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Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification

This is a computer-based test (CBT)

Application and Pricing (PDF: 333 KB)

Description of Practice

The Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse prepared in a graduate level acute care nurse practitioner program to provide and manage health care of acutely ill, critically or chronically ill adult patients in a wide range of settings. The ACNP practice includes independent and interdependent decision making; and is directly accountable for clinical judgments. The graduate level preparation expands the ACNP’s role to include differential diagnosis and disease management, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to manage acute and critical health problems, participation in and use of research, development and implementation of health policy, leadership, education, case management, and consultation.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Hold a current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or the professional, legally recognized equivalent in another country

  • Hold a master’s, post-master’s, or doctorate from an acute care nurse practitioner program accredited by the Commission on the Collegiate of Nursing Education (CCNE) or the National League for Nursing Accrediting
    Commission (NLNAC). A minimum of 500 faculty supervised clinical hours must be included in your acute care nurse practitioner program. The ACNP graduate program must include course work in:

    • advanced health assessment

    • advanced pharmacology

    • advanced pathophysiology

  • AND, content in

    • health promotion and disease prevention, and
    • differential diagnosis and disease management

All requirements must be completed prior to application for the examination.

Credential Awarded: ACNP-BC (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner – Board Certified)

This page last revised 1/15/2008.