As the name implies, an AGCNS usually specializes in a particular discipline: diseases, medical environments, patients, procedures, etc. They commonly engage in clinical practice, research, consulting, management, and teaching. A Nurse Educator is a clinician focused on educating current and future nurses on effective patient care.

The University has created a unique specialty offering with 4 options. The Adult-Gero Clinical Nurse Specialist track allows focus areas in Adult Health/Gerontology or Critical Care. By combining the AGCNS specialty with Nurse Educator, a student is not only prepared to master either of the clinical disciplines, but given training to become an expert teacher in the workplace and academically Adult Health/Gerontology or Critical Care.

Graduates of the MSN program’s AGCNS specialty are eligible to sit for either the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) certification exam. Those with 9 hours of graduate-level education courses within the Adult-Gero Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Educator track are eligible to sit for the National League of Nursing (NLN) certification exam.