What degree do you need to be a nurse practitioner?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

You need a master's or doctorate degree to be a nurse practitioner. To get into a nurse practitioner graduate program, however, requires that you are currently a registered nurse with a few years of experience working as a nurse. The specific requirements needed to be a nurse practitioner vary from state to state.

Becoming a nurse practitioner is a rigorous educational process underpinned by evidence-based coursework and clinical rotations.

To work as a nurse practitioner, one must be a registered nurse (RN), hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), complete an NP-focused graduate master's or doctoral nursing program, and successfully pass a national NP board certification exam.

The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has identified the core competencies that future NPs should develop in their educational preparation for the career:

Scientific foundation
Leadership
Practice inquiry
Technology and information literacy
Policy
Health delivery systems
Ethics
Independent practice

Graduate education will include classroom instruction as well as clinical experience. Students will take courses that cover the following subjects:

Evidence-based practice development
Nursing environment management
Nursing leadership and economics
Financial management
Resource development
Health care systems
Health policy
Health promotion
Statistics

Upon completion of the Nurse Practitioner program, the nurse practitioner has to sit for a national certification examination to become licensed to practice as a nurse practitioner.

There are two certification examinations available: the AANP and ANCC certification exams. Graduating nurse practitioners can sit for either exam. Both are recognized, but they do differ in content and focus.