A Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is an advanced practice nurse who manages the healthcare of individuals and their families by providing preventive and primary care, promoting health and wellbeing, and helping their patients manage chronic conditions. FNPs conduct routine checkups and assessments, order and interpret tests, make diagnoses, prescribe medications, and initiate and manage treatment plans for their patients.
Frontier Nursing University offers a graduate Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track that can be pursued full- or part-time while completing a Master of Science in Nursing or a Post-Graduate Certificate. After earning an MSN or certificate, you have the option to transition into our Companion Doctor of Nursing Practice program via a direct admission process.
With our distance education model, your home community serves as your classroom. Our flexible family nurse practitioner program allows you to complete courses online and work closely with a practicing family nurse practitioner during your clinical experience. View one popular path for RNs who hold a bachelor’s degree here.
Admissions & TuitionClinical ExperienceCurriculumCourse Catalog
Our Community-based Family Nurse Practitioner Program (CFNP) curriculum has a strong academic and clinical basis. It is unique in that we teach you not only to be a family nurse practitioner, but also to be an entrepreneur and a leader in healthcare.
Advanced practice nursing education for:
- RNs with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing
- Nurse-Midwives
- Nurse Practitioners
SPECIALTY TRACK OVERVIEW
- Complete your coursework online at home.
- Full- or part-time options available.
- After earning your MSN at FNU, you can complete a DNP with an additional 21 credit hours.*
- Two brief on-campus stays
- Complete your clinical practicum in your home community.
- 675 clinical hours for the MSN plus an additional 360 hours for the DNP.
*The DNP may take longer than the 21 credit hours for students with a PGC. If you did not earn your MSN at FNU or if you completed your MSN at FNU before 2014, the credit hours needed to complete the Companion DNP will vary from 21 to 30 depending on your background.
"Thank you for taking time to explore the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program at Frontier Nursing University. As home of the nation’s first FNP program, Frontier has a tradition of being an innovator in family nursing education. Our graduates are well prepared clinicians who are improving healthcare around the country and the world. As a Frontier student, you will get to know the needs of your community and also learn entrepreneurial skills to be able start your own practice. If you are an innovator, a trailblazer and a changemaker, Frontier is the place for you."
- Lisa Chappell, PhD, FNP-BC
Department Chair for Family Nursing
FNU News
FNU Virtual Event to Focus on Anxiety in Children, Telehealth and Implicit Bias in Healthcare
This year, National Nurse Practitioner Week will take place November 8-14, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting its fifth annual virtual event dedicated to nurse … [Read More...]
FNU Celebrates 50 Years of The Family Nurse Practitioner Program
Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP) play a vital role in today’s American healthcare system, but that wasn’t always the case. Just over 50 years ago, no educators in the United States offered an FNP … [Read More...]
The Value of Obtaining your DNP at Frontier Nursing University
Twelve years ago, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) dedicated itself to providing yet another outstanding educational program, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). The DNP is the highest degree available … [Read More...]
