What to specialize in for DNP?

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Psych.

I want to be an NP working in obstetrics and women's health (maybe infertility in some way). The schools here in Milwaukee do not have DNP programs that specialize in these areas. The school I am looking at has Adult, Adult-Acute, Older Adult, Pediatric-Primary Care, and Pediatric-Acute. Of these specialties, which one would get me closest to the area I want to work in?

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Specializes in family, internal, pediatric.

Since you only want to work with women, the adult track would be the best for you. Find out if there are any clinical rotations in Ob/Gyn office, if not, you could set up for yourself. This would give you the experience you need after graduation.

Have you thought about a nurse-midwife track?

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I think you need to find a school that has a womens health NP option. There are many with distance programs. Failing that, I'd do CNM. Adult is closest on that list, but I don't think the scope of practice you are speaking of would be included in ANP. I haven't read the practice act, so I could be wrong.

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I think you need to find a school that has a womens health NP option. There are many with distance programs. Failing that, I'd do CNM. Adult is closest on that list, but I don't think the scope of practice you are speaking of would be included in ANP. I haven't read the practice act, so I could be wrong.

I agree. I hear people say something like this (like the OP) all the time, and I always wonder -- with all the blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention $$$) it's going to take to get a graduate degree, any graduate degree, why would anyone put that effort and expense into getting a degree that you don't want, that's not going to prepare you to do what you know you want to do? If you really want it, there's a way (some way) to work it out.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Psych.
I agree. I hear people say something like this (like the OP) all the time, and I always wonder -- with all the blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention $$$) it's going to take to get a graduate degree, any graduate degree, why would anyone put that effort and expense into getting a degree that you don't want, that's not going to prepare you to do what you know you want to do? If you really want it, there's a way (some way) to work it out.

Actually, that is exactly why I was asking the question. I don't want to waste my time, energy and money on a degree that isn't going to prepare me to do what I want to do. It's tough when the local universities don't offer a program specific to the area in which your interest lies. Maybe distance ed is the way to go, then?

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Yes. If you are sure that womens heath with infertility issues in particular are what you want to do, WHNP is the course of study for you. You should read the practice act and talk to some WHNP though, I am not aware of NPs treating infertility to any great degree.

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Oops, sorry for serial posting. If you want to do obstetrics, you need CNM. There are many distance programs that will allow you to study and test in both WHNP and CNM. Frontier for starters.

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Actually, that is exactly why I was asking the question. I don't want to waste my time, energy and money on a degree that isn't going to prepare me to do what I want to do. It's tough when the local universities don't offer a program specific to the area in which your interest lies. Maybe distance ed is the way to go, then?

Distance ed is one possibility, or have you considered the possibility of traveling to a bricks & mortar program that offers the degree you want??. I would encourage you to seriously examine that possibility before dismissing it -- it may be more workable than you initially think. If it's what you really want for the rest of your career, it may well be worth the extra inconvenience and expense for a limited amount of time now.

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