Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Program modality

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.

Our program

We’ll train you to deliver care that meets patients’ needs, regardless of setting. You’ll be comfortable working in community health clinics, private medical practices, speciality clinics, Veteran’s Administration facilities, home care, assisted living facilities, long-term care settings, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care.

In many cases, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners follow their patients across care settings, acting as a guardian to protect care quality and patient safety during transitions. These nurses are the backbone of our profession, caring for patients in sickness and in health, and they are in demand today more than ever.

Why Our Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Program?

<div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,275,2133,2406/9615_Michelle_v2.rev.1564155972.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9615 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,275,2133,2406/9615_Michelle_v2.rev.1564155972.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,275,2133,2406/9615_Michelle_v2.rev.1564155972.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="3200"/>I’ve had so many interdisciplinary experiences at Penn throughout the years. Most recently, I pursued a health care informatics minor which included course work with first-year Wharton BA’s at the Institute of Biomedical Informatics that’s housed in the Perelman School of Medicine. My classmates included post-docs, medical residents and fellows, informaticians, and current administrators from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Beyond this, school and work (for those who work part-time) are stressful enough and Penn Nursing faculty are constantly working in the background to identify supportive clinical placements and ensure that we are set-up to succeed. Even our p receptors are arranged, which has allowed me to simply focus on learning with the knowledge that they have been vetted by faculty and prior students. Most importantly, I’ve learned how to think critically, communicate, and collaborate with other medical colleagues to pursue the best interests of our patients.</p><p> –Michelle Lu, CRNP, MSN, RN<br/> Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner</p></div>
<div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,473,2133,2604/9616_Brianna_web.rev.1564156068.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9616 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,473,2133,2604/9616_Brianna_web.rev.1564156068.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,473,2133,2604/9616_Brianna_web.rev.1564156068.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="3200"/>I originally came to Penn Nursing for my BSN as a first generation, low-income student from a small New Jersey town, raised by a single mother. An Ivy League education seemed like a far-reaching dream, but I was warmly welcomed and my eyes were opened to the endless possibilities afforded through a career in nursing. While at Penn, I was a peer tutor, an admin assistant at Student Financial Services, and actively involved in Community Champions and Dance for Health. I fell in love with Penn and community nursing as an undergrad, so I applied to sub-matriculate into the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program. I was a recipient of the Advanced Nurses Educating Workforce Scholarship through HRSA, which provided additional education and training in the social determinants of health for future nurse practitioners in primary care. My time at Penn Nursing has given me knowledge, opportunity, and a voice I could have never imagined possible.</p><p> –Brianna Garcia, MSN, AGNP-C<br/> Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner</p></div>

Coursework

We base the program around five core courses, and supplement with three theory and four clinical courses. The clinical courses include classroom case studies and clinical preceptorships that focus on physical assessment and pathophysiology, health maintenance, and the management of common acute and chronic health problems.

Study options

We offer the program full-time, part-time, or as a post-Master’s or BSN/MSN. The full-time program lasts 15 months, beginning each May, and continues through the year to the following August.