MN to NP

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello!

Does anyone know how I can become an FNP if I already have an MN? I'd hate to retake general master's level courses, and I'm hoping some would get waived.

My MN specialties are healthcare leadership and community health (I did a dual track), and I graduated in 2014 from the University of Washington.

TIA!

Are you already an RN?

If not, that would be your first step. As far as your masters, I highly doubt your masters specific courses would transfer in. The general education would, but that would be it from my understanding.

Your best bet is to find the NP programs you want and compare their curriculum with the courses you already have, and see what else is required.

Yes, I'm an RN.

When in my master's program, some classmates opted to continue to FNP, but I decided not to. I believe it was an addition year of schooling, making it a total of 3 yrs. It wasn't in my heart then, and now I think it is.

The NP programs I've reviewed recently are 2yr programs, so I was hoping I could just do the didactic part only and not the entire program.

You should be eligible to apply for a post-master's certificate, without having to retake any of the core courses.

However, unless your program included advanced level physical assessment, physiology, and pharmacology it's likely it will still take two years to complete as you will need these prior to starting clinical coursework.

Best wishes as you continue your education.

Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.
You should be eligible to apply for a post-master's certificate, without having to retake any of the core courses.

However, unless your program included advanced level physical assessment, physiology, and pharmacology it's likely it will still take two years to complete as you will need these prior to starting clinical coursework.

Best wishes as you continue your education.

This is very true that you would not have to repeat the master's level core courses. And the additional courses you would need would depend on the school's specialty requirements. I have several friends who did exactly what you want to do, and it took them an additional 12 months after doing the CNS tract. The original NP program was the same length as my CNS program, but going back added another year b/c of some different courses. More expensive too unfortunately. I would speculate that the easiest way to do this would be to go back to the U of Washington, a fine institution! You didn't say where you were, but you know how some schools won't accept all the courses from another school. Good luck on your goal.

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