The
Graduate Nursing
FAMILY NURSE
PRACTITIONER (FNP)
FAQs
Q. What
is an Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)?
A. A family nurse practitioner is a registered professional
nurse who has completed a graduate education program (Master of Arts or Master
of Science) in nursing. There are numerous nurse practitioner specialties,
including Family Health, Psychiatric Mental Health, Adult Health, Geriatric
Health, Women’s Health, Pediatric Health, and Acute Care. A family nurse
practitioner meets the primary health
care needs of the family by providing health assessments, direct care and
guidance, teaching, or counseling as appropriate, particularly around family
self-care.
Q. In
what settings does an Family Nurse Practitioner
practice?
A. The FNP typically works collaboratively with family primary
care physicians and other professionals within the health care system. In
addition to conventional practice in an office, clinic, or ambulatory care
center, the FNP may follow families in a variety of settings, such as school,
home, work place, long term care facility, or hospital.
Q. What
is the scope of practice of the Family Nurse Practitioner?
A. Family Nurse Practitioners treat
patients across the life span in a holistic manner utilizing specialized skills
to:
·
Take health histories and perform physical examinations.
·
Assess, treat and evaluate common acute and chronic
illnesses.
·
Prescribe and manage medications for acute a stable
chronic conditions.
·
Promote positive health behaviors through education
and counseling.
·
Provide prenatal care, family planning services, and
the management of normal pregnancies.
·
Provide health screening and disease prevention
services such as blood pressure screening, nutrition counseling, immunizations
and cancer screening.
·
Identify health needs that require referral for more
specialized care.
Q. What is a collaborative practice agreement?
A. A collaborative practice agreement is a
mutually agreed upon plan between an advanced practice registered nurse and one
or more licensed physicians that designates the scope of collaboration
necessary to manage the care of patients with whom the advanced practice
registered nurse and licensed physician(s) have similar expertise. In other words, for purposes of optimal
patient care, it is desirable that the ANP have a collaborative practice
agreement with a physician. Collaborative practice agreements for nurse
practitioners in the state of Minnesota are mutually drafted by the nurse
practitioner and collaborating physician(s) in accordance with the Minnesota
Nurses Association / Minnesota Medical Association’s Memorandum of Understanding For Written Prescribing Agreements Between
an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Collaborating Physician. The
certified registered nurse practitioner and the collaborating physician have
the responsibility to jointly determine the amount of autonomy that will be
delegated specific to the prescribing, monitoring and managing of drugs.
Q. What are the certification requirements for
an Family Nurse Practitioner?
A. Family Nurse Practitioners may apply for certification through the
·
Hold a currently active, unrestricted professional
license in the
·
Hold a master’s or higher degree in nursing.
·
Have completed formal training in the same specialty
area of practice in which they are applying for certification through a
master’s program or formal post-graduate master’s program in nursing.
·
Have graduated from a program offered by an accredited
institution granting graduate-level academic credit for all course work that
includes both didactic and clinical components, and a minimum of 500 hours of
supervised clinical practice in the specialty area and role.
Family nurse practitioners may also become certified
through the
·
Certification is offered to graduates of approved
Masters and Post Masters level adult and family nurse practitioner
programs.
·
Other nurse practitioners may petition the
Certification program for permission to sit for the examinations.
·
Family and adult nurse practitioners with prior
certification by an approved national certification body
who meet the criteria for reciprocity established by the AANP Certification
Program, may apply for reciprocity by submitting the approved application.
The
Certification guidelines are available
at:
http://nursingworld.org/ancc/certification/exams.html
More information is available from the
More information is available from the
following websites: