Advanced Practice Specialty

Women’s Health Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner/Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Fall 2025 Applications are now open. 

Dual Women’s Health/Gender Related and Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner students are equipped to provide primary health care and gynecologic care to women of all ages. Their wide scope of practice includes health care management, disease prevention and health promotion. The program’s rigorous and comprehensive curriculum requires five semesters for full-time students. 

Nurse practitioner in a white coat talks to a female patient in an exam room.
Section Contents

Specialty Highlights 

Complete in 5 Full-time Semesters

MN Prespecialty students complete in 4-5 semesters. A part-time plan is also available. 

Online/Hybrid Learning Format

Online classes with several in-person sessions over the course of the program

Robust Clinical Experience

1190 hours of clinical practice

Each day, I pull from my education at VUSN. Vanderbilt provides the necessary building blocks for all looking to become advanced practice nurses.

Maggie O’Block, MSN’16,  AGPCNP-BC, WHNP-BC
Urology Nurse Practitioner
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Prestigious Program with Exceptional Outcomes

  • Graduates with this dual specialty have a variety of employment options, serving diverse patient populations regionally, nationally and internationally. including internal medicine, women’s health, primary care and specialty clinics.
  • The dual focus allows graduates to apply their knowledge and skills in a wide range of health care environments and meet the needs of an expanding and diverse patient base.
  • Specialty classes are small and collaborative, with low faculty-to-student ratios and personalized attention. These classes focus specifically on content aligned with the scope of practice for their specialty.
  • Faculty bring real-world experiences and up-to-date knowledge into the classroom, ensuring the curriculum is directly applicable to students' future practice.

Curriculum & Objectives

Our rigorous and comprehensive curriculum is structured to ensure students develop strong clinical reasoning skills and deep primary care knowledge relating to individuals across the lifespan, including adolescents, adults and older people of all genders. Their coursework emphasizes wellness and examines the diverse influences that affect people's lives, including chronic and acute conditions.  Students gain specialized knowledge and skills in providing comprehensive, person-centered care for individuals seeking women's health and gender-related services. The combination of traditional classroom settings, simulated experiences and clinical training allows students to develop both primary care expertise and specialized knowledge and experience in these important practice areas. 

The WHGRNP/AGPCNP curriculum incorporates the 2021 AACN Essentials, assuring students receive a comprehensive and up-to-date education that meets the highest standards in nursing education and assures they are well-prepared for practice.

Explore the MSN full-time, MSN part-time, MN Prespecialty and DNP curriculums.

Clinical Experience

The School of Nursing’s full-time clinical placement team works closely with students and faculty to create enriching clinical practicums. This ensures each student receives robust training tailored to their specialty. Where possible, clinical placements are made in the student’s preferred geographic area. The clinical sites are carefully selected so students can learn from experienced mentors in both primary care and women’s health settings. These sites may include providers’ offices, ambulatory clinics, specialty clinics, family planning clinics, long-term care facilities and OB/GYN clinics.

Time Commitment

This intensive specialty is designed for motivated, self-directed learners who can effectively master large amounts of complex material in a compressed timeframe. While the program can be completed on a part-time basis, balancing full-time work with the program’s rigorous, full-time, accelerated curriculum is not recommended. Some full-time students may continue working in part-time, weekend or PRN positions.

Outcomes

As a dually prepared Women’s Health Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, you can practice in a variety of settings including internal medicine clinics, OB-GYN clinics, community-based clinics, family planning clinics, home health/assisted living/long-term care centers, Planned Parenthood, prenatal clinics, infertility practices, urogynecology practices, women’s health clinics and women’s prisons. Upon graduation, students are prepared to take the Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner certification exam offered by the National Certification Corporation and the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner certification exam offered by both the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board.

Our program is led by passionate, experienced advanced practice nursing educators. It equips you to transform the lives of individuals through holistic care and evidence-based care.

Co-directors

Leslie Hopkins, DNP, APRN, BC, FNP-BC, ANP-BC
Director, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty

Shaunna Parker, MSN, WHNP-PC
Director, Women's Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner Specialty

Take the Next Step

The WHGRNP/AGPCNP Specialty is available as part of the Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Science Prespecialty, Post-Master's Certificate, and BSN to DNP programs. Request information about the program or contact your admissions counselor.