Two New Degree Concentrations at LSU Health Nursing School

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing is taking applications for two new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree concentrations. The Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration is the first in Louisiana. As is the case with all of its degree offerings, the Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration at LSU Health New Orleans is the only one within an academic health sciences center in the state. Both concentrations are supported by Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. The application deadline for admission this summer is March 1, 2018, and the deadline to apply for fall admission is July 1, 2018.

The Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (AC-PNP) concentration is a three-year plan of study preparing graduate nursing students to care for children with complex chronic, acute, and critical illnesses from birth to adulthood. The AC-PNP plan of study immerses the student into a variety of clinical experiences and settings designed to develop the student's competency in the complex management of pediatric patients who may be physiologically unstable, technologically dependent, or are highly vulnerable to complications in an effort to restore/maximize optimal health or provide palliative care.

Requirements, admission criteria, curriculum and application information for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care concentration are available here.

The Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PC-PNP) concentration is a three-year plan of study preparing graduate nursing students to care for children from birth to adulthood with in-depth knowledge of primary health care. The PC-PNP plan of study immerses the student into primary care and community health settings designed to develop the student's competency in the prevention and management of common acute and chronic pediatric illnesses to support optimal health of children within the context of their families and community.

Requirements, admission criteria, curriculum and application information for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care concentration are available here.

Students in both concentrations will be prepared to lead the translation of research into practice in an effort to improve the timeliness, efficiency, and quality of practice and/or patient outcomes. Students will collaborate one-on-one with DNP faculty throughout the curriculum and AC-PNP and PC-PNP practice mentors during clinical experiences in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the student's DNP project.

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing is the only nursing school in Louisiana integrated into an academic health sciences center. LSU Health New Orleans pioneered interprofessional education of health professions students in the state. Students from its schools of nursing, medicine, dentistry, allied health professions and public health learn about, with and from each other. When students learn how to work as members of a health care team and practice before they graduate, by the time they become members of the health professionals workforce, they are already used to working collaboratively and more effectively, improving patient outcomes.