Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program
Program Description
The Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner University Statutory Certificate Program focuses on the development of an advanced practice nurse who provides primary care to women across the life span, from adolescence to the elderly.
The program encourages students to consider the uniqueness of the individual woman and the woman in the context of her community, her relationships with family and others, and her environment. Such woman-centered care is appropriate across populations, social classes, socioeconomic and age groups, and in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
The School’s scientific foundation of research, theory, and practice is integrated with a focus on the impact of health policy and social issues on health. Students develop a comprehensive understanding of women’s health needs by spending classroom and clinical time developing a solid knowledge base of women’s health problems, practices, and issues. Initial clinical experiences incorporate primary care in the ambulatory, gynecological, obstetrical, and family planning settings. Advanced clinicals offer students an intense experience in such specialized areas as breast disease, osteoporosis, oncology, and hypertension.
Graduates are prepared to practice health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment by:
- Performing comprehensive, women-centered health histories and screenings that consider recognized health risks, as well as environmental risks such as physical and domestic violence, sexual assault, and substance abuse
- Performing corresponding physical assessments
- Individualizing educational programs
- Developing and implementing a plan for the management of common women’s health concerns, such as normal pregnancy, family planning, or menopausal care
- Planning and implementing the treatment of common, uncomplicated acute and chronic health problems of women
In addition to their traditional role in primary care, obstetric, gynecology, and family planning settings, women’s health nurse practitioners (WHNPs) work in specialized areas of women’s health care, bringing with them a specific focus on health promotion and prevention in the context of that setting. They apply the practices of women-centered primary care to complex patients in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team. By ensuring communication with the team and promoting share decision making with the patient, WHNPs reinforce the humanistic approach necessary to ensure positive health outcomes.
Graduates are eligible for certification as a nurse practitioner in all states in which certification is required. The program is certified for advanced practice/nurse practitioner status by the New York State Education Department.
Admission
Please contact the Office of Admissions for details regarding admission and financial aid packages. Faulty review applications on a rolling basis so that students may apply to begin this program in the fall semester. Please note, applications for the Women's Health NP Certificate Program can only be submitted online.
Admission criteria include:
- Current New York State nursing license or eligibility
- Master’s degree in nursing from an NLN or CCNE accredited program
- Minimum of one year clinical experience
- Satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
- Personal interview with the program director
- Three references attesting to applicant’s academic ability and potential
- Personal goal statement that is congruent with program goals (two pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. font)
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
Students must secure a site and preceptor for primary care student practice that is acceptable to the program director.
Curriculum
| Courses | Credits |
| Advanced Physical Assessment | 3 |
| Advanced Clinical Assessment of Pelvic/Women | 1 |
| Primary Care of Women I | 3 |
| Comprehensive Women’s Health | 3 |
| Practicum in Comprehensive Women’s Health | 2 |
| Primary Care of Women II | 3 |
| Primary Care of Childbearing Women | 3 |
| Practicum in Childbearing Women | 3 |
| Advanced Practicum in Women's Health | 5-6 |
| Interpersonal Violence | 1 |
| Capstone Seminar | 1 |
| Total Credits | 28-29 |
The above listing represents the basic post-master’s statutory certificate in this major. Individual students may need additional course work, depending on previous study and experience. Students may receive advanced standing or exemption, based on standard School policy.
School of Nursing
The School of Nursing has paved the way for professional nursing since 1892 and continues to lead the field as the foremost institution for advanced practice nursing.
The School of Nursing is a designated World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing Development in Advanced Practice. With urban clinical sites, expert faculty practitioners, cutting edge research, and the strength of the Columbia name and reputation, the School of Nursing produces graduates who possess the skills necessary to bring advanced practice nursing into the new millennium. As medical advances offer a cascade of new and useful therapies, the need for more health care providers will increase exponentially. Our country will face many health care challenges in the next 20 years, and nurse practitioners are essential to providing access to quality primary care.
Founded in 1892 as Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, the School became part of Columbia University in 1937 and began offering the baccalaureate degree. It is one of the oldest schools of nursing in the US. In 1956, it became the first nursing program in the country to awards a master’s degree in a clinical nursing specialty. In 1999, the School granted its first doctoral degree. More than 9,000 nurses have graduated since the School opened.
The School shares the Columbia University Health Sciences Campus with the School of Public Health, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Each of these schools adds to the richness and diversity of the educational experience of students and faculty.
School of Nursing faculty have substantial experience in curriculum, instructional design, and research. They maintain expertise in their areas of teaching responsibility through participation at local, regional, and national conferences, involvement in scholarly presentations and publications, and faculty practice.
Columbia University School of Nursing is distinguished by the clinical excellence of its programs and graduates. Columbia nurses are making crucial contributions and improving the health of individuals wherever they practice.
The above information is current as of 6/07 and is subject to change at any time.