Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Specialty Area Information
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with a practice specialty as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist prepares clinical experts who provide the highest level of pediatric nursing care and leadership in health systems. PCNSs are direct care providers, policy experts, and advocates in child and family health. They also work as educators and agents of change. With support from the School of Nursing’s federally-funded Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs, PCNS students are prepared as nursing leaders to improve the quality of care in systems that focus on children and youth with special health care needs and their families.

Students complete approximately 1000 hours of supervised clinical experiences during the program, including a community-based scholarly DNP leadership project. Efforts are made to meet students’ individual goals and to provide experiences in their geographic area to the extent possible. Clinical experiences are available in settings such as ambulatory clinics, acute care hospitals, and schools’ student health service settings.

Completion of required Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist coursework and practice hours provides eligibility to sit for the Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist examination of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Admissions
Applications are reviewed once a year; the priority deadline is November 1. After this date, DNP applications may be considered on a space available basis until March 1. Those students who are not selected may be placed on a waiting list. If placed on a waiting list, it does not ensure entrance into the specialty area for the following year for consideration. If you are not selected from the wait list, you must reapply the following year for consideration. Applicants are required to have one year of clinical nursing experience in pediatrics prior to beginning a practicum course.
 

Courses in the Curriculum:

Sample curriculum for full-time student
Sample curriculum for part-time student

• Advanced Nursing Care of Children with Acute Illness for PCNSs
• Advanced Physiology
• Assessment & Intervention Models in Families of CSHCN
• Contemporary Services for Persons with Disabilities
• DNP Proseminar
• DNP Seminars 1, 2, & 3
• Economics of Health Care
• Epidemiology
• Evidence Based practice
• Family Health Theory
• Health Care for Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs Practicum
• Health Care for Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs
• Health Care Leadership for a Changing World
• Health Policy Leadership
• Holistic Health Assessment
• Interdisciplinary Healthcare Informatics
• Moral & Ethical Positions in Nursing
• Nursing Research
• Pharmacology
• Pharmacotherapeutics
• Primary Care Practicum: Health Assessment & Care of Well Children
• Primary Care: Common Acute Health Conditions Affecting Children
• Primary Care: Health Assessment & Care of Well Children
• Program Evaluation
• Science of Nursing Intervention
• Statistics
• Teaching & Learning in Nursing

For more information, please contact the Office of Student & Career Advancement Services.

Frequently Asked Questions