By Michael Stoltz
As an undergraduate nursing student you may find yourself asking the question “what comes next?” Unknown to some students, there are many exciting and involved fields in graduate nursing. From a masters degree to a doctorial degree, there is much out there for advancement in nursing education.
Nurse Practioners, (NPs), are currently M.S.N. (Masters of Science in Nursing) or higher educated positions which offer in-depth training in the specialty of your choice giving you the ability to manage your patient population on a more advanced level.
Some of the different NP specialties are:
Acute Care Nurse Practioner (ACNP)
ACNP with Flight Nursing subspecialty
ACNP with Cardiovascular subspecialty
Neonatal Nurse Practioner (NNP)
Family Nurse Practioner (FNP)
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse (PMHNP)
Adult Nurse Practioner (ANP)
ANP with Infection control subspecialty
Pediatric Nurse Practioner (PNP)
Gerontological Nurse Practioner (GNP)
Women's Health Nurse Practioner (WHNP)
Clinical Nurse Specialists also require a M.S.N. degree and can include:
Community Health Nursing
Also with a subspecialty in Infection Control
Medical Surgical Clinical Specialist
Groundbreaking new areas that a student can take their graduate education is into one of a few new fields of nursing such as:
Nurse Anesthesia
Nurse Midwifery
Nursing Informatics
While these are plenty of options for the aspiring nurse to further their education and practice, also available are the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP), and also the Ph.D in nursing. Both provide a world of opportunity for the fledgeling nurse but have different doctoral focuses.
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