Program Overview

Program Overview

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care program offers one clinical specialty track which includes primary care for children with acute and chronic illnesses. Graduates of this clinical specialty are prepared to meet the comprehensive healthcare needs of infants, children, adolescents, and their families in a variety of settings. Graduates provide comprehensive, holistic, family-centered, and developmentally based care to children and their families in rural, underserved, and metropolitan ambulatory primary and inpatient health care centers.

Program Details

The program prepares students to take the Nurse Practitioner certification exam administered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB). It also equips students with the knowledge to consider ethical issues that commonly arise in primary care pediatric practice, such as addressing parental refusal of routine vaccination for children, tackling pediatric obesity while being sensitive to the child's and family's context, and considering social implications for children hospitalized for long periods due to chronic illness.

Curriculum and Focus

• The program focuses on providing a framework for understanding ethical issues involved in routine decisions about the care for children.
• It enables students to be at the forefront of both clinical care and policy formation.
• The curriculum includes training in:
  • Primary care for children with acute and chronic illnesses.
  • Comprehensive, holistic, family-centered, and developmentally based care.
  • Preparation for the Nurse Practitioner certification exam.

Dual Degrees

The program is part of the dual degree offerings, which include:

• MA in Bioethics/DPT
• MA in Bioethics/JD
• MA in Bioethics/MD
• MA in Bioethics/MDiv
• MA in Bioethics/MPH
• MA in Bioethics/MSN, with various specializations such as:
  • Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (Adult)
  • Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner
  • Emergency Nurse Practitioner
  • Family Nurse Practitioner
  • Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care
  • Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care
  • Women's Health Nurse Practitioner
• MA in Bioethics/MTS
• MA in Bioethics/4+1

Conclusion

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care program at Emory University is designed to equip graduates with the comprehensive knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality, patient-centered care to children and their families, while also addressing the ethical considerations inherent in pediatric primary care.