Javascript is currently not supported, or is disabled by this browser. Please enable Javascript for full functionality.

Skip to Main Content
University of Pittsburgh    
2020-2021 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog 
    
 
  Mar 29, 2024
 
2020-2021 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Certificate


Return to School of Nursing Return to: School of Nursing

The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) Post-Professional Certificate is designed for graduate prepared nurse practitioners  who are seeking to expand their roles via nurse practitioner certification in neonatal critical care. The NNP is prepared to manage the health care of high-risk infants, their families and children up to 2 years of age. This expanded role is performed in collaboration with neonatologists and other pediatric clinicians. NNPs are primarily employed in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and are involved in coordinating and managing care for infants with chronic health problems and providing continuity for these children from hospital to home.

The NNP curriculum provides students with course work and clinical experiences focusing on the care and management of critically ill and convalescent premature and full-term infants. The sequence of courses provides for a logical building of the clinical decision making skills necessary to function as a NNP. Clinical experiences may be in a variety of clinical settings which include newborn nurseries, intensive care nurses of various levels and out-patient clinics.

Graduates are prepared to perform acts of medical diagnosis and prescribe medical therapeutics and corrective measures. In addition, the NNP selects and performs clinically advanced diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures on newborns in the intensive care setting.

Graduates are eligible for both legal certification as a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) and prescriptive authority by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as other states and national professional certification as an NNP offered by the National Certification Corporation.

Curriculum Format

  • Full-time or Part-time (length depends on prior academic preparation)
  • 660 clinical hours

Program Outcomes

Graduates of the Post-Professional NNP area of concentration are prepared to accomplish the following:

  • Assume responsibility for promoting, maintaining, and restoring health to infants from the newborn period up to 2 years of age
  • Identify health risks, promote wellness, and diagnosis and manage acute and chronic illness
  • Participate in research and provide leadership in mobilizing health care resources in the community

Admission Criteria

  • MSN or DNP preparation as a nurse practitioner
  • A baccalaureate degree in nursing from accredited program (ACEN, NLN, ACICS, or CCNE)
  • Valid registered nurse license in state where clinical experiences are performed
  • Equivalent of 2 year full-time, recent (within past 5 years) practice experience as a registered nurse in the care of critically ill newborns, infants or children in critical inpatient settings, primarily in Level III or IV NICU. Applicants must have acquired this experience or be currently employed in the indicated settings
  • Competitive GPA from graduate nursing degree
  • Official GRE scores (may be waived if GPA from graduate nursing degree was ≥ 3.5)
  • Prerequisite statistics course
  • Pre-admission interview
  • Complete online application
  • International applicants: see www.nursing.pitt.edu and www.ois.pitt.edu

Return to School of Nursing Return to: School of Nursing



Catalog Navigation