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Choosing Your Nurse Practitioner Specialty: 4 Things to Consider

Nurse practitioners, or NPs, rank as one of the fastest growing health-care professions. The meteoric rise in NP's is fueled in part by the world's aging population, the desire to curb rising medical costs as well as dealing with the worsening primary care physician shortage.

Thinking about becoming a nurse practitioner? "One of the pivotal decisions you must make on your path to becoming a NP is selecting your nurse practitioner specialty. From pediatrics to geriatrics and midwifery to cardiology, universities offer a wide variety of specialty programs.

Your nurse practitioner specialty selection will affect your future career so it is important to choose wisely.…

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  Nurse Practitioner Schools

Nurse practitioners enjoy a rewarding and lucrative career. As valued members of medical teams, NPs provide cost-effective and quality treatment for various populations. To meet the swelling demand for these healthcare providers nationwide, there are accredited online NP programs. Explore the varied pathways and specializations...

Articles of Interest

How to Set Up a Nurse Practitioner Job Shadowing Opportunity

Before investing your time and money into becoming a nurse practitioner, it’s important you do a little research to make sure the career is right for you. But, a Google search can only offer limited insight into the life of an NP. The best way to decide if the nurse practitioner career is a good fit for you? Job shadow.

The Campaign for Nursing's Future

Nurse Practitioners are Registered Nurses who serve as primary and specialty health care providers under a physician. Much like a family doctor, Family Nurse Practitioners work with patients throughout their lives, diagnosing illness, conducting exams, and prescribing medication. These nurses can also serve as their patients’ sole health care provider and run their own private practices.

Resources

allNursing Schools

Nurse practitioners may diagnose and treat a wide range of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries, interpret lab results, counsel patients, develop treatment plans, as well as prescribe medication. If you think being a nurse practitioner may be the right fit for you, read the nurse practitioner articles outlined below to understand why the nurse practitioner salary isn't the only reason to attend nurse practitioner school.

NPs & PAs

Student and New Grad center.

American Academy of Nurse Practioners

Whether you're just starting to consider a career as a nurse practitioner (NP), planning your education or about to begin your career, AANP provides its members a wealth of resources. From exemplary CE programs and toolkits, to a wide variety of preparation resources, AANP is here to help you get your education and career off to a wonderful start.

chooseNursing.com

There are a wide variety of nursing programs available in California. Explore all of your options before you make a decision. The school that you decide on should be the one you like and that meets your needs.

ExploreHealthCareers.org

Approximately 15% of all NPs have their own private practices. There are also a number of nurse-managed health centers across the US, in which all of the health care is directed and provided by Nurse Practitioners, along with other health care professionals.

Study.com

A nurse practitioner degree program prepares nursing students to provide primary care to families and treat patients. Graduates of nurse practitioner degree programs might find employment in such specialized fields as pediatric, geriatric or psychiatric care. This article provides career, salary and education information for aspiring nurse practitioners.