Do you want to work with children? In the hospital or a primary care setting? What if you could do both?
That’s where the DNP Advanced Practice Track: Pediatric Dual Primary/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner comes in. “No matter what your practice setting is, you’ll develop the skills and competency to care for children from wellness to illness,” says Shawna Mudd, DNP, CPNP-AP, PPCNP-BC, track coordinator and associate professor.
One of the few dual pediatric primary and acute care DNP degrees offered in the United States, it’s helping meet the demand for pediatric nurse practitioners who can help children across the continuum of care. Students who complete the program will be eligible to take the primary and acute care certification exams.
The online dual degree program is helping education catch up to practice. Even before acute care certification was established, the need for acute care pediatric NPs was so great that pediatric primary care NPs were asked to provide acute care as well.
For primary care PNP’s currently in practice, the school offers a post master’s certificate to earn the supplemental acute care certification. For those who are considering an advanced practice career many aspiring pediatric nurse practitioners look for dual degree certification from the outset. And today, the need is still great. There is a critical shortage of pediatric nurse practitioners—less than 8 percent of NPs are pediatric nurse practitioners, and demand for nurse practitioners overall is expected to grow 26 percent by 2028.
The program, presented in an online format with onsite course immersions, uses telepresence robots for simulations that feature multiple patient scenarios—the topic of Dr. Mudd’s upcoming research publication with Dr. Kim McIltrot and Dr. Kristen Brown.
The telepresence (Double®) Double Robotics™ robot consists of an iPad with a camera attached to a self-balancing base and microphone. It has an integrated webcam and Internet connection, which allows for two-way communication. Distance students control it remotely to assess their patients, formulate diagnosis and implement management plans..
We need more nurse practitioners, and online programs are helping to meet that need. Dr. Mudd, Dr. McIltrot, and Dr. Brown’s next-generation simulation research propels the field forward—improving competency in online education and getting pediatric nurse practitioners out into the field.
Learn more:
- DNP Advanced Practice Track: Pediatric Dual Primary/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Post-Master’s Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SYDNEE LOGAN
Sydnee Logan is the Social Media and Digital Content Coordinator for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She shares what’s going on here with the world.