Percentage of various NP specialties in acute care?

Specialties NP

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Hello all,

I am just wondering what percentage of NP specialties (FNP, ACNP) work in acute care at your hospitals or in your state, if you are aware. I have heard from people that many of them are FNP working in ER's, urgent cares, etc. just because of their ability to see all ages of people. But on the other hand I have heard that they are trying to do away with FNP in acute care settings, and just keeping the ACNP.

I am kind of struggling between which degree that I want to go for after my BSN. I like that FNP can see all ages, and I have heard of them being hired into acute care. but on the other hand, I want the more advanced knowledge when it comes to acute care and various procedures with the ACNP degree, but I don't like that they can only see either adult/gero or peds depending on their degree.

I have thought about starting with my FNP then getting an ACNP post master's certification, but that just seems like it will be too much schooling.

The current BSN program I am at now is getting BSN-DNP programs coming in 2016. So you get your DNP and the master's degree of your choosing (FNP, ACNP, anesthesia, and some others) combined in a 3-4 year program. This could be a good way to go, just have to figure out which NP degree to go for.

Specializes in NICU, telemetry.

I agree with what Dranger and MallysMama are saying.

I feel like I could've written your post myself. When I first began seriously researching schools, I was torn between which specialty to choose. I like the population flexibility the FNP presents, but I feel like I belong inpatient. I do not see myself working outpatient, at least for a very long time. So I chose ACNP in the end because of my personal goals and because through around a year of constantly looking at job opportunities to help me decide, I saw hospitals asking for ACNP only. I also feared that the market is going to be so overly saturated with FNP grads. Felt like the smarter option for me. Not only that, but I have still seen many outpatient settings saying they'll take ACNPs, like cardiology offices.

I looked into the two mentioned FNP/ACNP programs. is dead set on needing 2 years ER experience for entrance. USA told me ICU was not acceptable(in August of 2014), but said you could add on a couple other clinical classes to still complete the program...on a "very limited admission to this option". Recently, someone said here they have changed that and that ICU is now acceptable. Not sure.

Just something to think about if you do go that route. You might want to think about getting into the ER now if you want to do the dual. Good luck deciding! It's really tough, but in the end, I think you will decide correctly for yourself.

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Specializes in Occ. Hlth, Education, ICU, Med-Surg.
But what is the job market for ACNP's? I've heard it sucks. I would rather become a FNP with a better job security and work inpatient with that degree than waste time on an ACNP degree that won't get me a job anytime soon.

There ares some statistics on the AANP website regarding specialty percentages (might be in the members section though...can't quite recall)

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Specializes in ICU.
But what is the job market for ACNP's? I've heard it sucks. I would rather become a FNP with a better job security and work inpatient with that degree than waste time on an ACNP degree that won't get me a job anytime soon.

All you need to do is pretend you're looking for a job and do a job search. What comes up in your area? Are there ACNP jobs right now? I've never had a problem finding available job listings, but I'm sure it depends a lot on the area. You also have to look at supply and demand. There are more FNP grads, in general, than ACNPs. So even if there are more FNP jobs- there are also more people applying to them. I think it all evens out.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
There ares some statistics on the AANP website regarding specialty percentages (might be in the members section though...can't quite recall)

There are various statistics in the AANP website and most can be accessed by non-members. I've seen one from a 2013-2014 practice setting survey that actually breaks it down by NP tracks and I find it interesting. One thing to remember with AANP data is that actual participation from across the US is not always great (there were only over 42,000 NP's who responded and there were states that were underrepresented).

Nevertheless it gives us an idea of where graduates actually end up working in. It seem that in general, NP's practice in settings where they trained under in the first place. Either that is true or those who practice outside of their field of training did not respond to the survey. It is also possible that ANP's and FNP's working for private practice physicians likely also see patients in the hospital as part of their role.

One comment I would say to the OP about wanting to practice in an acute care field now and later wanting to slow down and do primary care as he gets older is probably not a smart idea. One, medicine and healthcare is a dynamic field that changes fast. You can not remain competent in a field you don't practice in for a while so even if you are trained as an FNP but have done specialty fields for a long time and never practiced primary care, thinking that you can merely "jump back in the saddle" of primary care is somewhat unsafe and a disservice to patients.

Two, primary care is by no means cushier or less demanding than acute care. My primary care NP colleagues are busy seeing patients day in and day out, have longer hours, and at times have to bring work home (i.e., calling patients regarding labs, speaking to consultants). You have at times 15-minute blocks to see a patient with a laundry list of problems. It's by no means easy, it's just not the same as acute care.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]Acute Care[/TD]

[TD]Hospital In Patient 34.3%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Critical Care 22.5%[/TD]

[TD]Emergency Room/Urgent Care 12%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Adult[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician Practice 24.1%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Outpatient Clinic 17.4%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Inpatient 12.9%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Family[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician Practice 22.9%[/TD]

[TD]Community Based Primary Care 14.3%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Outpatient Clinic 10.8%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Gerontology[/TD]

[TD]Long Term Care Facility 32.4%[/TD]

[TD]Other 9%[/TD]

[TD]Community Based Primary Care 8.1%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Neonatal[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Critical Care 72.9%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Inpatient 23.6%[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Oncology[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Outpatient Clinic 54.9%[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician

Practice 26.0%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Inpatient

Other 10.5%)[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Pediatric[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician

Practice 28.9%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Outpatient

Clinic 23.5%

[/TD]

[TD]Community Based

Primary Care 10.2%

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Psych / Mental Health[/TD]

[TD]Psych / Mental Health

Facility 31.8%[/TD]

[TD]Private NP Practice

21.7%[/TD]

[TD]Hospital Outpatient

Clinic 7.7%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Women's Health[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician

Practice 38.7%[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician

Practice 38.7%[/TD]

[TD]Private Physician

Practice 38.7%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Source: http://www.aanp.org/images/documents/research/2013-14nationalnpcensusreport.pdf

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

One thing I learned about posting is here is never click the submit button til after you proofread...well, I didn't do that when I made that table so I do have corrections on the Women's Health Row. It should read as:

Private PhysicianPractice (38.7%)

Hospital OutpatientClinic (14.2%)

Other (11.3%)

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