Emergency Nurse Practitioner
Dual Family Nurse Practitioner/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program with an Emergency Care Focus
Are you an experienced nurse who would thrive in
a
fast-paced clinical setting where you treat varying levels
of acuity? Consider becoming an Emergency Nurse Practitioner.
What Will You Do as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner?
Some estimates suggest that the number of emergency room visits have increased more than 20 percent in the last decade. Many are non-emergent or primary care in nature, resulting in scope of practice complexities in emergency care. To meet this demand, emergency departments are requiring skilled providers who can treat both pediatric and adult populations with varied levels of acuity. As an Emergency Nurse Practitioner, you will meet that need – treating patients across the lifespan with urgent primary care needs, acute and critical illnesses or those with accidental injuries or trauma.
Where Will You Practice? (clinical sites)
Many clinical settings are available to the Emergency Nurse Practitioner. Upon certification, you will find a variety of clinical opportunities in settings that include:
- Fast-track and Main Emergency Departments
- Adult Internal Medicine Settings
- Intensive Care Settings
- Pediatric Offices
- Walk-in clinics
How will Vanderbilt Prepare You?
For RNs who have had at least two years of clinical experience (ADN, BSN or post-master’s )– preferably in the Emergency Department – the Emergency Nurse Practitioner program prepares you for dual certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) with a focus in emergency care. This innovative approach, one of the first in the country, offers a unique curriculum to prepare nurses at the advanced practice level to provide emergency care across the lifespan for all acuities. The entire program is available in a modified (block) learning format, which combines modified course delivery methods and weekend on-campus experiences. Clinical preceptorships will be arranged in your hometown. Your fifth semester will be an immersion in emergency care.
The Emergency Nurse Practitioner program is built upon Vanderbilt School of Nursing’s successful, highly respected FNP and ACNP programs. Visit these sites for program information, to meet the program directors and to learn more:
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) – provides comprehensive primary health care services to individuals from infancy through adulthood. Preventive health services, patient education, disease management, illness prevention and other kinds of care are provided within the context of family and community.
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) – provides advanced nursing care to adults with acute, critical and chronic conditions, practicing in settings where patients require specialized care such as complex and continuous monitoring, intricate or invasive therapies or interpretation of diagnostic testing.
Credentials and Certification
Graduation from the Vanderbilt MSN program prepares you to sit for examination for both the FNP and ACNP certification exams, and eligible for prescriptive authority consistent with state law. Visit Credentialing and Certification for specific information.
Emergency Nurse Practitioner – Program Coordinator
Jennifer Wilbeck, MSN, APRN, CEN
Program coordinator Jennifer Wilbeck is dually certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner. She has experience in both rural and urban Emergency Department (ED) settings, and she maintains current practice as a nurse practitioner in a local ED.
