Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Masters Programs

What Could You Learn in a Master's in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program?

The completion of a master’s in adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner is a program of study that focuses on caring for patients who are older adults. This may include providing direct care to patients with chronic or acute conditions in various care settings. This may include supporting the needs of patients in emergency departments, specialty labs, clinics, intensive care units, acute care units, and physician practices.

The education students receive in a master's program like this typically centers on teaching skills related to comprehensive health assessments, health risk, and behavior assessments, diagnostic testing methods, prescribing medications, providing guidance in restoring, promoting, or maintaining health, and managing health problems and symptoms related to disease, among other skills.

Students typically pursue this degree program after completing a bachelor’s in a related field. In some cases, individuals are required to be licensed nurses to pursue this degree program. In others, a direct bachelor to master program may be available.

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Master's Courses May Include

The courses in these programs may differ from school to school based on the student’s previous education. Some of the courses that may be a part of an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program include the following.

Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology

In this course, students may be introduced to understanding human responses to illness. An increased understanding of anatomy and physiology may also be a part of this course.

Introduction to Biostatistical Methods

In this course, students may be introduced to how to interpret and use statistics in reaching conclusions. They may also cover topics such as how data is gathered and how it is extrapolated.

Advanced Interpersonal Intervention

In this course, students may cover multiple topics regarding communication and how to intervene with each other and patients. Developing and cultivating relationships may also be covered.

Public Policy and Healthcare

This course may cover a number of topics in how to set agendas and how to ensure procedures and practices are in line with corporate and public policy. Students may be introduced to how to interact with the government in regard to dealing with health problems.

Advanced Health Assessment

This course may introduce topics such as how to perform and in depth patient assessment. Topics may include how to gather information and what courses of action to take based on information gathered.

Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics

This course may introduce students to how to prescribe and understand medications and how they interact with patients. Topics may include drug interactions and adverse reactions.

Find Funding for Nursing Programs

The average cost of graduate school during the 2019 to 2020 school year was $19,792, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Considering that, some people may wish to pursue financial assistance to help cover the cost of their education as a nurse practitioner. Financial aid may be available to those who qualify.

There are several types of funding. Students may wish to consider several options when making the decision to finish their master’s.

Nursing Scholarships

Some students may wish to pursue scholarships. These are funds not typically required to be repaid to the scholarship provider. The scholarship provider determines what specific requirements applicants need to meet to be eligible for the scholarship. This differs widely based on factors such as financial need and skills. There may be some options available in scholarships for nursing.

Here are a few examples that may be available:

Is an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner a rewarding career?

An adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner typically provides care for an adult in an acute care situation, which may include providing aid for chronically ill patients and those who are acutely ill. This may include ordering, performing, and interpreting testing such as x-rays and lab work. It may also include prescribing medication.

Those working in this field typically maintain and create detailed records for their patients about their health care plans and prognosis. They often develop treatment plans following professional practice guidelines, scientific rationale, and standards of care. They work to promote health with patients and reduce the risk of complications when possible. They may diagnose and treat emergency, comorbid, episodic, and complex cases.

To finish these types of tasks, these nurse practitioners typically need to have skills in areas of active listening, complex problem solving, active learning, and critical thinking. They may spend time developing patient medical histories, analyzing test data and diagnostic information, and developing treatment plans for ill or chronically ill patients. Their work may include diagnosing medical conditions as well as continuing care from another provider.

This occupation typically requires graduate school completion and licensing. There may be some on-the-job education provided, but some nurse practitioners may need to have several years of education.

Important skills for Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to have according to O*NET are:

• Active Listening – Giving full attention to speakers, taking time to understand the points being made, asking appropriate questions, and not interrupting.
• Complex Problem Solving – Identifying complex problems and reviewing information to evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2020 Median Annual Salary for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (AGACNP)

The median salary for a person working as a nurse practitioner in this area in 2020 is as follows, based on the state, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.