The NNP program trains nurses to care for neonates in critical settings, including NICUs and clinics.

Program Description

The neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) program is dedicated to training advanced practice nurses to expertly care for low and high-risk neonates and their families. This comprehensive program prepares students to provide and manage health care in a variety of critical settings, including neonatal intensive care units, labor and delivery, well baby units, outpatient clinics, and during transport services. Coursework includes advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment and diagnostic reasoning across the lifespan, meeting LACE requirements for practice. Graduates are eligible to sit for The National Certification Corporation’s (NCC) examination to certify Neonatal Nurse Practitioners. 

The program is divided into 4 parts:

  1. Core Courses: 4 days each quarter on-campus with online interaction, mentored-inquiry courses.
  2. Concentration Courses: Pharmacology I & II, and Advanced Pathophysiology meet up to four times a quarter.
  3. Clinical Experience: The clinical experience is a combination of clinician hours and DNP Project hours to total at least 1000 hours
  4. DNP Project: The DNP Project can be done in the workplace allowing students to collect evidence-based research data.

Program Length

3 years and 9 months full-time

Admissions Requirements

The requirements for admission into the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program include:

  • Application with personal statement
  • Baccalaureate or Master’s degree in nursing from a program with institutional accreditation
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Science GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in the United States with an unrestricted Registered Nurse license in California BEFORE matriculation and the California RN license must be maintained until program completion.
  • Minimum of two years of full-time RN experience in a Level-3 or higher NICU acute care setting where the RN must have developed critical decision making and psychomotor skills; competency in patient assessment; proficiency in monitoring and calculating infusion rates for critical care medicines and monitoring those infusions; and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitor techniques including, but not limited to mechanical ventilation and invasive monitoring for cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological status. The equivalent of 2 years of full-time clinical practice experience (within the last 5 years) in the care of critically ill neonates or infants in critical care inpatient settings is required before a student begins clinical courses.
  • Current certifications – American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification.
  • Three strong letters of recommendation using the LLU form provided.
    • Spiritual Advisor or Pastor
    • Immediate supervisor in the NICU in which the applicant is currently working
    • NICU co-worker
  • Interview granted and performed by the Neonatal NP Program Admissions Committee
  • Completion of Emotional Intelligence Screening and continued participation in the Emotional Intelligence Program and course work through completion of the program

Admissions Deadlines

  • Application deadlines: Autumn (April 23rd); Winter (August 1st)

Possible Careers

NNP's are prepared for careers in a variety of settings, including:

  • Neonatal intensive care units
  • Labor and delivery
  • Well baby units
  • Outpatient clinics and during transport services

Important Information

  1. The DNP Program has been approved as a hybrid program with much of the academic work completed in an asynchronous manner on line. Students are required to attend and actively participate in any scheduled Zoom and face-to-face meetings scheduled for the DNP Program courses.

  2. Most of the DNP Program Core courses and the prerequisite clinical courses require that students participate on-campus for 4 to 8 hours during Seminar Week in the middle of each quarter. Students are also required to be on campus to take all course exams including the midterm and final exams.

  3. NGRD 657 – Intermediate Statistics – has four mandatory synchronous class meetings during each quarter and students are required to participate in them either face-to-face or by Zoom.  Students must attend take the midterm exam and the final exam on campus during scheduled face-to-face meetings. Additional optional group sessions held both face-to-face and by Zoom are available for students enrolled in NGRD 657.

  4. NGRD 624 – Advanced Health Assessment – has mandatory synchronous lab meetings every two weeks during the quarter.  Students must attend each of these sessions. The faculty coordinate the course exams including the midterm and final exams so that they are scheduled when the student is on campus for a scheduled lab session.

  5. The CNS and NP clinical courses meet at least four (4) times per quarter face-to-face on campus and all exams are administered on campus.  The NP Program skills courses meet weekly during the quarter that the skills course is scheduled.  Attendance at each of the assigned labs is mandatory for students enrolled in the skills course.

 

Students in the CNS and NP clinical courses will be assigned clinical rotations in the Inland Empire (IE) region of Southern California (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties).  The CNS and NP Program faculty members arrange all clinical rotations for students as required by the California Board of Registered Nursing Regulations (Sections 1484, h (11) of Division 14 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations).

Discipline Accrediting Agency

The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Graduates are prepared for certification by the National Certification Corporation (NCC).

Accreditations

Loma Linda University is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The BS, MS, and DNP Programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The Nurse Anesthesia Concentration is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

Advanced practice nurse graduates, Nurse Practitioner (NP) and Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), are certified by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing and eligible to apply for certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Corporation, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, as appropriate for the area of professional practice.The California State Board has approved all programs offered at the Loma Linda University School of Nursing. Many states may offer a compact license to individuals already licensed in California. If this opportunity is of interest to you, please contact your program director. Students who decide to pursue a license in another state should check with the applicable licensing authority in that state.

Our programs address and meet outcome expectations as articulated by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Master’s (AACN), and DNP Essentials.

Cost of Attendance

View Expected Cost of Attendance Here

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