Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)

The Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) program prepares graduates to practice as advanced practice registered nurses with specialized education and focused clinical practice to meet children’s specialized health promotion and maintenance needs. Primary Care PNPs are dedicated to the care of all children by providing holistic, evidence-based, family-centered primary care to children from birth until young adulthood.

Primary Care PNP’s can deliver care to patients in a variety of settings, such as: Pediatric Primary Care Practices, School-Based Health Centers, Health Departments, Subspecialty Pediatric Clinics, Community Agencies that provide preventive care, and Telehealth Care.

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ABOUT PEDIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONERS

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) with specialized education and focused clinical practice dedicated to the care of all children (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015).

Currently, there are insufficient numbers of primary care pediatricians to meet children’s increasingly demanding and complex needs, and many U.S. counties already have a critical provider shortage (AAP, 2013; Fraher, Knapton, & Holmes, 2017). In addition, a critical shortage of PNPs is predicted within the next decade (Gigli et al., 2019). In 2022, the U.S. News and World Report announced that NPs held the #2 spot for the best 100 occupations in the United States.

PROGRAM FEATURES

  • Hybrid online curriculum with required on-campus visits twice a semester
  • On-site requirements provide opportunities for networking with peers, formative learning, and summative assessments of advanced clinical skills within the College of Nursing’s high-fidelity simulation center.
  • Synchronous online course meetings will occur throughout the semester for case discussions, content review, and presentations. These mandatory online course meetings will be scheduled prior to the beginning of the term so students may arrange their schedules accordingly.
  • Clinical rotations offer the student opportunities to practice their clinical skills and be mentored by licensed health care providers.
  • Upon program completion, graduates will be eligible for certification as a CPNP-PC by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) and state licensure as an APRN.

CURRICULUM

Prospective applicants can review the current Program of Study to learn more about the sequencing of courses and timeline for the program.

2024 Primary Care Program of Study

RESIDENCE AND LICENSURE

Special note for prospective students with residence and licensure outside of Tennessee: Graduate students may only complete clinical or project immersion hours in the state of their official residence and licensure. Students wishing to complete clinical or project immersion hours in a state other than Tennessee are responsible for ensuring the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Nursing has a state authorization with the Board of Nursing in their state of residence. Additionally, Students who reside outside of Tennessee and plan to complete clinical or project immersion hours in a state other than Tennessee, will need to take additional steps to comply with the requirements of that state.

CLINICAL PRACTICUM DETAILS

Students will complete a minimum of 600 hours of direct patient care clinical hours as part of the 1000 required hours to confer the DNP degree. Beginning Fall 2024 students will complete a minimum of 840 hours of direct patient care clinical hours.

Identification of clinical sites and preceptors involves a collaboration between the student and CON faculty and staff. Students are encouraged to identify potential clinical sites and preceptors. Concentration Coordinators have ultimate approval of all clinical placements. Students desiring to complete clinical rotations outside the state of Tennessee must be familiar with their state Board of Nursing requirements for graduate clinical placements. Questions should be directed to the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs.

PROGRAM FEES

For more information regarding fees please visit our Graduate Tuition & Fees page.