Editor: What To Know
- A family nurse practitioner is a registered nurse and advanced practice clinician who provides health care and disease management to all members of a family, including newborns, children, adults, older adults.
- For example, The US National Board for Certification of Obstetrics-Gynecology Nurse Practitioners (NBC) requires certification as an FNP plus a doctoral degree to practice as a menopause clinician.
- A family nurse practitioner works one-on-one with an individual patient to maintain optimal function physically, psychologically, and emotionally through all stages of life by providing prescription drugs when necessary, ordering tests and procedures to diagnose, preventing disease, and assessing the effectiveness of treatment plans.
Family nurse practitioners – A family nurse practitioner is a registered nurse and advanced practice clinician who provides health care and disease management to all members of a family, including newborns, children, adults, older adults.
A doctorate degree in nursing provides the NP with more knowledge about patient diagnosis and treatment during their career. This article will go over six possible careers for Family Nurse Practitioners (NPs) with a doctorate degree in Nursing Practice (DNP).
1. Education Clinician
Education clinicians provide skilled education and counseling services in colleges, universities, and professional schools. Their duties include evaluating students’ academic skills, course planning, and teaching students in ways that support learning and evaluation of student progress. Education clinicians may also conduct research on effective teaching methods and use the results of research studies to improve their teaching strategies.
Education clinicians generally require a master’s degree or doctorate degree depending on the employer and its location. For example, The US National Board for Certification of Obstetrics-Gynecology Nurse Practitioners (NBC) requires certification as an FNP plus a doctoral degree to practice as a menopause clinician. Currently, there are various schools offering online DNP-FNP programs, which can conveniently cover these requirements. Other associations may require a master’s degree in nursing or a doctorate degree in either medicine, nursing, or healthcare administration. The average salary for Nurse Practitioner Menopause is $91,772 per year.
Education clinicians usually require at least a master’s degree in education, school psychology, or educational administration. However, some colleges may hire education clinicians with only bachelor’s degrees if they have additional training in psychology or counseling. The average salary for Clinical Education Specialist is $57,681 per year.
2. Gerontology Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioners with a doctorate of nursing practice degree often choose to work in gerontology. This is because more and more older adults are demanding high-level care and some require complicated treatments and procedures.
Nurse practitioners help patients by preventing illness, managing chronic conditions, treating acute illness, coordinating patient care through interdisciplinary teams, educating patients about their illnesses, counseling them about proper diet and nutrition, providing preventative screenings for diseases, promoting healthy lifestyles among patients to lower risk of certain health problems down the road, offering to counsel on stress management so that the body can fight disease effectively. The effects of aging are unique for each individual but nurse practitioners will work with the patient’s family members if they want to offer input as well.
3. Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Pediatric nurse practitioners focus on the physical, emotional, and developmental needs of children from birth to adolescence. They can provide care for minor illnesses and injuries as well as chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Similar to family nurse practitioners, pediatric nurse practitioners may work in private practices or health facilities such as hospitals or clinics.
4. Family Nurse Practitioner (NP) & Menopause Clinician
Family Nurse Practitioner (NP) & Menopause Clinicians provide health care focused on disease prevention and health promotion particularly focused on menopause management. A family nurse practitioner works one-on-one with an individual patient to maintain optimal function physically, psychologically, and emotionally through all stages of life by providing prescription drugs when necessary, ordering tests and procedures to diagnose, preventing disease, and assessing the effectiveness of treatment plans.
A menopause clinician provides health care focused on disease prevention related to gynecology in women nearing the end of menstruation. Duties: educate patients about ovarian dysfunctions that may cause menopause symptoms, management options available for relieving symptoms, drugs that are safe to use and/or avoid during the menopausal stage and provide health counseling and referral to other healthcare professionals as needed.
5. Mental Health Clinician
Mental Health Clinicians provide mental health services including psychotherapy treatments and make recommendations regarding the diagnosis of both physical and psychological causes of problems/symptoms. A mental health clinician also provides counseling on family relationships, sexual issues, stress management, etc., educates patients about available community resources that can help them maintain good mental health, and enhances patient ability to cope with illness by teaching relaxation techniques, self-hypnosis, etc., using clinical hypnosis to treat certain conditions such as insomnia, anxiety attacks, etc.
Their education (bachelor’s degree in psychology, counseling, or nursing) prospective clinicians can work as counselors with an emphasis on outpatient mental health services where they provide individual therapy to patients suffering from psychological illnesses. An NP with a doctoral degree can be employed by an agency that provides residential treatment for patients suffering from psychiatric disabilities and/or substance abuse disorders requiring supervised care. The average salary for Mental Health Clinicians is $58,048 per year.
6. Nurse Anesthetist
Nurse Anesthetists provide patient care before, during, and after anesthesia administration during surgical procedures. They are responsible for assessing the patient before surgery and evaluating the type of anesthesia most appropriate to use during the procedure based on the medical history of the patient. Also, they are responsible for monitoring the patient’s vital signs during surgery, administering anesthesia to induce sleep prior to surgical procedure, and making sure the patient wakes up safely after surgery.
They require a bachelor’s degree in nursing or an associate’s degree in nursing followed by RN certification and further licensure as CRNA is required. The average salary for Nurse Anesthetists is $154,035 per year including bonuses/incentives.
The careers listed above are just examples of career options available with family nurse practitioner (NP) education. You would have to research each discipline before applying online to specific organization websites for openings. Nevertheless, having a doctorate degree in nursing opens exciting career and professional growth opportunities.
