Madonna University’s Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner / Family Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP/FNP) dual concentration of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree trains advanced practice nurses to provide compassionate care to adult patients, including older adults, in a wide variety of healthcare settings.
Utilizing a family-centered approach, graduates of the program possess the ability to comprehensively assess, diagnose, and treat acute illnesses and chronic health conditions across the lifespan and illness continuum. Through this unique dual master’s degree, they also have the experience to manage complex, acute, and critical conditions of older adult populations.
Offered through the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, this innovative nursing master’s degree program fosters an ability to demonstrate the specialized body of knowledge and clinical competencies needed to assume the roles of the family and adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner.
Designed for students with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, the 58-60 semester hour (s.h.) curriculum includes nursing core (13 s.h.), advance practice core (18 s.h.), and population clinical courses (27-29 s.h.). The population clinical courses include direct clinical hours in both family centered care and acute complex illnesses.
The curriculum covers in-demand topics such as health promotion, guidance and counseling, comprehensive health assessment, and management of healthy individuals and families, as well as those with complex acute, critical, and chronic conditions across the age continuum.
Explore the full AGACNP/FNP master’s degree curriculum.
Graduates are encouraged to engage in advanced nursing practice, viewed through the constellation of the family system, to assure ethically-based quality health care guided by the values of stewardship and health equity.
In addition to these core nursing competencies, AGACNP/FNP students possess an advanced ability to collaborate professionally in order to promote high-quality, cost-effective care for patients, communities, and systems. This includes a focus on communication and ethical organizational leadership skills needed to be successful and shape the future of the field.
Each AGACNP/FNP student completes an advanced practice residency. This 1210-hour supervised practicum experience includes a minimum of 960 supervised hours of direct patient care in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings and specialties caring for diverse populations. Madonna’s nursing faculty assist with obtaining the clinical placements.
Madonna offers a clinical readiness course to prepare students to enter clinical courses. In this readiness course, students experience live simulation in addition to gaining hands-on skills competence that includes suturing, radiology, EKG interpretation, central line placement, intubation, and lumbar puncture.
This clinical experience presents the opportunity for students to apply advanced role competencies in selected healthcare environments, emphasizing the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based care that supports quality outcomes.
Upon graduation, students are eligible to become nationally dual certified as Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Commission (ANCC) or American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Family Nurse Practitioner by ANCC or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and to obtain Nurse Practitioner specialty certification by the State of Michigan.
Graduates holding a master’s in nursing are well positioned for significant career advancement with overall increased earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of advanced practice nursing, including Nurse Practitioner (NP) roles, is projected to grow at a rate of 45% through 2029 with an average annual salary of $115,800.
This reflects the urgent need for master’s-trained nurses to be able to provide care to a diverse group of client ages. In particular, the 65-and-older population has grown rapidly since 2010, which has created a demand for nurses highly skilled in treating the unique needs and conditions of this older adult population.
Employment opportunities are abundant in this field and include both hospital and community based settings, such as:
Madonna’s Office of Career Development is dedicated to supporting you in preparing for career opportunities upon graduation.
Students applying to this MSN degree program are required to submit the following items in consideration for admission:
Learn more about Madonna University's graduate admission process.
Madonna University’s Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner / Family Nurse Practitioner dual concentration of the MSN degree shapes advanced care nurses who are able to provide a wide range of support to individuals across the lifespan, including older populations.
The advanced nursing coursework is accented by the extensive practicum experience, allowing students to confidently develop their knowledge and skill for diagnosing and managing both acute and chronic conditions for patients of all ages.
Start your journey by requesting more information or applying now.
B.S.N., Oakland University
M.S.N., Madonna University
Nurse Educator Certificate, University of Detroit Mercy
734-793-2464, Room D-105
Tracey is an adult nurse practitioner and joined Madonna's full-time faculty in 2012. She teaches in the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program in which she serves as the lead faculty. She continues her clinical practice caring for the underserved 1 day a week at McAuley Health Center in Detroit.
Tracey is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in nursing from Duquesne University. Her research interests include competency-based education, clinical readiness, nurse practitioner practice, and weight loss. She is on the board of the Michigan Primary Care Consortium and a member of Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioner, Sigma Theta Tau, and American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She also serves as the faculty mentor for the Madonna University Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioner student chapter.
B.S.N., Mercy College of Detroit
M.S.N., Wayne State University
Post Master's Acute Care Nurse
Pract. Cert., Wayne State Univ.
D.N.P., Case West. Reserve Univ.
734-432-5479, Room D-117
Dr. Gail A. Lis primarily teaches at the graduate level in the nurse practitioner program. Her teaching responsibilities include courses in the master's core (evidence-based practice), advanced practice core (pharmacology), and adult gerontology acute care clinical program. Dr. Lis also serves as committee chairperson and committee member for a variety of DNP capstone projects. Dr. Lis's clinical area of interest is that of infectious disease and currently practices within the Henry Ford Health System.
Through the use of active teaching strategies, Dr. Lis is able to support knowledge development through application of concepts using theory and clinical expertise. Active teaching strategies used are concept mapping, unfolding case studies, simulation, and group work. Research interests are diverse but primarily relate to evaluation of active teaching strategies in both the classroom and clinical setting.
Dr. Lis enjoys working with the nurse practitioner students in the capstone class to develop quality projects and providing support for launching into advanced nursing practice.
B.S.N., Mercy College of Detroit
M.S.N., Wayne State University
D.N.P., Oakland University
734-432-5830, Room D-120B
Dr. Patricia Clark is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and Health. She joined the full-time faculty of Madonna University in 2014. She completed her doctoral degree in 2008 at Oakland University and her M.S.N. in 1996 at Wayne State University. She teaches in the undergraduate nursing program as well as the acute care nurse practitioner tract of the graduate nursing program. Her area of interest includes the care of critically ill adults. She is actively involved in community service with the Health & Wellness committee at her church.
Dr. Clark is a member of the following professional organizations: Michigan Certified Nurse Practitioner (MICNP), Michigan Clinical Nurse Specialist (MICNS), American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau, International.
