221 Posts
I am FNP and I do ER. I've worked so far in 3 different hospitals and never heard any gripe about my cert. The only time I had a problem was when I worked with a hospitalist group I could not cover ICU because that does require acute care certification.
I don't recommend ENP off the bat because you do restrict yourself to only an ER setting. Go for FNP and if you want en ER cert go for post masters.
373 Posts
Find an ACNP/FNP combo program that way you have all your bases covered. In my areas hospitals are only hiring FNP/ACNP for the ER or FNP's with previous hospitalist/ER experience ...they will not hire a new NP into the ER even if they have ER experience as a nurse...just my 2 cents good luck
DizzyJ DHSc PA-C
198 Posts
First off, a CRNP is simply a certified registered nurse practitioner. So, it encompasses all NP specialties. My assumption is you are really wanting to compare FNP vs ACNP (acute care NP). There is debate about this. In my opinion the best option would to do a specific ENP program (Emergency NP) or a combined FNP/ACNP program. This way you get specific training to handle the ER. This is really a newer development over the past several years-decade. I've worked with several FNPs in the ER setting and they did just fine. This conversation is similar I would say to FNP vs ACNP for inpatient work. There are prior posts about this you can search.