. In that case, you may be of a disadvantage if you can only see adults. A solution is to obtain post-master's certification in Peds or like a lot of nurses do, get an FNP from the get go.

ICU's are always age-specific so that is an ideal setting for ACNP's. Intensivists (just like us acute care NP's) are either trained in the adult population, the pediatric population, or the neonatal population. ICU's across the US are seeing an increase in the physician + NP model of staffing. It is inevitable especially in academic medical centers where resident/house officer hours are being limited by their regulatory entity and compliance is a must to maintain good standing as a residency program. Hospitalist programs have been using ACNP's but there are groups that are open to ANP's and FNP's as well (i.e., see Cogent Job Postings: http://www.cogenthealthcare.com/recruitment/).

Just finished a month in trauma ICU rotation within my ACNP program. They are looking to hire a lot more NPs for CCM service at the hospital - they have a resource intensivist and attending who cover the ICUs but the NPs admit, manage, do procedures (bronchs, lines etc) and write notes. It was so great, it has totally changed my plans for after graduation - I had something else planned, but now I'm going to apply for a job there!

ACNP sounds like exactly what you want, if you want critical care. In fact, with adult ACNP, you can work with any "acutely ill" adult population, it's limited to the population and not the location ie hospital or otherwise.