Are there real clinical specialties for NPs?

Specialties NP

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Hi All!

Please forgive my ignorance. I'm still quite new to all of this, but I'm learning a great deal from you all, as well as do some info gathering on my own.

I'm an RN, but up until very recently was attending med school.Well...to make a long story short, it no longer appears to be a viable choice for me. Sometimes life gets in the way :uhoh3: .Anyway the next best thing for me would be an NP (FNP) track. Are any of you practicing in the fields of derm, neuro, sports medicine? Is there such a thing as radiology NPs? The above fields are considered to be competetive among docs,but that's mainly $$$ and lifestyle issues. Also one field that I'm very interested in is allergy/immunology. I have personaly Tx'd lots, and lots of ppl quite successfully in my Acupuncture practice for the multitude of kind of difficult to Dx, vaguely defined symptoms and problems. But I certainly want to have the knowledge, and the authority to be able to Dx, Tx, run some conventional tests etc. Is all of that attainable by becoming an NP?

Your thoughts, suggestions, comments etc are greatly appreciated!

Thanks a lot :thankya:

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

NICU, CNM, CRNA & ER/Acute are about the only specialties - the other NP programs are generalized. You do not do a specialty residency or program in NP school by and large - it's OJT post grad, although there are a very limited number of schools that I have heard about that offer some sort of post grad or con-current training.

Thats not to say that somewhere, sombody doesnt offer something like a "cardiac" or a School Nurse" speciailty - it just isnt the way its usually done.

Just as in nursing school - learn general, train for specialty OJT after you graduate.

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Hi Papadoc,

To answer your question about Radiology NPs. Yes they do exist. The ones I know of are certified FNP or Acute Care NP. If you are interested in allergy/immunology FNP is a good way to go. I agree FNP is the most generalized track. There are quite a few specialities and more evolving as we speak. There are also Peds NP, Womens Health, Geriatric and a few others. It sounds like you are headed down the appropriate track! Good Luck!

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Thank You All for your repplies and support.

Papadoc

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