Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Our Pediatric Acute Care NP program offers three different concentrations. No matter which you choose, you’ll learn the latest in pediatric advanced practice nursing from the very best in the field.

About the Program

We uniquely offer three concentrations of study all housed within the Pediatric Acute Care Program. This allows for students to approach their Graduate level education with a specific clinical focus while still receiving a broad based education in Pediatric Acute Care. Our graduates from all concentrations are able to pursue career options in any area of Pediatric Acute Care.

All three concentrations require in-patient pediatric nursing experience; with specifics for each concentration located on their individual pages. We highly encourage you to reach out to the specific concentration associate program directors to learn more about our program.

Our Acute and Chronic Care concentration is focused on the care of children with acute and chronic conditions. It is distinctive as it offers an emphasis and commitment to following children and families throughout complex chronic childhood illness. We structure the program and clinical experiences to foster an understanding and management of families in the continuum of illness. Clinical experiences are located in diverse settings such as pediatric acute care inpatient units, step-down units, emergency departments, community sites and ambulatory, rehabilitative, and specialty-based clinics.

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Our Critical Care concentration will prepare you for advanced practice with critically ill children in pediatric critical care units and cardiac intensive care units. It is the first program of its kind. We are currently the only program in the country which is specifically preparing students in pediatric critical care. We structure the program and clinical experiences to develop an in depth understanding of critical care physiology and management including invasive procedures. We focus on the spectrum of chronic and acute critical illness as it relates to children and their families. Clinical experiences are located in Pediatric Intensive Care and Cardiac Intensive Care Units.

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Our Oncology concentration offers students a strong foundation pediatric acute care with a specialization in pediatric oncology. It is the first program of its kind. We are currently the only program in the country which is specifically preparing students in pediatric oncology. You will be prepared to deliver comprehensive care to children with cancer and their families. Specifically, we structure the program and clinical experiences to help you develop physical assessment skills, clinical decision making, continuity of care, family interventions, health care policy collaboration, and transition care related to children with cancer. Clinical experiences are located in both inpatient and outpatient centers for pediatric oncology.

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Program Information

Full-Time

Program Length

12-16 months *

Financial aid available?

Yes

Start Semester

Fall

Learning Format

In-person *

Program length depends upon the concentration. Although this program is in-person, to accommodate the busy schedules of our students some courses will be offered in an online or hybrid format. All clinical experiences for this program are in-person on Penn’s campus or at affiliated clinical sites.

Part-Time

Program Length

2-3 years *

Financial aid available?

Yes

Start Semester

Year-round

Learning Format

In-person *

Program Details

Curriculum

Our Pediatric Acute Care NP program is flexible. You can complete any concentration in one calendar year as a full-time student, or longer if you enroll on a part-time basis. Most students complete the program between one to three years. Part time study can be combined with many of our nursing minors including Palliative Care and Global Health.

Classes for the Pediatric Acute Care Program are located on campus. We are committed to a individualized graduate program with personalized attention and accessible in-person faculty. We currently do not offer an on-line based program.

Clinical experiences are all arranged and coordinated by the University of Pennsylvania. A clinical site coordinator will work specifically with you and the Pediatric Acute Care Program.

Choose a concentration for related curriculum and plans of study.

Acute/Chronic

Critical Care

Oncology

Requirements

Minimum qualifications for the program

BSN degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher

Prerequisites

College level statistics course

Licensure

Experience

See individual concentrations for required program-specific RN experience

Application Deadlines

*Dates subject to change without notice.

Costs & Tuition

Your program costs will depend on how many course units (CU) you take per semester.

Discount available for employees of our Academic Practice Partners. Click here to learn more.

The average projected total costs (tuition and fees) of the 2023-2024 full-time graduate programs—which are based on 3-4 CUs each term—are as follows:

12 month (12 CU program): $84,552
14 month (13-14 CU program) $98,644
18 month (16-17 CU program): $125,827
36 month (9 term/34 CU program): $243,945

To be considered a full-time student you must have a course load of 3 CUs or more per semester, including summer terms; anything less, in any semester, is considered part-time. If you apply as a full-time student, but switch to part-time, lowering the number of CUs you take per semester will decrease the cost of your tuition and fees, which will in turn lower your student budget and reduce your financial aid eligibility. You will no longer be eligible for nursing grant or endowed scholarship funds.

The charts below outline costs based on the school year/summer sessions as well as include estimated other expenses like housing.

Tuition & Fee Rates and Living Expense Budgets (Fall 2023 & Spring 2024)

Tuition and Fees	$56,262
Housing	$17,388
Meals	$5,796
Books*	$1,358
Other Personal Expenses*	$7,276
TOTAL	$88,080

*Category for Other Personal Expenses includes a budget for the cost of Student Health Insurance. Please keep in mind that the school does not bill the student for books and personal expenses. We do, however, build these figures into the Student Budget to better help students and their families plan for all costs associated with a Penn Nursing education. Likewise, loan eligibility and financial aid is based on the total student budget per term, not just on the cost of tuition and fees.

Every student’s living situation and personal expenses are different, but below are the projected academic year Summer and Fall/Spring costs per CU. These can be multiplied by the total number of CUs in your part-time plan of study to estimate the total cost of an MSN program:

Summer 2023 - per course unit (CU): $6,866
Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 - per course unit (CU): $6,982

Summer 2023 - per course unit (CU):

Tuition	$6,392
General Fees	$474
TOTAL	$6,866

Summer 2023 - living expenses:

TOTAL (both sessions)

$9,205

Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 - per course unit (CU)

Tuition	$6,392
General Fee	$474
Technology Fee	$116
TOTAL	$6,982

Program Outcomes

Graduates of this program are prepared to provide collaborative, comprehensive care to children and adolescents with a variety of complex critical, acute and chronic conditions, and emerge as clinical and professional leaders who are expert in physical assessment and clinical decision making, managing multifaceted disorders, culturally sensitive family focused care, community engagement, transitional care and integrating health care policy. Our approach, across all health care settings, is based on a thorough assessment and integration of the social determinants of health.

Certification

Successful completion of the program qualifies you to apply for national certification from the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) as a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care (CPNP), as well as licensure in all 50 states. All concentrations graduate with the same Pediatric Acute Care Degree and take the same Pediatric Acute Care Boards.

Heather Bong, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC
Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Chronic Care Concentration

“Throughout both my undergraduate and graduate careers at Penn, I cannot emphasize enough how invested the professors have been in my success. Not to mention the numerous elective classes and opportunities to take classes outside the School of Nursing.”

Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Acute/Chronic Care Concentration

Critical Care Concentration

Oncology Concentration

12-16 months *

Yes

Fall

In-person *

2-3 years *

Yes

Year-round

In-person *

Curriculum

Requirements

Minimum qualifications for the program

Prerequisites

Licensure

Experience

Application Deadlines

Spring 2024 Enrollment

Summer 2024 Enrollment

Fall 2024 Enrollment

Costs & Tuition

Full-time

Part-time

Program Outcomes

Certification

“Throughout both my undergraduate and graduate careers at Penn, I cannot emphasize enough how invested the professors have been in my success. Not to mention the numerous elective classes and opportunities to take classes outside the School of Nursing.”

Ready to take the next step?