College Catalog 2024-2025

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Concentration

Term start: spring

Application deadline: December 31

Program length: 36 months

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (AGACNPs) provide care for adult and geriatric patients experiencing acute, critical or complex chronic health conditions in diverse health care settings. The post-BSN DNP AGACNP concentration at Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College prepares students for dynamic and evolving advanced practice nursing roles through rich, immersive experiences in a diverse, world-class environment. Barnes-Jewish Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top hospitals and #1 in St. Louis and Missouri. It is also among an elite group of hospitals in the U.S. that have maintained American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition® status since the program launched in 2003.

The AGACNP concentration offers 2 tracks for post BSN registered nurses interested in advancing their nursing careers to become doctorally prepared nurse practitioners and builds on the success of the MSN AGACNP program:

The intensivist track focuses on preparing students for intensivist roles in critical care. In collaboration with experienced advanced practice providers (APPs) and Washington University Physicians, students are immersed in the multi-disciplinary critical care environments at Barnes-Jewish Hospital . Clinical sites and preceptors are pre-arranged and include the surgical/burn/trauma, neuro, cardiothoracic, and medical intensive care units (ICUs). Additional clinical time is gained in telemedicine and in the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, the emergency department, and the diabetes center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Elective hours are also included to allow students the ability to tailor the program to their identified needs and interests.

The hospitalist track focuses on preparing students for nurse practitioner roles with hospitalist and specialty services. Like the intensivist track, students will be immersed within multidisciplinary teams and environments at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and affiliate community hospitals. In collaboration with the Washington University Division of Hospital Medicine, students will collaborate with experienced APPs and Washington University School of Medicine physicians in a variety of pre-arranged clinical sites including hospitalist services, telemedicine, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, emergency medicine, diabetes, and other specialty services. The Division of Hospital Medicine is growing and gaining a national reputation as one of the premier programs. Led by a Past-President of the Society of Hospital Medicine and Founding Editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, members of the Division are actively engaged in education, research, and quality improvement projects.

Graduates of the BSN-DNP AGACNP concentration will:

  • Obtain health histories and perform physical exams;
  • Order and interpret laboratory and imaging studies;
  • Diagnose and design plans of care;
  • Integrate invasive and noninvasive technologies, interventions, and procedures into plans of care, including the performance of invasive procedures;
  • Collaborate and communicate with patients, families, and other members of multidisciplinary health care teams;
  • Lead innovative strategies that promote safe, cost-effective, equitable, patient-centered care; and
  • Participate in quality improvement projects with opportunities to disseminate work through regional and national meetings, and publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Admission Criteria

BSN from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning
Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale in all undergraduate coursework
Unencumbered/Unrestricted Missouri  RN license in good standing; Current CV or Resume
1-year recent experience as RN (ICU or emergency medicine required for intensivist track)
Current ACLS provider status
Official transcripts from all institutions where credit was earned
Two letters of reference from individuals who can address the applicant’s academic and clinical potential
Personal statement that addresses desired area of specialization, personal attributes, program, and career goals
Personal state that addresses strategies and personal attributes that contribute to success in the program
 

Sample Course Sequence

Term 1

NURS 6420Health Promotion Theory and Population Health

3

NURS 6523Foundations of Scholarly Writing and Evidence-Based Practice

3

Term 2

NURS 6325Healthcare Informatics, Economics, and Financial Principles

3

NURS 6327Health Systems Policy

3

Term 3

 
NURS 6003Graduate Physiology

4

NURS 6328Professional Aspects of Advanced Practice Nursing

3

Term 4

NURS 5109Advanced Pharmacology

3

NURS 6004Advanced Pathophysiology

4

Term 5

 
NURS 5121Advanced Health Assessment

3

NURS 5605Invasive Procedures and Skills for the ACNP

2

NURS 6500Leadership and Collaboration for Quality and Safety

3

Term 6

 
NURS 5602Acute Care I

3

NURS 5603Acute Care I Clinical

3

NURS 6240Systems-Based Practice and DNP Project I

3

Term 7

 
NURS 5612Acute Care II

3

NURS 5613Acute Care II Clinical

3

NURS 6245Systems-Based Practice and DNP Project II

3

Term 8

 
NURS 5614Acute Care III Clinical

5

NURS 6250Systems-Based Practice and DNP Project III

3

Term 9

 
NURS 6615Practice and System Final Clinical

4

Total Credit Hours: 64

For program specific accreditation information follow the link below. 

Accreditation