Family Nurse Practitioner Area of Concentration
* As of June 2, 2011 the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing will not be accepting applications to the Family Nurse Practitioner area of concentration in the master’s program. We will only be accepting applications to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program for this area of concentration.
The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is prepared as a generalist, principal provider of primary health care across the lifespan. In this clinician role, the FNP assumes responsibility for promoting, maintaining and restoring health to individuals across the lifespan. This includes the identification of health risks, the promotion of wellness, and the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illness. FNPs also conduct research and provide leadership in mobilizing community resources and community education for patient health and safety. They are prepared to work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals in a variety of settings.
The FNP area of concentration offers both full time and part time study on the main campus in Pittsburgh and is transmitted to regional campuses. The sequence of courses provides for a logical building of the clinical decision making skill necessary to function as an FNP. Specifically, pathophysiology, pharmacology and health promotion are foundational and are required early in the program of study. Management courses follow the courses in physical examination and differential diagnosis. The pediatric and geriatric courses focus on the developmental, diagnostic, and physiologic differences encountered in caring for these special populations. Culminating role and clinical practice are in the final term of study and are synthesizing experiences that prepare graduates for immediate employment as FNPs Graduates are eligible for legal certification and prescriptive authority in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other states and professional certification offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).
The curriculum is nationally ranked and serves as a model for FNP programs. Employment opportunities for FNP's are plentiful across the nation. Most graduates work in ambulatory care settings such as:
- community health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers
- hospital primary care and specialty clinics
- employee health
- school and college health
- physician private practices
- emergency and urgent care
- long term care
- retail clinics
- nurse practitioner managed practices