DEGREE TYPE
Certificate
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Jun 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
25 Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
Request tuition fees
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* base cost | cost per unit: $860
Key Summary
Introduction
Earn a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Certificate at Azusa Pacific University
You’ll advance your post-master’s nursing career and graduate prepared for California state licensure and national certification as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). Build firsthand experience in clinicals and gain the skills needed to work in acute, primary, or long-term care settings. We’ll make it possible to further your education as a working professional with evening lectures, customizable clinicals, and part-time options.
Gain Hands-on Experience
- Attain the skills and knowledge needed to achieve certification as a Pediatric CNS.
- Receive personalized attention in a supportive Christian environment.
- Learn from faculty experienced as clinical nurse specialists or nurse practitioners.
- Provide health care services for diverse cultural/ethnic groups, the poor, the underserved, and the homeless.
Program Details
The Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Certificate program is a non degree course credit option for nurses with a master’s degree in nursing. Pediatric clinical nurse specialists influence best-practice care of pediatric populations across the care continuum through direct care and as consultants and educators.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Financial Aid
Several types of financial aid are available to graduate students. The resources range from federal loans and state grants to, for some graduate programs, fellowships and scholarships.
Military Benefits
Military members—and in some cases their spouses and dependents—qualify for financial assistance covering tuition, housing, and books. Azusa Pacific is a Yellow Ribbon University and Military Friendly School, so you can be confident that you’ll receive the benefits and flexibility you need to complete your education.
Program-Specific Aid
For more details on these scholarships and funding opportunities, as well as other possible resources, please contact the School of Nursing.
Nurse Faculty Loan Program
The Nurse Faculty Loan Program is a government loan program set up to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty by providing loans to students in advanced nursing education programs. Students must be pursuing a MSN or doctoral nursing degree. The NFLP loans will be forgiven—up to 85 percent of the amount received—over a consecutive four-year period if the student commits to serve as full-time faculty at a school of nursing following graduation. Faculty at private universities, state schools, and community colleges are eligible. Students receiving these loans must also complete the nursing education courses prior to graduation.
Curriculum
Requirements
Advanced Practice Core Courses
- GNRS 513 Advanced Nursing Practice Role
- GNRS 610 Advanced Pathophysiology
- GNRS 611 Advanced Pharmacology
- GNRS 612 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
Advanced Practice Specialty Courses
- GNRS 530 Theory and Practice of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Care of the Pediatric Patient
- GNRS 531 Clinical Specialization in the Care of the Pediatric Patient
- GNRS 543 Transitions Across the Care Continuum
- GNRS 548 Health Promotion Across the Lifespan
Select from the following:
- GNRS 589 Adolescent Health Care
- -or-
- GNRS 510 Family Theory in Health Care
Total Units 34
Rankings
- 1 of 79 - Best Western Colleges according to The Princeton Review’s 2024 Best Colleges Guide
- Top 25 - Best Schools for Nursing according to Niche.com
Program Outcome
Students who successfully complete this program shall be able to:
- Articulate a Christian worldview, demonstrating respect for the dignity and uniqueness of others, valuing diversity, and applying spiritual concepts.
- Engage in scholarly inquiry and critical thinking, including evaluation and application of evidence-based research.
- Appraise and apply knowledge to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions that promote health and prevent disease.
- Demonstrate thoughtful analysis of the legal, political, ethical, and/or financial factors impacting healthcare.
- Use information systems and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, promote quality, mitigate error and support decision-making.
- Demonstrate the ability to coordinate and collaborate with other health care team professionals.
- Engage in clinical reasoning, effective communication, and act as change agents to develop professional identity and practice skill.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
- Nurse Practitioners - Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
- Registered Nurses - Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.
- Acute Care Nurses - Provide advanced nursing care for patients with acute conditions such as heart attacks, respiratory distress syndrome, or shock. May care for pre- and post-operative patients or perform advanced, invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
- Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses - Assess, diagnose, and treat individuals and families with mental health or substance use disorders or the potential for such disorders. Apply therapeutic activities, including the prescription of medication, per state regulations, and the administration of psychotherapy.
- Critical Care Nurses - Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
- Clinical Nurse Specialists - Direct nursing staff in the provision of patient care in a clinical practice setting, such as a hospital, hospice, clinic, or home. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.
- Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary - Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.