MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner

Description

The Nurse Practitioner program is designed to prepare current registered nurses to fulfill the role of a competent, caring practitioner responsible for managing the care of families in the primary or acute care setting.

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are clinical experts who implement a holistic approach to meet the health care needs of patients. Family Nurse Practitioners are generalists who care for patients across the lifespan including mothers, infants, children and adults, while Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners have patients that range from age 13 to the elderly. NPs utilize evidence-based practice to manage the health needs of patients in a variety of settings. FNPs and AGPCNPs provide primary care in ambulatory settings, while the AGACNP provides care in an acute care environment. The focus of the Master’s NP program is to provide the academic knowledge and clinical skills necessary for health promotion, disease prevention, assessment and management of common acute and chronic illnesses. Our Master’s degree NP program normally takes 3 to 4 years to complete. Six additional classes would lead to a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Practitioner degree.

The NP Core Competencies are acquired through mentored patient care experiences with emphasis on independent and interprofessional practice, analytic skills for evaluating and providing evidence-based, patient-centered care across settings, and advanced knowledge of the healthcare delivery system. The NP graduate will be eligible to take the national certification examination and apply for state license as an advanced practice nurse.

Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies are emphasized in the following areas:

• Scientific Foundation
• Leadership
• Quality
• Practice Inquiry
• Technology and Information Literacy
• Health Policy
• Health Delivery System
• Ethics
• Independent Practice