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
Sybilla Myers’ DNP Project Focuses on Overall Wellness During the Pandemic
As the COVID-19 Pandemic took hold of the country last spring, the protocols -- particularly in the first several months -- were to stay inside. Gyms were closed. Many parks had limited access or no … [Read More...]
Patty Coldiron Fills Urgent Need with Urgent Care
The inspirational success stories of FNU graduates are many. Very few, however, start with dropping out of high school. Nonetheless, that is the way the story of how Patty Coldiron, MSN, FNP, Bridge … [Read More...]
Top 4 Questions to Ask If You Are Considering Becoming a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
At Frontier Nursing University (FNU), our goal is to make resources readily available for not only our students, but also those who are thinking about furthering their nursing education. A … [Read More...]
