Overview
The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner—Acute Care (PNP-AC) specialty prepares advanced practice registered nurses who provide child-focused, family-centered, culturally respectful care to meet the specialized needs of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with complex acute, critical, and chronic illness. PNP-AC graduates work across a variety of settings, including but not limited to hospitals, intensive care units, specialty clinics, emergency departments, and home health to care for pediatric patients that may have physiological instability, medical fragility, life-threatening illness or injury, and/or technological dependency. PNP-ACs collaborate within interprofessional teams to stabilize patients, effectively prevent and manage complications, facilitate the restoration of optimal health, and deliver comprehensive palliative and end-of-life care. The UCSF PNP-AC specialty program prepares graduates for entry-level PNP-AC practice to provide evidence-based care across the spectrum of pediatric illness and acuity settings from outpatient to inpatient services.
Emphasis in the PNP-AC specialty is on competency-based learning and accountability for independent and collaborative decision-making rooted in strong clinical judgment skills, high-quality care, and evidence-based practice. The UCSF PNP-AC specialty strives to develop advanced practice registered nurses to deliver care that is diverse, inclusive, and equitable, with the goals of reducing health disparities and improving health care access during pediatric illness and injury.
Graduates of the UCSF PNP-AC specialty are leaders in pediatric health care in the Bay Area and beyond. The PNP-AC specialty is the only one of its kind in a public university in California.
Now accepting applications for fall 2026. Start an application. Apply by Feb. 15, 2026.
Certifications and Licenses
- California Board of Registered Nursing, Nurse Practitioner certificate
- California Board of Registered Nursing, Nurse Practitioner Furnishing certificate
- National DEA license
- Graduates of the PNP-AC specialty are eligible to take the Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Acute Care (CPNP-AC) national certification examination offered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB).
Curriculum
For individuals applying for admission for fall 2026, the sample curriculum for the BSN Entry to DNP — Advanced Nursing Focus pathway can be viewed on our Curriculum webpage.
Practice Experience Requirement
Applicants to the UCSF PNP-AC specialty are required to have a minimum of two years of clinical practice in an acute pediatric setting or the equivalent. Review our Application Requirements webpage for a full list of admissions requirements.
Faculty
Brittany Christiansen, PhD, DNP, CPNP-PC/AC, associate professor - Specialty Coordinator
Vanessa Kalis, DNP, CPNP-AC, ACNP-BC, professor
Chelsea Noone, PhD, RN, CCNS, assistant professor
Sandra L. Staveski, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC, associate professor
Contact Us
Specialty Coordinator: Brittany Christiansen, PhD, DNP, CPNP-PC/AC
[email protected]
415-476-1955