Family Nurse Practitioner Programs
(found 357 programs from 283 schools)

Listed below are all of the nursing schools in the US offering accredited Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs.

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According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), Family NPs represent over 47% of the total population of Nurse Practitioners (currently over 125K total in the US), which makes it by far the largest Nurse Practitioner specialty. Second place is Adult, with close to 20%.

What Does A Family Nurse Practitioner / FNP Actually Do?

As we mentioned earlier, Nurse Practitioners have taken over a lot of the territory previously reserved for Primary Care Physicians, and Family Nurse Practitioners are leading the charge. Family Nurse Practitioners, as you might expect, handle a broad variety of standard medical issues for both adults and children.

Family Nurse Practitioners practice in many different settings - basically anywhere a primary care physician might practice. As we mentioned earlier, a growing number of FNPs are choosing to work in retail clinics, which serve the community from inside of grocery stores, drugstores, or other chains. The "MinuteClinics" in CVS are one example of this. FNPs also frequently take on the role of primary care provider in rural settings, where PCPs are less common and there is a more urgent need for primary care. In most states, Family Nurse Practitioners can practice independently, i.e. without the direct supervision of a physician. A growing segment of Nurse Practitioners have even started their own practices.

There’s a good background article on the Nurse Practitioner role, with a focus on the primary care aspect, on the AANP website: AANP article. Primary care has always been the larger focus of the NP role, whether it’s delivered to adult patients, or children, or the elderly, or some other group. According to the AANP, two thirds of Nurse Practitioners today practice in at least one primary care site.

How Do I Become A Family Nurse Practitioner?

The first step in becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner is, of course, to find an accredited Masters of Science in Nursing program with a Family Nurse Practitioner tracks. Fortunately, these are plentiful. There are a number of online options available as well.

The AANP is the primary certification body for Family Nurse Practitioners. You will be able to take the appropriate certification exam at the end of your degree program. As always, make sure to check with the Board of Nursing in the state where you intend to practice, for any state specific requirements.