Post-Graduate Certificates

Applicants to the Post-Graduate Certificate program must meet the following requirements:

• Earned a master’s degree in nursing from a program accredited by the NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA), the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2.
• Submission of a Statement of Purpose describing the applicant’s goals for pursuing post-graduate certificate study at The Catholic University of America.
• Curriculum vitae or resume.
• Copy of an unencumbered RN license and advanced practice license, if applicable.
• Two letters of reference, preferably one from an academic source and one from a current or former employer.
• Meets the Conway School of Nursing’s Health-Related Behavioral Standards for clinical programs.
• All students admitted to the program are required to submit a Graduate Health Form indicating they are able to participate in clinical practice.

Note: Applicants seeking preparation and eligibility for certification in an advanced practice population must have approval from the Specialty Program Coordinator before enrollment in the Post-Graduate Certificate program.

Graduates of the Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) program are expected to achieve the following outcomes upon completion:

1. Knowledge for Nursing Practice

Integrate scientific underpinnings into critical thinking and clinical reasoning, including knowledge from nursing and other disciplines, theology, philosophy and the other liberal arts and natural and social sciences, to make judgments and create innovations in advanced nursing practice/specialty levels for the common good..

2. Person-Centered Care

Implement, evaluate, and manage care that supports morally responsible, holistic, individualized, just, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, and inclusive care that is respectful of the dignity of the human person and consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

3. Population Health

Access population health databases to identify needs and implement collaborative activities that promote health, prevent disease, and manage risks, considering social determinants of health and advocating for the improvement of equitable health outcomes, across the levels of prevention through both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from diverse communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others.

4. Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline

Synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care.

5. Quality and Safety

Implement initiatives to address clinical quality issues using improvement science and evidence to promote a culture of patient, provider, and work environment safety through both system effectiveness and individual performance.

6. Interprofessional Partnerships

Implements models of interprofessional teamwork and intentional collaboration with colleagues, patients, families, and communities that values participatory decision-making related to healthcare needs to optimize, enhance and improve health outcomes within advanced nursing specialty practice.

7. Systems-Based Practice

Develop and lead strategy implementation of cost-effective and efficient care within complex healthcare systems based on Catholic values to provide safe, quality, and equitable care to diverse populations.

8. Informatics and Healthcare Technologies

Navigate information and communication technologies to gather data, drive decision making, and provide care respecting the integrity, worth, and dignity of the human person while adhering to best practice and professional and regulatory standards.

9. Professionalism

Model a sustainable professional identity grounded in a Catholic worldview that respects the inherent dignity of all people (mind, body, and spirit) with honesty, integrity, accountability, a collaborative disposition, and ethical behavior reflective of nursing’s unique characteristics and values.

10. Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development

Model and mentor others in activities that demonstrate a commitment to lifelong personal well-being, intellectual curiosity, professional growth and development, resilience, and healthcare leadership and change influencer.