MSN Family Nurse Practitioner

Licensure Requirements

The MSN and PMC FNP programs meet licensure requirements in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and are approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.

• Following successful completion of the master’s or post-masters certificate program, students may be eligible to sit for the family nurse practitioner national certification examination from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB).
• Students may be eligible for certification as a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) in Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing or in any state in which the program is available for enrollment. We are working to expand the number of states in which each program is authorized. Refer to the University’s State Authorization web page for additional information and program availability.
• Since this program leads to a professional license or certification, an authorization may or may not be required of the University from the state professional licensing board prior to the student beginning a clinical or field experience in a state other than Pennsylvania. Check with your program clinical coordinator with questions about state professional licensure board requirements prior to enrollment. Any changes in the state of residence after enrollment could affect eligibility to complete the program.
• The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing requires that the Pharmacy course must be taken within 5 years of the intended completion of the MSN Family (Individual Across the Lifespan) Nurse Practitioner program for the applicant for CRNP licensure to be eligible for prescriptive licensure. Students living outside of Pennsylvania should investigate the requirements of the State Boards of Nursing in their respective home state.
• Please note that most states require nurses to be nationally certified and to have completed an accredited graduate nursing program in order to obtain licensure as an advanced practice registered nurse. Each national certification provider and state Board of Nursing will have eligibility requirements in addition to these educational requirements, such as passing a criminal background check. Students are responsible for determining whether they are eligible for state Board of Nursing approval and certification as advanced practice registered nurses in their state. Students can obtain additional information from their state's Board of Nursing, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB).

Degree Path

• Courses vary in length from 7 to 15 weeks and will be offered in an online format.
• Residency Requirements
  • The Department of Nursing faculty members is committed to quality and excellence in all Nursing programs. While the coursework is offered online, in order to maintain quality in our programs, residency requirements are essential to student success.

Courses Required for the Program

Major Requirements: 15 credits

• MSN 500 - Advanced Nursing Practice: Emergence, Theory, and Leadership
• MSN 501 - Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
• MSN 502 - Population Focused Leadership for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
• MSN 510 - Inter-professional Communication and Collaboration
• MSN 515 - Application of Ethics in Advanced Nursing Practice and Health Policy

Courses Required for Track: 33 credits

• FNP 601 - Advanced Pathophysiology
• FNP 602 - Pharmacology for the Family (Individual Across the Lifespan) Nurse Practitioner Prescriber
• FNP 603 - Advanced Physical Assessment and Differential Diagnosis
• FNP 604 - Family Nurse Practitioner Role I
• FNP 605 - Reproductive Health and Illness in Men and Women
• FNP 606 - Health and Illness in Infants, Children, and Adolescents
• FNP 607 - Health and Illness in Adults and Aging
• FNP 608 - Health and Illness in the Family and the Individual Across the Lifespan
• FNP 609 - Family Nurse Practitioner Role II

Graduates of the MSN program will be prepared to:

• Exercise a selected advanced nursing practice role to ensure the delivery of high-quality direct patient care and/or to foster an organizational climate in health care and nursing educational settings that serve to promote high quality patient care.
• Exercise leadership in interdisciplinary collaboration to develop and/or refine organizational structures and processes through which high-quality, evidence-based and cost-effective care and the improvement of patient outcomes are assured.
• Participate in political processes at a variety of levels to influence health care policy that benefits patients, the profession and the interdisciplinary community of health care providers.
• Make critical, constructive and effective use of scientific evidence in the implementation, evaluation and revision of health care services to better serve the health needs of individuals in the context of their families and communities.
• Exercise leadership to cultivate a highly ethical, culturally competent, and caring health care culture through the promotion of self-awareness, effective communication, effective group dynamics, values-based realism, courage, and principled action.
• Employ administrative and clinical information technology to access and leverage knowledge effectively, ethically and legally in the interest of safe, effective patient care in a variety of settings.