DNP - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

Pediatric nurse practitioners provide primary care for children from birth through age 21. The MSN and DNP PNP programs at Cedarville University prepare the graduate nurse for advanced nursing practice. Both the MSN and DNP degree options 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.

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 the integration of a biblical worldview into the MSN and DNP curriculum, which will prepare you to use nursing as a ministry for Jesus Christ. 

PNP students are qualified to seek national certification through the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) or American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Our curriculum will prepare graduates to sit for either one of these exams.

If you reside outside of Ohio and are considering the PNP track, contact your state Board of Nursing to obtain licensure requirements and additional guidance before beginning the MSN/DNP program.

The majority of PNP students will 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, which will be spread over four semesters to include 200 hours each semester. The course content and clinical experience will be congruent with the clinical course. For example, NSG-6820: Advanced Concepts and Practice in the Pediatric Health Promotion students will learn and apply health promotion and disease prevention theories from an ecobiodevelopmental perspective. The students will be required to complete 200 hours of direct patient care.

The PNP track coordinator and the Graduate Clinical and Practicum Placement Coordinator (GPC) will partner with you to secure clinical site placement. The GPC will initiate contact with you early in your program to establish goals and map out a tentative clinical plan. PNP students need the knowledge and skills to care for patients from birth through the age of 21. Mapping out a clinical plan that includes the majority of hours in a primary care setting with a mix of preceptors (MD, APRN) in a variety of clinical sites will provide optimal preparation for practice and the national certification exam.

There are many variables that impact clinical placement choice including desired hours, geographic location, career goals, previous background, and preceptor/clinical site availability. An approved site has an educational affiliation agreement in place, has been evaluated by the PNP track coordinator, and has a verbal commitment by the preceptor. Preceptors must be qualified to provide clinical supervision in the population focus (MD, DO, APRN).

Travel is often necessary during the clinical courses.  While the GPC 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.

There are four required on-campus experiences for PNP students (eight days during the full-time or part-time year round plan of study). During these experiences, you'll complete hands-on exercises in our state-of-the-art simulation labs that will equip you with the exceptional skills you'll need to care for your patients.

The on-campus experiences include Clinical Enrichment (which takes place during NSG 6190: Transition to Clinical following completion of 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.