Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program Details

The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) degree program is available to both bachelor’s and master’s-prepared nurses wishing to attain a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. The future is bright for primary care nurse practitioners as they are becoming increasingly vital in providing accessible, quality health care in the United States.

Study Format

Most classes are offered online. Some classes are offered both online and on campus. A few core courses are only offered online.

Typically programs may be completed as follows:

• The BSN to DNP option can be completed in three and a half years for part-time students, and two and a half years for full-time students.
• The MSN to DNP option can be completed in three and a half years for part-time students, and two and a half years for full-time students.

A gap analysis will be performed and an individualized program of study will be developed based on previous graduate education.

Sample Plan of Study

Campus Visits

All students are required to be on campus for the following activities:

• Program Orientation: one day on-campus orientation (usually September).
• Health Assessment: 1-2 days on-campus.
• Orientation to the DNP project and Clinical Rotations: typically the term before beginning clinical. Usually lasts a half day.
• FNP Management Clinicals: typically 4 days per term, for three terms of clinical for the purpose of clinical validation and simulation. These days count toward your clinical hours each term.
• DNP Project problem statement presentation: mid-program and usually lasting a half day.
• DNP Project proposal: just before beginning DNP project implementation and usually lasting one day.  
• DNP Project final presentation: in the last term before graduation and usually lasting one day.

Clinical Experiences

The clinical experience for the FNP program consists of rotations through a variety of sites with exposure to individuals throughout the lifespan. These sites include family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, retail clinics, school based health centers, emergency departments, specialty clinics, and others. We work directly with students to give them a variety of experiences, and tailor them also to the student’s interests. Students are placed in the Chicagoland area. Students work with the clinical placement team to coordinate clinical site placements.

Clinical practica hours are a total of 756 clock hours. These hours will be divided over three terms of 252 hours each, with the third term consisting of a residency. Some of these hours will be spent in simulation to add to the learning experience. There are also DNP practica project hours for a total of 252 clock hours. As a result, your clinical hours in the program will be 1008 clock hours.

Certification

Common Applicant Questions for all Nursing Programs