Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner
Overview
Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner
The Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner degree is an online nursing program that prepares experienced professional nurses for advanced practice as primary care providers. The family nurse practitioner (FNP) makes independent critical judgments at different levels of preventive care, including health promotion; illness prevention; and diagnosis and management for individuals, families, communities and populations. The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions’ advanced practice degree prepares professional nurses as primary care providers who preform comprehensive health assessments, diagnose illness and prescribe pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments to manage acute and chronic health problems to achieve quality cost-effective outcomes in a culturally sensitive context.
The Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner is a comprehensive program designed for experienced nurses who would like to strengthen their skills as primary care providers. You are involved in all aspects of preventive care, in addition to diagnosis and treating diseases, such as educating patients on maintaining health and consulting with health administrators and other caregivers to provide optimum care. The family nurse practitioner degree program culminates in a capstone course, which provides an opportunity for you to develop an evidence-based practice project proposal that addresses a problem, issue or concern in professional practice.
The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master's degree in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice at GCU are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Select states may have additional requirements to meet their standards; reference your enrollment agreement or contact GCU for more information.
Degree Outcomes
Gain Knowledge that Elevates Your Standard of Care
Your preparation as an advanced family nurse practitioner includes a comprehensive curricula that will help you provide primary healthcare to individuals of all ages and areas, including underserved urban and rural areas. You will also analyze case studies in accordance with the guidelines of evidence-based practice and current standards of care. Your MSN education prepares you for professional roles, including educating, consulting and collaborating with other healthcare providers, using research to make practice decisions and influencing professional and public policies.
The clinical practicum experience allows you to collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based primary or family health-focused site. This portion of the Family Nurse Practitioner degree program affords you the opportunity to apply clinical-decision making and health management of primary problems for diverse clients across the human life span. In addition, you will interact with patients in the role of care provider and educator.
What You Will Learn
Strengthen Your Care Skills
In addition to demonstrating how to take a health assessment, including documentation and diagnosis, your curricula focuses on:
- The individual as the client, functional health patterns, community resources and the teaching learning process
- Interpreting and evaluating statistics and statistical methods used in published research papers to make decisions about the appropriateness of specific statistical methods in a variety of settings
- An introduction to analysis of variance, regression and graphical presentation; experimental design; descriptive statistics; sampling methods; and z, t and chi-square.
- Enhancing the working RN's existing understanding of the pathophysiological processes of disease as they affect clients across the lifespan
- Advancing physiology and pathophysiology principles; understanding normal function; and interpreting changes in normal function that result in symptoms and diagnostic markers indicative of illness
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and their practical implication in clinical practice
Career Outcomes
Prepare to Provide Advanced Care
The role of the family nurse practitioner includes educating, consulting and collaborating; using research to make practice decisions; and influencing professional and public policies. Within various practice settings, family nurse practitioners provide healthcare for clients across the human lifespan. A post-master’s certificate program is available to those nurses who already have a Master of Science in Nursing degree.
Course List
Program Core Courses
Course Description
This course examines nursing as a profession and a discipline and the individual nurse's role as a member of the profession. The theoretical foundations for nursing practice and roles are explored and applied. Emphasis is placed on developing scholarly writing and presentation skills. Critical thinking skills are refined as students discuss and synthesize the literature that guides nursing practice with a special emphasis on caring, diversity, and spirituality.
Course Description
This course focuses on the critical analysis of nursing and health care research and its application to nursing education, nursing practice, and the delivery of health care services. Emphasis is placed on strategies to access current and relevant data, synthesize the information, and translate new knowledge to practice. Ethical issues in the design and conduct of research are addressed. Prerequisite: NUR-502.
Course Description
This course utilizes health care policy as a framework to analyze how health is defined and health care is designed and delivered in the United States and around the world. Emphasis is placed on issues of cost, quality, access, disparities, and finance. The various roles of the master's prepared nurse in the health care system are explored. Prerequisite: NUR-504.
Course Description
This course presents practice concepts that blend the function of the clinical nurse specialist with the family nurse practitioner (FNP) role for a futuristic vision for integration of these roles to include assessing and addressing the needs of client populations and nursing personnel across the continuum of care. Management concepts include case management, teaching of professionals, program planning, evaluation, peer review, broad-based consultation, marketing, business management, resource management, cost-effective use of formularies, and payment for services, including processing insurance claims.
Course Description
This course focuses on advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles. This course is used to guide the advanced nursing practice student in understanding normal function and interpreting changes in normal function that result in symptoms and diagnostic markers indicative of illness. Emphasis is placed on the following systems: cellular environment and inflammatory changes; fluids, electrolytes and acid-base balance; genetics, genetic diseases, and the role of the environment; stress, disease, and the development of neoplasms; hematology and alterations in immunity. In addition, the physiology and pathophysiology of the endocrine, pulmonary, renal, digestive and integumentary, cardiovascular and lymphatic, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and neurological systems, including mood disorders, are addressed. Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate nursing program or college approval. NUR-502, NUR-504, NUR-508.
Course Description
This course focuses on the basic concepts and principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and their practical implication in clinical practice. This course also places an emphasis on the strong influence of physiological variables (age, ethnicity, or pregnancy) and pathological conditions (hepatic or renal insufficiency, cardiac dysfunction) on drugs' pharmacological response. An in-depth understanding of the relationship between patient's physiological/pathological variables and pharmacodynamics/pharmacokinetics can provide additional insight for practitioners in predicting potential drug interactions, and thus will provide additional guidance in prescribing strategies. This course also includes clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; principles of pediatric and geriatric pharmacotherapy; clinical toxicology; and pathology and pharmacotherapy of cardiovascular, psychiatric, endocrine, respiratory, gastrointestinal, bone and joint, infectious, reproductive, and dermatological disorders. Prerequisite: NUR-631.
Course Description
This course builds upon the student's undergraduate and clinical assessment skills, offering advanced health assessment content to provide the foundation for the advanced practice nursing role. This course addresses the completion and interpretation of a head-to-toe assessment in addition to focused assessments for chief complaints that include physical, psychosocial, spiritual, risk, and functional assessments in diverse populations and across age groups. Students learn a systematic method of diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making to establish differential diagnoses. Prerequisites: NUR-631, and either NUR-632 or NUR-633.
Course Description
This course focuses on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of adult health care problems of individuals and their families within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment. Advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology, spirituality, and advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles are integrated with advanced nursing theory. Evidence-based research is utilized to develop comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care for adult health care problems. Care will include health promotion counseling, screening, and client education to optimize the client's health. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to guide clinical decision making. Management of client illness includes ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Prerequisites: NUR-631, NUR-634 and either NUR-632 or NUR-633. Co-requisite: NUR-675C.
Course Description
The student will collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based, adult or primary care clinical site for completion of 150 clinical hours. The clinical component for NUR-675 allows the student an opportunity to provide comprehensive health care to diverse clients across the lifespan. Clinical hours are completed in person with a qualified preceptor (NP, DO, MD, DNM) and serve as the opportunity to demonstrate clinical skills, learn clinical decision-making skills, and learn the role of the advanced practice nurse in collaboration with experienced preceptors who serve as mentors. The clinical component of each course is accomplished during the same semester as the corresponding didactic course and is graded as Pass/Fail. Failure of a clinical course constitutes failure of the corresponding didactic course. Prerequisites: NUR-631, NUR-634 and either NUR-632 or NUR-633. Co-requisite: NUR-675.
Course Description
This course focuses on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of pediatric and adolescent health care problems of individuals and their families within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment. Advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology, and advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles are integrated with spirituality concepts and advanced nursing theory. Evidence-based research is utilized to develop comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care for pediatric and adolescent health care problems. Care includes health promotion counseling, client education, and appropriate screening to optimize the client’s health. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to guide clinical decision making. Management of client illness includes ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Prerequisite: NUR-675. Co-requisite: NUR-668C.
Course Description
Students collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based pediatric or adolescent clinical site for completion of 150 clinical hours. The clinical component for NUR-668 allows the student an opportunity to provide comprehensive health care to diverse clients across the lifespan. Clinical hours are completed in person with a qualified preceptor (NP, DO, MD, DNM) and serve as the opportunity to demonstrate clinical skills, learn clinical decision-making skills, and learn the role of the advanced practice nurse in collaboration with experienced preceptors who serve as mentors. The clinical component of each course is accomplished during the same semester as the corresponding didactic course and is graded as Pass/Fail. Failure of a clinical course constitutes failure of the corresponding didactic course. Co-requisite: NUR-668.
Course Description
This course focuses on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of women’s health care issues (including care of the pregnant patient) for individuals and their families within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment, contextually within the health care delivery system. Advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology, spirituality, and advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles are integrated with advanced nursing theory. Evidence-based research is utilized to develop comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care for women. Care includes health promotion counseling, screening, and client education to optimize the client’s health. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to guide clinical decision making. Management of client illness includes ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Prerequisite: NUR-675. Co-requisite: NUR-667C.
Course Description
Students collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based, women’s health-focused, clinical site for completion of 75 clinical hours. The clinical component for NUR-667 allows the student an opportunity to provide comprehensive health care to diverse clients across the lifespan. Clinical hours are completed in person with a qualified preceptor (NP, DO, MD, DNM) and serve as the opportunity to demonstrate clinical skills, learn clinical decision-making skills, and learn the role of the advanced practice nurse in collaboration with experienced preceptors who serve as mentors. The clinical component of each course is accomplished during the same semester as the corresponding didactic course and is graded as Pass/Fail. Failure of a clinical course constitutes failure of the corresponding didactic course. Co-Requisite: NUR-667.
Course Description
This course focuses on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of geriatric health care problems of individuals and their families within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment. Advanced health assessment, health promotion and disease prevention counseling, advanced pharmacology, and advanced physiology and pathophysiology principles are integrated with spirituality concepts and advanced nursing theory. Evidence-based research is utilized to develop comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care for geriatric clients. Care includes health promotion and disease prevention counseling, client education, and appropriate screening to optimize the client's health. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to guide clinical decision making. Management of client illness includes ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Prerequisite: NUR-675. Co-requisite: NUR-669C.
Course Description
Students collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based, geriatric health-focused, clinical site for completion of 75 clinical hours. The clinical component for NUR-669 allows the student an opportunity to provide comprehensive health care to diverse clients in late age. Clinical hours are completed in collaboration with a qualified preceptor (NP, DO, MD, DNM) and serve as the opportunity to demonstrate clinical skills, institute health promotion and disease prevention interventions, learn clinical decision-making skills, and learn the role of the advanced practice nurse in collaboration with experienced preceptors who serve as mentors. Clinical hours: 75. Prerequisite: NUR-675. Co-requisite: NUR-669.
Course Description
In this culminating practicum experience, students collaborate with faculty members to select a community-based primary or family health-focused clinical site for completion of 200 clinical hours. This clinical practice affords students the opportunity to refine their clinical-decision management of primary health problems for diverse clients across the life span. Students use the SOAP method to analyze case studies in accordance with the guidelines of evidence-based practice and current standards of care. Clinical hours: 200.
Course Description
This capstone course provides an opportunity for students to develop an evidence-based practice project proposal that addresses a problem, issue, or concern in professional practice. Students identify a problem amenable to research-based intervention; search literature; propose a solution; and develop a plan to implement the solution, evaluate its outcome(s), and disseminate the findings. Problems identified are those that are appropriate to students' specialty tracks: nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing public health, adult clinical nurse specialist, acute care nurse practitioner, and family nurse practitioner. Prerequisite: NUR-508.
Faculty Bios
Program Locations
Online
Evening
* The Department of Education defines how an institution must calculate a program's On-Time Completion rate for federal disclosure purposes. The On-Time Completion rate is based on a program’s published required number of months to complete all degree requirements as provided in the institution’s catalog. Completion statistics are updated every January and are based on the cohort of students who graduated between 7/1 – 6/30 of the preceding year. The On-Time Completion rate is determined by the number of students in the cohort who completed the program within the published program length divided by the number of students in the cohort who graduated.
Online and Evening program disclosures* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.