Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
Program Description
The Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (GNP) Program is designed to prepare nurse practitioners in primary health care of the elderly. The program is sensitive and responsive to the complex and diverse health and psychosocial needs of a growing population of elderly in acute, ambulatory, chronic, and community care settings.
Emphasis is placed on comprehensive assessment, illness prevention, health maintenance, management of complex acute and chronic health conditions, and patient and family education, consultation, and referral. The interdisciplinary nature of geriatric care is reflected in required courses and in the large variety of clinical experiences.
Graduates are eligible for certification as a nurse practitioner in all states in which it is required. Graduates are also eligible to take the ANCC Gerontological and Adult Nurse Practitioner Certification Exams.
The Program Director for the Geriatric Nurse Practitioner specialty is Melissa Kramps, MS, ANP, GNP.
Admission
Please contact the Office of Admissions for details regarding admission and financial aid packages. Faculty review applications on a rolling admission basis so that students may apply throughout the year. Please note, applications for the Geriatric NP Program can only be submitted online.
Admission criteria include:
- Current New York State nursing license or eligibility
- Bachelor's degree in nursing from an NLN or CCNE accredited program
- Minimum of one year experience in relevant area preferred
- Satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
- An undergraduate course in statistics
- A physical assessment course
- 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
*RN's with an associate degree and a non-nursing baccalaureate degree are required to complete 5 credits in community health in addition to the course requirement listed.
Curriculum
| Core | Credits |
| Assessing Clinical Evidence | 4 |
| Health and Social Policy: Context for Practice and Research | 4 |
| Intensives | 2 |
| 10 | |
| Sciences | |
| Advanced Physiology | 3 |
| Pathophysiology of the Adult | 3 |
| Advanced Pharmacology | 3 |
| Incorporating Genetics into Advanced Nursing Practice | 3 |
| 12 | |
| Specialty | |
| Intro to Primary Care | 3 |
| Advanced Clinical Assessment | 3 |
| Practicum in Advanced Clinical Assessment | 1 |
| Diagnosis and Management of Illness: Adult I | 3 |
| Practicum in Geriatric Primary Care I | 2 |
| Practicum in Geriatric Primary Care II | 2 |
| Illness and Aging | 3 |
| Diagnosis and Management of Illness: Adult II | 3 |
| Interdisciplinary Approach to Geriatric Assessement and Long-Term Care | 2 |
| Seminar in Geriatric Care I | 1 |
| Seminar in Geriatric Care II | 1 |
| Seminar in Geriatric Care III | 1 |
| Residency in Adult/Geriatric Health | 1 |
| Advanced Practicum in Adult/Geriatric Health | 4 |
| 30 | |
| Total Credits | 52 |
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 award 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 Mailman 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 10/07 and is subject to change at any time.