Nestled on the East coast, Delaware is the 49th smallest state. Less than 1000 nurse practitioners are currently in practice in Delaware, but the demand for advanced practice nurses (APNs), including NPs, has boomed in recent years. Between 2000 and 2008, demand for hospital-based APNs increased by 195 to 300 percent in two of Delaware's three counties.
Like many states, Delaware struggles to meet the demand for primary care. The number of healthcare providers who can diagnose and treat illness is expected to grow about 3 percent per year between 2008 and 2018, potentially increasing the demand for nurse practitioners.
NPs in Delaware must have a collaborative agreement in place with a physician before they can diagnose, treat patients or prescribe medications. The average annual salary of a nurse practitioner in Delaware is $94,000. The professional organization for nurse practitioners is the Advanced Practice Nurse Council of Delaware.
Top NP programs in Delaware include:
- University of Delaware. The University of Delaware offers a variety of options for Registered Nurses with BSN degrees who wish to become family nurse practitioners or adult nurse practitioners. Students can select an on-campus hybrid option, which allows them to take six core courses online. NP students can also select a full-time or part-time option. Full-time students can expect to complete the program in 2.5 years; part-time students generally finish in 3.5 years.
- Wilmington University. Wilmington University offers a master's level nurse practitioner program. Students can select either the family nurse practitioner track or the adult/gerontology NP track. Classes are offered at the Wilson Graduate Center and in Georgetown.
- Drexel University. Based in Philadelphia, Drexel University offers a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner program online. Adult Acute Care and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs are also available online, but both of those programs require visits to the Philadelphia campus.
Accredited schools with NP programs in Delaware:
