NP specialties?

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Feb 9, 2017

Hi guys! So I recently transferred from pre med into pre nursing due to my health (physical & mental.) I've done research and volunteered in ERs so one thing I've always admired is nurses. You guys get stuff done! At my ER, most patients never see the doctors. Doctors are MIA. Nurses are the ones that take care of patients, do their tests, care for them, etc. Anyway, I'm really interested in becoming an NP but I haven't found much information about the specialties. Anyone have any advice? I love ICU, emergency medicine, and anything near as well. Thank you in advance!

There are several degrees NP's can obtain, which dictates the focus/specialty where you can work.

Family Nurse Practitioners- Trained to care for patients from birth to geriatrics. Sort of your jack of all trades master of none NP. You will find them in just about every specialty and discipline depending on where you are as they are the most abundant type of NP. The is a role typically focused and educated on primary care, but you will also find FNP's working in hospitals too. Some states frown upon this, other's don't care, and some states are in a grey area. ER's actually prefer FNP's because they can see all patient populations.

Adult/Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner - Focused on more of the inpatient/higher acuity side of patient care (like ICU). Specifically trained to care for hospitalized, critically ill patients, these are the NP's you will see dropping central lines, chest tubes, and intubating patients. A relatively new discipline to the NP field comparatively, AGACNP's often are working for intensivists, hospitalist groups, and really any other inpatient specialty such as cardiology, pulmonology, trauma, etc.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Primary Care) - NP's that focus on pediatrics in the primary care role. Typically found working for pediatricians or in their own private pediatric practice. This type of NP has been cracked down on in some states so they aren't allowed to be in hospitals.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Acute Care) - NP's that focus on kids in the hospital setting. You have likely seen them if you've ever been to a PICU or ER at any hospital that treats children. Like their primary care counterparts, this type of NP typically isn't found in primary care settings, and some states have cracked down on this.

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner - Takes care of newborn babies. If you've had a child, chances are this was the first provider that got ahold of your child and gave them a look over. You'll see them in delivery rooms, NICU's, and in the OR for C-sections.

Women's Health Nurse Practitioner - Typically found in OBGYN practices and focus on women's health in a primary care setting. These NP's perform annual screenings and perform certain examinations like a pap smear. Maybe other's can elaborate but I am yet to see an WHNP on the inpatient side of things. Bascially, if you go to an OBGYN for your annual, don't be surprised if it's one of these NP's doing it.

Mental Health/Psych Nurse Practitioner - Like it sounds, nurse practitioner's that focus on treating patients with mental health disorders. Can be seen working in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

There are also Adult Nurse Practitioners and Geriatric Nurse Practitioners (which I would imagine is self explanatory), but many programs have phased these disciplines out and they aren't too common anymore. Some boarding agencies have dropped or combined their examinations as well.

Those are the most common types of nurse practitioner in a nut shell. Within them, you will find Nurse Practitioner's working in a wide variety of specialties. For example, a Pediatric NP in primary care could be seen working in a pediatric endocrinologists office. An AGACNP could work for a cardiothoracic surgery team as first assist in the OR for open heart surgery. A family nurse practitioner could work in a rural family practice clinic where they go from one room and treat a child for strep throat, go to another room and perform a pap smear, and then bounce to another room and interpret and ekg for a man complaining of chest pain. Basically, if there's a specialty, there is likely an NP of some kind working in it.

db2xs · Feb 10, 2017

Don't forget the adult-gero primary care NPs! :)

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Feb 10, 2017

Don't forget the adult-gero primary care NPs! :)

Sorry!

Adult-Gero Nurse Practioner (Primary Care) - Similar education as an FNP in terms of their focus on primary care, but geared for adults and geriatrics without the pediatrics mixed in. If I remember correctly at my board review, they also learn some women's health things and are tested on it. This specialty used to be split into adults and geriatrics, then they combined it and merged the certifying board as well. Like FNP's, they can be found working for just about any specialty and practice, both inpatient or outpatient.