Family NP vs. Adult Gerontology NP ... Pros/Cons?

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Hi guys,

This is sort of a basic question and probably subjective ... but I wanted to ask other students who may have already selected their specialty to help me understand which path I should really be choosing, so I understand the experiences I may have with that specialty.

To start, I should probably preface by saying that I want to be a Family NP so far --- for some reason internal medicine/family medicine is where my interest lies, so I feel I would be more of an asset as an FNP, because I would be dealing with a larger population of people (birth to death). That said, I also feel like everyone I've spoken to wants to be an FNP, too. Is this really just the best specialty to select to be employed? Or, are there other perks I'm not considering about a GNP specialty? I know they don't work with children ... but what else draws someone to be a GNP vs FNP?

Thanks for all your help!

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I think this is very subjective, because only you are going to know what is a "pro" versus "con" for you. Objectively, however, FNP does cover all the life stages. Is that a pro? Depends on who you ask.

Perhaps a perk of AGNP is that since everyone is doing family, you will be more marketable for a position that requires you to work with the older population. I remember in my BSN program, so many students were gaga over peds and L&D. It was a small minority who wanted to work with older adults, and in reality, they probably need the most help.

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Specializes in CVICU, MICU, Burn ICU.

I agree with others, you have to decide for yourself. But for me, it's FNP -- even though I am not at all opposed to working in geriatrics as it's a booming market and I'd like to be part of the solution to bring quality care to that very vulnerable, often not advocated for -- population. However, truth be told, I also want to see peds. For me -- I can see me wanting to go back and get post-grad cert in acute care to open more acute care doors in areas that interest me, but I still need that foundation in life-span care. But I hear ya about 'everyone wants to be a FNP" -- but just because everyone does and maybe some who shouldn't even -- doesn't mean that I shouldn't. You read so much here on AN about this controversy and that controversy regarding NP prep and practice. We all have to do our own real research and look at our own communities where we will learn and work in to see what is best for each of us. There are times for casting the net for opinions, but sometimes you gotta drown out the noise and just focus.

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