Family Nurse Practitioner
Watch the family nurse practitioner video to learn more about the program.
Whatever role you seek as an advanced practice nurse, you’ll need knowledge, skills and experience. You’ll also need to be able to tap into information systems that help you stay current with today’s fast-paced health care environment. You’ll find all of this at Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, recognized nationally for excellence. OHSU’s School of Nursing is ranked among the top 10 graduate schools of nursing in the country according to U.S. News and World Report.
Family Nurse Practitioners serve as primary care providers for individuals, groups and communities across the entire lifespan and help people adopt healthy behaviors while teaching them to care for themselves. FNPs apply advanced knowledge and clinical skills in many facets of health care, including providing prenatal care and family-planning services; providing well-child care; obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations; diagnosing, treating, and monitoring acute health problems and chronic diseases; ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic studies; prescribing medications and other treatments; and promoting positive health behaviors and self-care skills through education.
The basic preventative health care provided by FNPs is increasingly to patients in need in medically underserved and rural areas. The Family Nurse Practitioner program at OHSU prepares practitioners with an understanding in continuous primary health care, comprehensive care that includes strategies to promote health, assessing and managing acute and chronic health problems, consulting, and the referral process. Students in the Family Nurse Practitioner program gain a solid foundation in clinical practice, as more than 600 hours of supervised clinical experience are completed during the program. Clinical experiences are arranged in a variety of settings including private offices, large health institutions such as HMOs, migrant and Indian Health centers, and county health departments. Students obtain experiences in clinical sites serving rural and underserved populations.
Upon graduation, FNPs work in a variety of settings including community health centers, public health departments, hospitals, clinics, businesses, physician offices, health maintenance organizations, government facilities, independent nurse practitioner offices, and schools of nursing.
What You Will Study and Learn
The FNP program at OHSU emphasizes care that is interdisciplinary, collaborative and culturally appropriate. In addition to content with a focus on all age groups, the program of study also provides you with in-depth knowledge and clinical experiences in such areas as:- advanced health assessment/physical diagnosing pathophysiology
- health promotion
- acute and chronic illness management
- role development as a primary care clinician
- pharmacology
- reproductive and prenatal care
Family Nurse Practitioner... Is this you?
- Are you passionate about working with people across the life cycle and in a variety of clinical settings?
- Do you want to make a difference in the lives of people by showing them how to stay healthy?
- Are you interested in working with medically underserved groups?
- Are you ready to grow in your role as a health care professional?
