A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse (RN) who has additional education and training in a specialized field. Nurse practitioners can specialize in family medicine, women’s health, geriatric care, and many other health categories. If you’re interested in gaining advanced knowledge and skills, pursuing a master’s degree in nursing is the appropriate next step in your professional career.
A graduate-level nursing program is often referred to as a Master of Science in nursing, or MSN. Once accepted into a program, you’ll learn advanced patient care techniques and the knowledge and skills needed to work directly with physicians. In addition to clinical training, you’ll study technology and its relationship to healthcare as well as how to manage a team of nurses and medical aids. Nurse practitioners work in a variety of settings including outpatient clinics, ambulatory care settings, emergency departments, and inpatient units, to name a few.
In order to become a nurse practitioner, a graduate-level degree is required from an accredited college or university. Many schools offer these programs with the option to specialize in your area of interest. These programs often take two to three years to complete and depending on your scheduling needs, some courses, if not all, can be completed online. Distance learning allows nurses to continue working while attending classes. All programs, both online and traditional, prepare students to assume the role of an advanced practice nurse.
A nurse practitioner is an advanced practice nurse who provides primary and specialty care to patients. A nurse practitioner is responsible for administering both nursing and wider healthcare services; and, they are licensed to prescribe medications. Becoming a nurse practitioner requires the completion of a master's degree program. Below are the most popular colleges offering online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees.
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What is a nurse practitioner degree program?Nurse practitioners are more advanced providers of medical care than registered nurses or nursing assistants. A master’s degree is required to become an NP, and this added education qualifies the NP to prescribe medication and act as a primary care provider in situations where a physician is not available or is too costly. Nurse practitioners can work in a variety of environments, and as a result there are many options for nurse practitioner degree programs. Typical job responsibilities are to diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness. Nurse practitioners can work independently or as a part of a health care team.
Nursing is one of the fastest growing and highest demand areas of employment in the U.S. today. Nurse practitioners, who usually have a high level of expertise in one particular area of nursing, can take advantage of this booming job market to seek jobs that are more fulfilling, provide more flexible hours or better pay, or offer more room for advancement. Though The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t provide specific data about nurse practitioner salaries, the median annual wage for all types of registered nurse was $62,450 as of May, 2008, and employment was growing fast and expected to continue doing so until at least 2018.
As previously mentioned, while there are specific nurse practitioner degree programs, many of the paths leading to a nurse practitioner career go through other types of nursing degrees and specializations. It is important to note that many nurse practitioner courses and degree programs are on a graduate level. Therefore, having an undergraduate degree is often required.
Many excellent academic institutions offer nurse practitioner courses, as well as general nursing courses. Some of these schools have traditional, on-campus learning programs. Others offer distance education options. Distance education options are most useful for students who may have other occupational or family commitments. The following schools offer nursing degrees that can get students on their way to becoming certified nurse practitioners:
Obtaining an education can be extremely expensive, but there are always scholarships, grants, and loans to be applied for, and in the growing health care field, there is enough need for new employees that financial assistance isn’t too hard to come by. Some of the major ways that aspiring nurse practitioners can finance their education include:
Two specific scholarships that students who want to study to be a nurse practitioner should look into are as follows.
Where registered nurses (RNs) work in general hospitals and provide all kinds of basic care, nurse practitioners usually choose a specialty such as pediatrics or gynecologic nursing, and focus their learning and attention on working with patients in a certain demographic (i.e. expecting mothers). There are general nurse practitioners too, such as family nurse practitioners, who may serve as primary care providers for families, and can prescribe medication. Some of the more specific niches that a nurse practitioner can work in include:
Because there is such demand for workers in the field of nursing, there are many programs that claim to prepare students for the career in a matter of months. Some of these are legitimate, but others are just trying to cash in on the trend. Only schools that are accredited by an accrediting body with the U.S. Secretary of Education’s approval are even worth looking at. Accreditation shows that a school has proven its ability to provide high caliber education that prepares students to work in the field they are trained in. The list below includes only top flight accredited online colleges that offer programs in nursing. The above article offered general information about how to get student aid and choose a specialty in nursing, but to get a feel for any specific program, it is important to get in touch with the school itself. If you want to learn more about specific online nurse practitioner programs, pick a few schools out from the lineup below and ask them for more information on the degree you’re most interested in. It never hurts to research your options, and you might find the perfect school for you!
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