Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Columbia University School of Nursing's Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program is designed to prepare advanced practice nurses to deliver primary health care to all persons across the adult lifespan from adolescence (beginning at age 13) through end of life.
Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (NP) students are provided with the most innovative, state-of-the-art immersion into advanced practice nursing in order to confidently contribute to the immediate and future health care needs of our most rapidly growing and at-risk populations, including adolescent health and geriatric care.
The Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP Program combines Columbia Nursing’s nationally-recognized curricula from both the Adult and Gerontology specialty training programs into one enhanced, comprehensive single program of study. Additionally, the value-added focus on adolescent and geriatric health care, palliative and end-of-life care, and the integration of primary and mental health care ensures that the Columbia Nursing Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP graduate will have the knowledge, insight, skills, and experience to provide high quality, well-informed, evidence-base care to the broadest range of patients in any primary care or specialized clinical setting.
Using a well-balanced combination of didactic classroom instruction, experiential clinical seminars, and advanced clinical practica in diverse settings, Columbia's Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP students learn how to master and integrate their clinical practice with training in nursing leadership, clinical research, quality improvement, nursing informatics, and health and social policy. These practical and academic foci expertly inform the highest quality of evidence-based clinical practice; creating not only in-demand expert providers, but also national and international nurse leaders who are forging the future direction of the profession of nursing's increasingly essential role in health care delivery.
Graduates of the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP program are eligible for licensure and certification as Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NPs in all states in which board certification is required. Columbia's Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program graduates meet the requirements for national board certification examinations offered by either the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) or the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Content within the curriculum provides knowledge for students to see patients 13 years of age or older. However, graduates should be familiar with regulations regarding age restrictions for Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NPs in the state in which they intend to practice.
The Program Director for the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner specialty is Brenda Janotha EdD, DNP, ANP-BC, FNP-C
Clinical Sites
Clinical practice sites are available throughout the Greater New York City Metropolitan Area, including New Jersey and Connecticut. In addition to general primary care sites like community health centers, academic Nurse Practitioner-run group practices, and private general/internal medicine practices, clinical sites are available for Columbia Nursing’s Adult-Gerontology NP students to pursue their personal clinical interests in any of a number of specialty clinical services. These may include specialty practice areas such as: urgent care, cardiology, dermatology, infectious disease, HIV/AIDS, hematology/oncology, neurology, and many others.
Additionally, experiences in a wide range of clinical settings, which can include community and/or tertiary care hospitals, long-term care facilities, structured day health care programs, mobile medical services, and other diverse practices, are encouraged to ensure Adult-Gerontology NPs can confidently provide comprehensive health care services across the entire continuum of care. View the list of clinical sites.
Curriculum
Current students can contact the Program Director for a sample curriculum plan.
Courses
Utilizing a systems approach and a background in basic physical assessment, advanced physical assessment skills are studied. The identification and interpretation of abnormalities in the physical exam are emphasized in depth. The approach to the development of the differential diagnosis is introduced. The goal of this course is to provide the critical thinking necessary for the beginning advanced practice nursing student to analyze history and physical exam data.
This graduate level laboratory course will involve application of advanced health assessment principles and skills for comprehensive examination of adult and older adult clients. Emphasis is placed on physical, psychosocial, and cultural assessments skills that are necessary to develop a comprehensive health assessment. This lab will focus on interviewing and history-taking, advanced physical assessment skills, diagnostic reasoning, and development of a plan of care. The clinical laboratory will emphasize techniques for identifying common normal and abnormal findings and documentation of these findings. Students will engage in actual practice with task trainers, fellow students, and Standardized Patients using simulated patient clinical encounters involving common health problems.
The goals of this course are to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the actions of drugs in order to enable them to use therapeutic agents in a rational and responsible manner in patients. Initially, basic principles of pharmacology will be reviewed (from N5375 course), including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs by the body. Drug-receptor interactions will also be presented and illustrated with appropriate examples. The focus of these lectures will be case-based whenever possible to demonstrate the therapeutic application of these pharmacologic principles and how this translates into efficacy and potential toxicity.
Part one of two. In this course we will examine the normal physiological function of organ systems, the mechanisms for the maintenance of health, and the pathophysiological alterations in body function that lead to disease. Each class will focus on a specific physiologic process or organ system. We will pay particular focus to diseases that commonly occur across the lifespan, examining common etiologies, pathogenic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and common treatments of each.
Part two of two. In this course we will examine the normal physiological function of organ systems, the mechanisms for the maintenance of health, and the pathophysiological alterations in body function that lead to disease. Each class will focus on a specific physiologic process or organ system. We will pay particular focus to diseases that commonly occur across the lifespan, examining common etiologies, pathogenic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and common treatments of each.
Clinical Seminar in Primary Care Across the Adult Lifespan I is designed to provide the AGNP student an academic environment in which students share their practicum experience and present case studies and journal articles for discussion with their peers. In this scholarly forum, the students are expected to present selected cases from their practicum in an organized format. The students are expected to facilitate a class dialogue and offer appropriate references.
Clinical Seminar in Primary Care Across the Adult Lifespan II is designed to provide the AGNP student an academic environment in which students share their practicum experience and present case studies and journal articles for discussion with their peers. In this scholarly forum, the students are expected to present selected cases from their practicum in an organized format. The students are expected to facilitate a class dialogue and offer appropriate references.
This course is designed to provide the AGNP student an academic environment in which the students share their practicum experience and present case studies for discussion with their peers. In this scholarly forum, the students are expected to present selected cases from their practicum in an organized format. The students are expected to facilitate a class dialogue and offer appropriate references. Incorporated into the seminar is ongoing discussion, review, and assessment of the final project.
This course provides a systematic overview of a comprehensive interdisciplinary geriatric assessment. This course highlights the unique physical and psychosocial issues that impact the older adult. Emphasis is placed on functional assessment and the holistic approach to providing care to older adults.
This is the first of three consecutive courses focusing on utilizing a systems and developmental approach in primary care. This course will focus on the differential diagnosis and comprehensive care management of commonly encountered acute and chronic physical and mental health illnesses as they affect individuals across the lifespan. For each system studied, health assessment, diagnostic findings, and multi-modal management will be highlighted.
This second course of three consecutive courses focuses on using a systems and developmental approach to expand the knowledge of the advanced practice student. This course will focus on the differential diagnosis and comprehensive multi-modal management of commonly encountered acute and chronic physical and mental health illnesses as they affect individuals across the lifespan. Emphasis will be placed on the age specific biopsychosocial variables influencing those health problems and behaviors which are most likely to present, and are most amenable to management in a community setting.
This is the third course of three consecutive courses focusing on a systems and developmental approach in primary care with emphasis on risk assessment, comorbidities and acuity to determine the most appropriate level of care. This course will focus on the differential diagnosis and comprehensive management of commonly encountered acute and chronic physical and mental health illnesses as they affect individuals across the lifespan.
The DNP intensive practicum focuses on the delivery of fully accountable, evidenced based care for patients across clinical sites. The DNP student will demonstrate an integration of comprehensive assessment, advanced differential diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, evaluation of care for patients and synthesis of evidence-based practice with patients with a variety of conditions. In this context, the DNP student will organize and develop a professional portfolio.
The DNP residency and portfolio is designed to demonstrate that the DNP graduate possesses the advanced knowledge of clinical management to provide high quality care. The components of the residency are scholarly activities across settings combined with documented outcomes achieved in multiple sites of care. The DNP resident, in varied settings, assumes an expanded scope of practice for a panel of patients with the principles of continuity based care as paramount. Gaps in clinical experience opportunities are identified at regularly scheduled meetings with the advisor and arrangements are made to enhance the practicum as indicated.
This course covers the broad scope of preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care including theoretical and practical knowledge for the essentially uncomplicated childbearing period. Routine care, risk assessment, and commonly encountered complications will be reviewed with a strong focus on the physiological, social, emotional, and educational components of preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care.
This core course examines contextual contributors to health status and the current social, legal, and political determinants of healthcare systems, emphasizing the U.S. system. Issues are explored to understand their impact on current and future delivery of health care, in particular on advanced practice nursing. The class focuses on how to bring the professional values of nursing to bear in policy debate and how nurses partner in the policy process to improve health outcomes of populations and quality of the healthcare delivery system.
The purpose of this course is to critically analyze healthcare policy in the US. Included is a focus on the advanced practice nurse role in shaping and influencing policy through advocacy and leadership to improve patient outcomes.
This course is designed to provide the student with a systematic approach to the delivery of health promotion and disease prevention in primary health care to individuals, families, communities, and aggregate populations.
This course is intended to provide a strong foundation in the concepts of genetics and clinical applicability of genomic concepts commonly seen in advance practice nurses’ clinical practice. Both classical Mendelian and molecular genetics will be examined, in order to provide a knowledge base that will enable the advanced practice nurse to integrate genetic and genomic knowledge into clinical practice. Using a case discussion approach, clinical issues of genetics testing, genetic exceptionalism, individualized risk assessments and predictions are explored throughout their life span.
This course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills regarding the uses of information technology to support evidence-based practice. The course will provide an overview of informatics topics of most relevance to evidence-based practice including: computer systems and system development; standardized clinical terminology; informatics standards; electronic health records; retrieval and critical analysis of digital data, information, and knowledge; clinical decision making; decision support; decision analysis; shared decision making; and computer aided instruction.
Aimed at increasing student awareness of the prevalence, context, dynamics, and potential outcomes of interpersonal violence (IPV), the goal of this course is to provide advanced practice nurses with the information needed for prevention, identification, assessment appropriate intervention, and resource referral for clients and families who are at risk for, have a history with, or are currently experiencing IPV. Course content will explore the dynamics, causes and consequences of IPV, specifically: domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and sexual assault.
This course is designed for graduate nurses to provide them with the skills to understand and utilize research evidence in decisions about clinical practice. The course is designed to help graduate nurses articulate relevant practice-based questions, search the literature to identify relevant evidence, evaluate the quality of research on which the evidence is based, and discuss the application of the evidence in clinical practice to improve quality of care.
This clinical practicum builds upon the principles is designed to develop clinical proficiency of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student. The practicum is a clinical field experience designed to provide opportunity for students to acquire skills in assessment, decision-making and management of care for adults with a variety of episodic and long-term health problems.
This seminar is designed to provide the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student an academic environment in which the students share their practicum experience and present case studies for discussion with their peers. In this scholarly forum, the students are expected to present selected cases from their practicum in an organized format. The students are expected to facilitate a class dialogue and offer appropriate references.
This course focuses on advanced practice issues not usually familiar to the average nurse. It explores the dimensions of independent advanced practice nursing (APN) in our challenging and constantly changing health care environment. Legal issues, regulation, reimbursement, practice management concerns, and development of a comprehensive view of the APN’s role in the current health care environment are stressed.
This course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills necessary to serve as a member and lead interdisciplinary groups in organizational assessment to identify systems issues and facilitate organization-wide changes in practice delivery utilizing quality improvement strategies. Course content focusses on understanding systems concepts and thinking to achieve results in complex health care delivery systems. Frameworks, approaches, and tools that foster critical thinking are examined as mechanisms to formulate vital questions, gather and assess relevant information, develop well-reasoned conclusions, test conclusions against relevant standards, compare conclusions with alternative systems of thought, and communicate effectively throughout the process.
The clinical practicum is designed to develop clinical proficiency of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student. The clinical practicum is designed to prepare the students to provide primary health care focusing on health maintenance.
This clinical practicum builds upon the principles is designed to develop clinical proficiency of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student. The practicum is a clinical field experience designed to provide opportunity for students to acquire skills in assessment, decision-making and management of care for adults with a variety of episodic and long-term health problems.
This clinical practicum builds upon the principles is designed to develop clinical proficiency of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student. The practicum is a clinical field experience designed to provide opportunity for students to acquire skills in assessment, decision-making and management of care for adults with a variety of episodic and long-term health problems.
This course addresses the application of epidemiology and environmental approaches to inform the clinical practice of health care of individuals. An understanding of health sciences based on groups of people, including environmental health, occupational health, and some aspects of genetics, can orient the practitioner with an individual patient. These external influences are modified through social, cultural, and behavioral factors. Addressing these factors should help to anticipate and improve patient outcomes.
This course is the first of two designed to introduce students to scholarly writing and dissemination for clinicians. The course provides students with practical information, exercises, and resources for successful clinical manuscript preparation and clinical conference poster and oral presentation. The course introduces students to fundamental skills for scholarly writing including familiarity with professional journals and conferences, utilization of electronic resources for literature searches and citation management, writing process and organizational skills, identification of predatory journal and conference enterprises, and academic integrity and the continuum of plagiarism. The course culminates in an annotated bibliography on a topic of the student’s choosing that allows for the synthesis and application of the skills and resources developed over the course. In conjunction with part two of the course, students are prepared for a lifelong approach to integrating scholarship into clinical practice.
Continuation of N9150.
This course focuses on the development of a fundamental knowledge base for the assessment, diagnosis, and management of patients presenting for sexual and reproductive healthcare in primary care settings. Topics include the most common sexual and reproductive health maintenance issues and challenges across the life cycle. This course include an overview of deviations from sexual and reproductive well-being that are within the scope of practice of the advanced practice nurse practitioner and identifies conditions that require collaborative management and/or referral. A simulation lab session concurrent to the course enhances and grounds the didactic experience.
This course is designed to provide the tools for the doctorally prepared nurse to evaluate, translate and integrate published research results into clinical practice. During the course, students will learn how to conceptualize clinical practice problems and transform them into answerable clinical research questions, how to search for the best clinical evidence, and how to assess clinical evidence using basic epidemiological, biostatistical and scientific principles. The course will culminate in a systematic review or meta-analysis of a body of research relevant to advanced practice nursing.