New ASU pediatric program designed to meet student, community needs

This fall, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University will begin offering a new advanced-practice nursing degree with a focus on acute care for children.

The addition of the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner speciality to the Doctor of Nursing Practice program aims to meet the needs of students and community partners.

Daniel Crawford, associate director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program and clinical assistant professor, said this program will prepare graduates to practice in an acute-care setting.

“Those settings may include pediatric emergency rooms, pediatric intensive-care units, pediatric inpatient-care units and some pediatric specialties,” Crawford said.

Students can expect a hybrid format with some required in-person classes as well as online courses.

The curriculum focuses on the development of a framework for developmentally supportive, family-centered, culturally appropriate advanced-practice nursing for infants and children with unstable chronic, complex acute, and life-threatening illnesses.

“This is one of the few Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner programs in the Southwest or even in the western United States,” Crawford said.

The college’s Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates are prepared to practice at the most advanced level of nursing. The program has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 25 Best Graduate Nursing Schools.