MSN/DNP - AGACNP FAQs

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners provide acute medical care for young adult, adult, and elderly patients. The MSN/DNP AGACNP program at Cedarville University prepares the graduate nurse for advanced nursing practice. Both the MSN and the DNP degree provide in-depth, professional, and advanced practice study for nurses to expand their knowledge of healthcare delivery, clinical expertise, leadership, and use of evidence-based practice grounded in biblical truth.

The Cedarville University School of Nursing is uniquely positioned to provide a rigorous academic graduate program while maintaining a low student-to-faculty ratio and affordable price. The faculty is dedicated to integrating a biblical worldview into the curriculum, which prepares graduates to use nursing as a ministry for Jesus Christ.

AGACNP students are qualified to seek national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). Our curriculum will prepare graduates to sit for either one of these exams.

If you reside outside of Ohio and are considering the AGACNP area of focus, contact your state Board of Nursing to obtain licensure requirements and additional guidance before beginning the AGACNP program.

The majority of AGACNP students maintain full-time employment. However, once you begin the clinical courses, anticipate two days a week to meet the 200-hour clinical requirement for each of the four clinical semesters. If you have flexibility with self-scheduling, 12-hour shifts, or working weekends this will be more conducive to maintaining full-time employment. We recognize that you are balancing many life demands, and your decision to apply to graduate school implies you have determined that you will be able to balance work, school, and life demands.

There are 800 clinical hours required for the AGACNP area of focus. The clinical hours will be spread over four semesters to include 200 hours each semester. The clinical experience will be congruent with the clinical course. For example, in NSG-6600, Acute Care Concepts and Practice I, students will learn and apply diagnosis and evidence-based management of acute care problems in young adult, adult, and gerontology patients. The students will be required to complete 200 hours of direct patient care.

The AGACNP area of focus coordinator and the Clinical Placement Coordinator (CPC) will partner with you to secure clinical site placement. The CPC will initiate contact with you early in your program to establish goals and map out a tentative clinical plan. AGACNP students need the knowledge and skills to care for patients across the scope of their practice. Mapping out a clinical plan that includes the majority of hours in an acute care setting with a mix of preceptors (MD, APRN) in a variety of clinical sites will provide optimal preparation for the national certification exam and clinical practice.

Travel is often necessary during the clinical courses. While the CPC will work with you to secure clinical site placement as close to your geographical location as possible, it may be necessary to travel to obtain required clinical hours.

The on-campus experiences are intentionally designed to meet course and program objectives and enhance curriculum delivery through teaching-learning practices for every learner. There are four required on-campus experiences for AGACNP students (8 days during the full time or part time year round plan of study).

The on-campus experiences include Clinical Enrichment following NSG-6170 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Nursing Practice, Fall Enrichment, Spring Enrichment, and Summer Enrichment. The Fall/Spring/Summer Enrichments are typically two days (Thursday and Friday) during the sixth week of the semester for each clinical course.