A family nurse practitioner (FNP) is a registered nurse who has undergone advanced training in specific or general health care. Some states allow the professionals to run their own practices while other states require them to work with a doctor. Regardless of the case, FNPs have more autonomy than RNs.
Each state has different requirements for certifying family nurse practitioners. A state examination must be passed before one can be allowed to open their own practice or be certified to work in conjunction with a medical doctor. Apart from state certification, most FNPs get certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Association to improve their credibility.
Some of the duties of a family nurse practitioner may include educating patients on treatment options, self-care skills and health behaviors, providing care for patients who are in critical conditions, providing primary care services and health maintenance care, providing child care services such as immunizations or screening, providing family planning services and prenatal care. Other duties may include prescribing physical therapy, performing and interpreting diagnostic studies, conduction physical studies, obtain medical histories, diagnosing and treating chronic and non-chronic diseases, among others.
Family nurse practitioners need advanced training than registered nurses. The training mainly consists of scientific training especially in diagnosis and treatment of diseases. An FNP starts as an RN first and must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing. After attaining a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), he or she has to get a master’s degree in nursing (MSN). A doctoral degree is not a requirement to be certified as an FNP but most nurses prefer to complete this last stage of nursing education.
The major places where FNPs are employed are nursing care facilities, home health care facilities, offices of physicians, general medical and surgical hospitals and employment services. Those working in employment services get the highest average wages of $68,160 per annum. The wages for practitioners in general medical and surgical hospitals, offices of physicians, home health care services and nursing care facilities average at $63,880, $59,210, $58,740 and $57,060 respectively.
There are excellent job opportunities for family nurse practitioners. However, these may vary based on geographic setting and employment.