ETSU DNP AGPCNP: a concentration with termination pending
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) still lists Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) as a DNP concentration, but its 2026-27 curriculum actions list the concentration's termination as pending. No AGPCNP plan of study is posted. If you are already enrolled, the priority is getting your remaining courses, hours and timeline in writing, then matching each practicum to adolescent, adult and older adult patients.
Keep your AGPCNP clinicals on track
Tell us which courses you have left, your pace and where you live.
Where the AGPCNP concentration stands
Two ETSU sources point in different directions. The College's DNP pages still list AGPCNP beside FNP, PMHNP and Nursing and Healthcare Leadership. ETSU's curriculum office, in its pending actions for 2026-27, lists terminating the DNP AGPCNP concentration. Pending means the action was not yet final on the date this page was checked.
The DNP page shows AGPCNP links for both the BSN-to-DNP and MSN-to-DNP plans, but they are plain text with no documents behind them. That makes AGPCNP the only ETSU DNP concentration without a published course sequence or clinical hour count.
ETSU's pages give no end date and describe no arrangements for enrolled students. The DNP program director and your academic advisor are the people who can tell you how the pending action affects your own plan.
What ETSU has and has not published
Here is what ETSU's own sources show for the concentration, and where to get the missing pieces.
| Item | What ETSU's sources show | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Listed as current; termination pending in 2026-27 curriculum actions | DNP program director |
| Credits | 85 in the current DNP catalog listing; the ETSU Online DNP range runs 77 to 85 | Academic advisor |
| Plan of study | Not posted for BSN or MSN entry | Academic advisor |
| Clinical hours | Not posted | Course faculty |
| AGPCNP practicum | NRSE 5032 Older Adult Chronic Health Practicum on the older Intent Form | Course faculty |
| Population | Primary care from age 13 through old age, focused on aging | Course faculty |
The DNP-wide rules still apply wherever ETSU states them for every concentration, including at least 40 interprofessional practicum hours inside your total. How those hours work is on the DNP interprofessional hours page.
Primary care, despite one mislabeled page
ETSU's College of Nursing describes adult-gerontology primary care as covering patients from age 13 through old age, with a focus on the aging population. Its post-DNP AGPCNP certificate names primary care clinics, nursing homes and health departments as settings.
One ETSU page muddies this. On the ETSU Online DNP page, the section headed Adult/Gerontology Primary Care NP describes acute care practice and names the acute care certification exam. Treat that as an error in the page, not a change in the concentration, and plan your preceptors around primary care.
The distinction decides where you look. Acute care tracks train mostly in hospitals; an AGPCNP practicum belongs in the kinds of settings ETSU names for this population, such as primary care clinics, nursing homes and health departments, where adolescents, adults and older adults come for ongoing care. If you are unsure whether a proposed site fits, ask your course faculty before the Intent Form goes in.
Plan AGPCNP practicums in primary care settings; the acute care wording on one ETSU Online page does not describe this concentration.
Matching preceptors to adolescents through older adults
AGPCNP is one of the three NP concentrations offered on the Preceptor Intent Form, and the form's course list includes NRSE 5032, titled Older Adult Chronic Health Practicum. That form is dated, with year choices ending in 2021, so confirm the current course number with your faculty.
Faculty read the form to decide whether a site suits the course's population. One section records, by percentage and by patients per day, how many of the practice's patients fall into each age group, with women counted separately. For an adult-gerontology student, a site weighted toward older adults with chronic conditions is the natural fit for a chronic health practicum, while a pediatric-heavy family practice may not show enough of your population.
Our patient population mix page explains how faculty read those numbers, and the Intent Form page walks through the rest of the form.
If you are enrolled now: settle these in writing
With no posted plan and a pending termination, written answers protect your timeline. Work through these with your advisor and the DNP program director.
- Get your plan of study in writingAsk for every remaining course, the term it runs and the clinical hours it carries, including any residencies.
- Confirm each practicum's populationAsk course faculty which age groups and settings each remaining practicum requires before you approach a preceptor.
- Check what happens if you change paceMoving to part time or back to full time is decided by the Office of Student Services on a written request, and open clinical slots weigh on the answer.
- Know your clockETSU allows seven years for a doctorate. Each leave request covers at most three terms in a row, and only military leave stretches the seven-year limit. The time limits page has the details.
- Know the grade rulesEarning under a B gives you one chance to retake the course, and holding more than one Incomplete stops progression. Ask how a repeat would be scheduled for your concentration; see grades and progression.
- Keep your clinical file currentThe DNP catalog asks for the same items before every clinical course: a Tennessee or compact-state RN license or authorization, malpractice coverage at NP-student limits, CPR, the College's clinical requirements, a background check and your own transportation. A lapsed item in ProjectConcert can hold up a practicum start.
The post-DNP AGPCNP certificate
ETSU also lists a 32-credit Post-DNP Adult/Gerontology Primary Care NP certificate, usually four semesters, with summer admission and a March 1 deadline. It is open to nurses who already hold a DNP, in advanced clinical practice or in nursing administration, and it also accepts students currently enrolled in the ETSU DNP, which is why it matters to AGPCNP students now. Admission also asks for a cover letter, a resume and a US RN license that makes you eligible for Tennessee licensure.
Classes are online, while the clinical work is done face to face. Its future is unclear while the DNP concentration's termination is pending, so confirm it is admitting before you plan around it. The post-graduate certificates page covers all of ETSU's certificate options.
Why AGPCNP students choose us
A concentration in transition needs placements that land on time, and that is where we focus. We find adult-gerontology primary care preceptors in person in your own community, in outpatient practices, long-term care and community clinics whose patients match the course you are in.
We build each request around ETSU's paperwork: what the preceptor is licensed and certified as and when those credentials expire, their degrees, the site's age mix for the Intent Form, and the hours you plan to log in ProjectConcert. The contract question goes to the College at the start, which leaves time for it to be signed. Faculty approve and the Office of Student Services verifies; we deliver a file that is complete on arrival. If a preceptor withdraws, we start on the replacement right away. Tell us which courses you have left.
Questions ETSU students ask
Is ETSU ending the DNP AGPCNP concentration?
ETSU's 2026-27 curriculum actions list the termination of the DNP AGPCNP concentration as pending, while the College's DNP pages still show it as current. ETSU's pages give no end date or arrangements for enrolled students. The DNP program director can tell you how the pending action affects your plan.
Is ETSU's AGPCNP primary care or acute care?
Primary care. The College describes the population as ages 13 through old age with a focus on aging, and the post-DNP certificate names primary care clinics, nursing homes and health departments. One section of the ETSU Online DNP page describes acute care under the AGPCNP heading, which appears to be an error.
Which practicum course is specific to AGPCNP students?
On the older Preceptor Intent Form, the AGPCNP course is NRSE 5032, titled Older Adult Chronic Health Practicum. The form's year choices stop at 2021 and other course numbers on it have since changed, so confirm the current number and hours with your course faculty.
Does the ETSU-TTU joint DNP offer an adult-gerontology track?
It offers Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP, which ETSU describes as caring for adolescents to older adults in hospitals and clinics. That is an acute care concentration in a separate joint program with its own admission, not a continuation of ETSU's primary care AGPCNP.
How long do I have to finish if my plan is disrupted?
ETSU allows seven years for a doctorate, counted from the end of your first term that counts toward it. You may request leave for as long as three consecutive terms and ask again later, yet the seven years keep running unless the leave is for military service. Expired courses need the Graduate Dean's approval to revalidate.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against ETSU's own catalog, College of Nursing pages, plans of study and ProjectConcert guides. Your plan of study, your syllabus, your course faculty and the graduate clinical coordinator have the final word.
ETSU asks you to lead the preceptor search. We make it the fastest part of your program.
Tell us your ETSU concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course's patient population and prepare everything your Preceptor Intent Form and ProjectConcert entry need.
- Preceptors matched to the course: young and middle adults for
NRSE 5012, older adults forNRSE 5014, women forNRSE 5022, children forNRSE 5024, psychiatric care forNRSE 5405 - Credentials, license numbers, certification dates and the site's patient mix ready for faculty approval
- In your own community, in Northeast Tennessee or wherever ETSU approves your clinicals
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