Pediatric Nurse Practitioner FAQ
Curriculum

Can I take the PNP concentration part time?
No, the PNP concentration is a full time program.

What nonclinical courses are required for the PNP concentration?
The nonclinical core courses include:

NURS 501 Nursing Theory 3 hours
NURS 503 Nursing Research 3 hours
NURS 505 Health Care Policy 3 hours
NURS 504 Evidence Based Practice in Nursing and Health Care 3 hours

Are the non clinical courses offered on the Web?
Yes.

What are the clinical core courses?
The following courses are clinical core courses:

NURS 526 Advanced Pathophysiology 3 hours
NURS 539 Advanced Pediatric Health and Developmental Assessment 4 hours
and Developmental Assessment
NURS 543 Pharmacology 3 hours

Are any of the clinical core courses offered on the Web?

NURS 526 Advanced Pathophysiology and NURS 543 Pharmacology are both offered on the Web.

What are the PNP clinical courses?
The PNP clinical core courses are:

NURS 539 Advanced Pediatric Health and Developmental Assessment 48 clinical hours
NURS 549 Adolescent Health 72 clinical hours
NURS 542 Ambulatory Pediatrics I 72 clinical hours

NURS 547 Pediatric Chronic Illness/Special Needs 144 clinical hours
NURS 546 Ambulatory Pediatrics II 96 clinical hours

When does clinical rotation start?
We do not offer every PNP clinical course every semester, so students must take the courses in sequential order (see PNP Curriculum Plan). The PNP clinical core courses are taught in a block format.

Students attend lecture for 3 weeks straight, then they go to their clinical sites for 4 to 5 weeks, then they return for lectures for 2 weeks, then they do another 4 to 5 weeks of clinical rotation, and then they return for a final 1 week of lectures. During the time they are in the didactic block, they are usually in lecture 8 hours every day. The block schedule varies every semester.

What is the total number of clinical hours?
This concentration has a total of 720 clinical hours.

Will I get to visit any rural sites?
We use a variety of sites, including sites in rural areas. All students in this concentration are expected to travel outside of the Albuquerque area for a minimum of two clinical rotations in a 2-year period. It is the responsibility of the faculty to place students. If students are from a rural area, we make every effort to place them in that area for their clinical rotation; however, we cannot guarantee clinical site rotations.

If I have an MSN, how can I get a PNP?
Students with an MSN will have already completed the core courses. They will be responsible for taking the remaining PNP courses. They must have taken graduate level pathophysiology and pharmacology courses within the past 5 years. Faculty will review any advanced pediatric health assessment courses on a case-by-base basis.