Earn an MSN Family Nurse Practitioner
The Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner program prepares experienced professional nurses for advanced practice as primary care providers. The family nurse practitioner (FNP) makes independent critical judgments in all levels of prevention, including health promotion; illness prevention; and diagnosis and management for individuals, families, communities and populations. The FNP performs comprehensive health assessments, diagnoses illness and prescribes pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments to manage acute and chronic health problems to achieve quality, cost-effective outcomes in a culturally sensitive context. The role of the FNP includes educating, consulting, collaborating, using research to make practice decisions, and influencing professional and public policies. Within various practice settings, the FNP provides health care for clients across the life span. This program includes 675 hours of directly supervised clinical practice with qualified preceptors and two separate on-campus experiences. A Post-Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate program is available to those nurses who already have a Master of Science in Nursing degree.
During your MSN family nurse practitioner program you will participate in two campus experiences designed to provide collaboration with peers, hands-on skill development and certification exam practice. A three-day experience in FNP-630 will provide opportunities to perform health assessments, suturing and wound care, casting and splinting. Classroom instruction will include radiologic interpretation, chronic disease management and case study analysis. A one-day experience in FNP-690 will provide in-depth certification exam practice with individual exam review and remediation planning, systems and topic reviews.
The baccalaureate degree in nursing and master’s degree in nursing at Grand Canyon University (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.
Professional Standards
The Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner program is built to meet standards set by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN): The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing; the Inter-Professional Collaborative Practice (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice; and the American Nursing Association (ANA) Scope and Standards of Practice.
Degree Outcomes
Gain Knowledge that Elevates Your Standard of Care
Your preparation in the MSN FNP program includes a comprehensive curricula that will help you provide primary healthcare to individuals of all ages and locales, 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 FNP 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 MSN 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 Clinical Leadership Acumen
The online family nurse practitioner program curricula focuses on preparing well-rounded primary care providers through in-depth study of the following subject areas:
- Performing in-depth health assessments, including documentation and diagnosis
- Understanding the individual as the client, functional health patterns, community resources and the teaching learning process
- Reviewing the research process and applying evidenced-based research to the practice setting
- Advancing physiology and pathophysiology principles; understanding normal function; and interpreting changes in normal function that result in symptoms and diagnostic markers indicative of illness
- Utilizing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and their practical implication in clinical practice
- Recognizing and applying ethical, moral and values-based leadership
- Integrating knowledge of population health into culturally relevant health promotion and intervention
- Evaluating the implications of and health care informatics in strategies for managing care resources and systems
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.
Program Core Courses
Course Description
This course examines nursing theory and the role of ethics for advanced registered nurses within the Christian worldview and through a leadership perspective focused on improving health care outcomes. Students explore the moral/ethical responsibilities and legal and regulatory obligations of advanced registered nurses in health promotion and disease prevention. Students also review evidence-based practice (EBP) literature and the research process with application to their program of study and learn to navigate scholarly EBP literature, resources, and guidelines.
Course Description
This course examines the role of leadership, organizational science, policy, and informatics in supporting safe, high quality, cost-effective patient care within interprofessional, dynamic health care environments. Students explore various organizational relationships within health care systems and prepare to participate in the design of cost-effective, innovative models of care delivery and practice change proposals. Professional leadership theories and how they shape the nurse leader in such things as collaboration, conflict resolution, decision making, and negotiation are introduced. Students discuss change management theories and evaluate the ethical, social, legal, economic, and political implications of practice change and health care informatics along with strategies for managing human, fiscal, and health care resources in a variety of organizational systems. Students also examine the uses of patient care, information system, and communication technologies and discuss the design, implementation, and evaluation of electronic health record systems and clinical decision support systems.
Course Description
In this course, students examine the process of scientific inquiry, knowledge generation, utilization, and dissemination of evidence into advanced nursing practice in order to propose quality improvement initiatives that advance the delivery of safe, high-quality care for patient populations. Students critically evaluate evidence, including scientific findings from the biopsychosocial fields, epidemiology, biostatistics, genetics, and genomics, and apply levels of evidence and theoretical frameworks to design culturally appropriate clinical prevention interventions and population-based care that reduce risks, prevent disease, and promote health and well-being. Students also consider strategies to evaluate health policy and advocacy issues, the state of health care delivery, patient-centered care, and ethical principles related to health beliefs, health promotion, and risk reduction for diverse populations. Students apply these strategies to work towards recognizing gaps in nursing and health care knowledge, identifying potential solutions or innovations for those gaps, planning and implementing practice changes, and evaluating the outcomes in order to improve practice. Prerequisite: NUR-513.
Course Description
This course provides an opportunity for students to complete their evidence-based practice (EBP) project proposal addressing a problem, issue, or concern in their specialty area of professional practice. Students previously identified a problem amenable to a research-based intervention and searched the literature. In this course, students propose a solution, explore implementation considerations and various evaluation methodologies, complete the project proposal by developing a plan to implement the solution into the intended practice area, and design an evaluation plan that assesses the EBP project proposal’s intended outcome(s). Prerequisite: NUR-550.
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.
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; 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, NUR-633, or NUR-635.
Course Description
This course covers preventive health care practices and integrates cultural and spiritual considerations, environmental factors, genetic influences, and national public health objectives. Emphasis is placed on development of the advanced practice registered nurse-patient relationship to enhance the effectiveness of patient education, counseling, and promotion of healthy lifestyle changes. Students explore concepts relevant to primary care, including family systems theory and developmental theory. Students are also introduced to well visits across the life span and build upon advanced health assessment skills in assessing the well child, adolescent, woman, and man. Specific emphasis is placed on clinical diagnostic reasoning and interpretation and the development of differential diagnoses based on clinical practice guidelines. Students examine professional and patient community resources and evaluate the use of integrative healing strategies in assisting patients to achieve health goals using evidence-based research. This course includes a required 3-day, on-campus experience. Prerequisite: NUR-634.
Course Description
This course covers preventive health care practices and integrates cultural and spiritual considerations, environmental factors, genetic influences, and national public health objectives. Emphasis is placed on development of the advanced practice registered nurse-patient relationship to enhance the effectiveness of patient education, counseling, and promotion of healthy lifestyle changes. Students explore concepts relevant to primary care, including family systems theory and developmental theory. Students are also introduced to well visits across the life span and build upon advanced health assessment skills in assessing the well child, adolescent, woman, and man. Specific emphasis is placed on clinical diagnostic reasoning and interpretation and the development of differential diagnoses based on clinical practice guidelines. Students examine professional and patient community resources and evaluate the use of integrative healing strategies in assisting patients to achieve health goals using evidence-based research. This course includes a required 3-day, on-campus experience. Prerequisite: NUR-634.
Course Description
This course focuses on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of individuals with common, acute, and chronic conditions across the life span within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment. Evidence-based research is utilized to develop comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care. Care includes health promotion counseling, screening, and patient education to optimize patient and family health. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to guide clinical decision making. Management of patient illness includes ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacological and nonpharmacological integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Practicum/field experience hours: 225. Prerequisite: FNP-630.
Course Description
This course deepens its focus on the three levels of prevention and comprehensive primary care management of individuals with common, acute, and chronic conditions across the life span within a culturally and spiritually diverse environment. Students integrate evidence-based research in the development of comprehensive, cost-effective, least invasive, quality health care. Care includes health promotion counseling, screening, and patient education to optimize patient and family health. Students further advance their critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills to guide clinical decision making in the management of patient illness. Students also further develop their competence in ordering appropriate diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacological and nonpharmacological integrative healing therapies, collaborating with other health professionals and community agencies, and pursuing appropriate follow-up. Practicum/field experience hours: 225. Prerequisite: FNP-652.
Course Description
This practicum course is the final synthesis of the theoretical and clinical foundation of advanced practice nursing in the primary care management of individuals and families across the life span. Emphasis is placed on scope of practice, roles, contract negotiation, prescriptive authority, licensure, certification, and credentialing. Updates on legislation and health policy are incorporated utilizing multidimensional clinical case studies. Students also examine ethical issues that arise in clinical practice. This course includes a required 1-day, on-campus experience. Practicum/field experience hours: 225. Prerequisite: FNP-654.
Course Description
This practicum course is the final synthesis of the theoretical and clinical foundation of advanced practice nursing in the primary care management of individuals and families across the life span. Emphasis is placed on scope of practice, roles, contract negotiation, prescriptive authority, licensure, certification, and credentialing. Updates on legislation and health policy are incorporated utilizing multidimensional clinical case studies. Students also examine ethical issues that arise in clinical practice. This course includes a required 1-day, on-campus experience. Practicum/field experience hours: 225. Prerequisite: FNP-654.
Program Locations
Pursue a next-generation education with an online degree from Grand Canyon University. Earn your degree with convenience and flexibility with online courses that let you study anytime, anywhere.
Grand Canyon University’s evening programs cater to the demands of working professionals who prefer an in-person learning environment. Our night classes meet just once per week and offer the interaction and discussion of a typical college classroom.
Online and Evening program disclosures (2.833 years) Additional Disclosures
* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.