The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) concentration is designed to provide advanced training in delivering high-quality nursing care to children, adolescents, and infants. This program prepares graduates to serve as primary care providers for patients under 18, equipping them with essential skills for diagnosing, treating, and managing pediatric health conditions.

The School of Nursing’s Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program teaches students to provide the treatment procedures, therapies and medication necessary for the child, as well as ordering specific lab and diagnostic testing, such as x-rays, blood tests and laboratory tests when needed. (The PNP program emphasizes preventative care for patients under 18 years of age.)

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners get great satisfaction knowing that they make a difference, by identifying and caring for their patient problems, giving them counseling and information to the family or patient. This helps the patient and family deal with often, very stressful and difficult situations. They use data received from diagnostic tests, clinical exams, verbal communication, medical records and other sources to make decisions that are evidence based and meet their patients care requirements.

Nursing students will also be trained to give immunizations and manage their patient’s health problems, such as juvenile diabetes and other conditions. As a PNP, nurses will work in consultation and collaboration with physicians.

They provide education, support and health care counseling to the families of their patients and answer any questions or address any concerns the family has regarding the child.

The PNP concentration trains nurses to deliver high-quality care to children, adolescents, and infants.

Admission Deadlines

The School of Nursing accepts Nurse Practitioner students in the Fall and Winter Quarters. All admission requirements must be completed by the deadline.  Deadlines are as follows:

  • Fall – April 23 (quarter begins in September)  
  • Winter – August 1 (quarter begins in January)

Admissions Requirements

  • Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a regionally accredited program
  • GPA of 3.0, both cumulative and in nursing courses
  • Current United States RN license before application*
  • Application with personal statement
  • Three electronic recommendations** (recommenders will receive an email once application is submitted) – required: Nurse Supervisor, RN Co-worker, and Spiritual
  • Official transcripts for all college credits
  • Interview by faculty members in the School of Nursing

*California RN license required before start of classes

** New baccalaureate graduates without an RN license must submit the following three recommendations from: Academic Faculty, Clinical Instructor, and a Spiritual Advisor.

Admission Requirements for International Students 

International applicants (non-U.S. citizens and non-U.S. permanent residents) must meet all admission requirements for the chosen program. In addition, official international transcripts must be evaluated by an accredited evaluation service. A TOEFL score may also be required. Please visit www.llu.edu/apply/intltrans for more information.

Transcript Requirements

You must submit transcripts from all post-secondary institutions that you have attended, regardless of whether or not it applies to your prerequisite coursework. This includes all colleges, universities, military credit, Advanced Placement, CLEP, and unaccredited schools. Transcripts must be sent by the issuing institution(s) directly to LLU Admissions Processing. Transcripts provided in any other manner are unofficial and will not be accepted for admission.

Please have official transcripts sent to:

Admissions Processing
Loma Linda University
11139 Anderson St
Loma Linda, CA 92350 USA

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).

Cost of Attendance

View Expected Cost of Attendance Here

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.

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