Become an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Ready to do more for patients? Advance your career and earn an MSN degree that prepares you to become an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
Be There When You’re Needed Most with Your MSN Degree
This program focuses on urgent and emergency healthcare for patients from adolescence (age 13) to the elder years. In it, you can develop advanced clinical practice skills, deepen your understanding of evidence-based nursing, and equip yourself for more effective collaboration and leadership in healthcare teams.
RN to MSN or BSN to MSN pathways
Finish in as few as 24 months
100% online coursework with 585 clinical hours
We pledge your clinical placement
Study with experienced nursing faculty
Advance your career to Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
Do you thrive in emergency care situations? Our online accelerated Master of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner program offers you a pathway to acute care practice focused on the adult population. In as few as 24 months, you can be ready to provide advanced care to patients suffering from acute illness and injury. Career opportunities include emergency departments, surgical departments, urgent care clinics, walk-in clinics and more.
The need for NPs in all specialties is growing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 52% growth in job openings for NPs from 2020-2030.** Be ready to meet demand with Herzing's flexible online MSN program.
After graduation, you’ll be prepared to pursue licensure and certification as an NP. Options include:
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification (AGACNP-BC) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification – Adult-Gerontology (ACNPC-AG) from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Corporation
Find Your Path to an Acute Care NP Career
We offer multiple pathways for nurses who want to earn MSN degree. Each option provides comprehensive clinical education, including at least 585 hours of clinical experience designed to help you develop the competency and confidence you need to graduate prepared for your first AGACNP job.
BSN to MSN Pathway
Nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing can earn the accelerated MSN – AGACNP in as few as 24 months of flexible online study, including 585 clinical hours. Students benefit from our clinical placement pledge and personal mentorship from experienced nursing faculty members.
RN to MSN Pathways
We offer two different RN to MSN pathways. They’re designed to accommodate nurses whose employers may require a BSN as well as those who are ready to go straight to the NP role. Pathways include:
- Accelerated RN to MSN – Best for nurses who want to enter AGACNP practice right away. Finish in as few as 28 months.
- RN to BSN to MSN – Ideal for nurses whose employer requires a BSN. Finish in as few as 36 months.
Both options require 630 hours of clinical placement experience, and both offer you the benefits of convenient online coursework as well as Herzing’s clinical placement pledge.
The Herzing University Difference
At Herzing, we’re focused on helping you reach your highest career goals in nursing while also ensuring that the communities we serve benefit from highly competent nurse practitioners. That’s why we offer:
- Mentorship and guidance from doctoral-prepared nursing faculty with extensive clinical experience
- Hands-on clinical experience
- Access to a clinical placement coordinator and our clinical placement pledge
- Certification exam preparation as part of your degree
This program is also accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).*
Your Clinical Placement is Our Pledge
We understand securing clinical placement as part of an MSN degree program is one of the biggest concerns students face. At Herzing, we offer guidance and support through our step-by-step Clinical Guidance Process to ensure you can get the clinical practice experiences you need. As a Herzing student, we’ll encourage you to find your own preceptor and clinical sites as there are many benefits to doing so. However, we provide extensive support should you find difficulty along the way. With Herzing, you are never on your own. Because of our strong relationships with healthcare providers across the U.S. and our comprehensive Clinical Guidance Process, we are confident in our ability to help you find clinical placement. So much so that if you are unable to find a clinical site on your own, we pledge to step in and help you secure clinical placement.*
*Subject to terms and conditions outlined in the enrollment documents.
What Will I Learn in the MSN – AGACNP Program?
The ACACNP program prepares you to provide care for acutely ill or injured adults (age 13 and up) under the direction of a physician.
When you graduate, you should be able to:
- Integrate scientific evidence from nursing when designing and implementing outcome measures for patient care
- Demonstrate leadership skills that emphasize ethical and critical decision-making to promote safe, quality care within a systems framework
- Apply evidence-based standards when evaluating quality of care
- Synthesize research and theory from across nursing and management to guide organizations towards successful outcomes
- Apply technology and informatics to coordinate and ensure safe, quality care
- Influence policy development to promote public health
- Articulate a leadership role within inter-professional teams to provide safe, quality care
- Incorporate organizational and culturally sensitive client and population centered concepts to plan, deliver, manage and evaluate care
- Implement scholarly activities in selected individuals, populations, and systems
Some of the required courses you will take during your program include:
- Health Policy and Management
- Knowledge for Nursing Practice
- Technology and Nursing Informatics in Advanced Practice
- Systems-Based Practice
- Scholarship for Nursing Practice
- Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner I, II
- Clinical Decision-Making for the AGACNP
- Advanced Practice Specialty Procedures and Skills for Acute Care
Advance your career and earn an MSN degree that prepares you to become an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP).
Get Started
You're Much More Than a Number
At Herzing, we believe that providing you with a caring, supportive community will have a positive impact on your learning experience. We know our students by name and are committed to your academic, personal, and professional success. Discover why Herzing's student-first approach, individual attention, and caring community set us apart from other colleges and universities.