FNP or AGACNP for cardiology clinic?

[bmint07, BSN]

I want to work in an adult cardiology clinic/office and do rounds in the hospital as needed. I hear that FNPs are technically “not allowed” to work in the hospital. 

Would that mean that if I get my FNP that I am solely stuck in the office setting and can’t do hospital rounds? 

Would a specialty clinic be more likely to hire me if I get my AGACNP (adult acute care). I hear online that’s best for specialty clinics ... so I’m a little confused since it’s “acute care.” 

Side notes: 

•I do not care to work with children or in women’s care btw. It would be nice to have the option for flexibility, but it’s not necessary for me. 

•And I’m not considering AGPCNP (adult primary care) because if I’m going to restrict myself to outpatient, then I would choose FNP to at least have more job options. If that makes sense. 

[staphylococci, NP]

If you're wanting to do any type of inpatient work with adults, then you are better off attending an AGACNP program as you'll be better prepared to care for that population. The current FNP curriculum focuses on primary care across the lifespan, which does not include didactics and clinical rotations in hospital medicine, critical care medicine, or surgery. We did cover a very small portion of emergency medicine and knowing when a patient needs to be admitted and/or have surgery, but beyond that, it is out of our scope as FNPs. That being said, the majority of Cardiology practices in my region require NPs to be AGACNP certified as they often require coverage of the the cardiac ICU and/or cardiology floor(s).