Most nurse practitioner schools online offer a variety of specializations in the field of nursing. In the nursing field advanced programs are available and one example is the family nurse practitioner program and what you have here is a program that allows nurses to diagnose, treat, and counsel patients the minute they graduate. You will deal with a lot of topics when it comes to the family nurse practitioner program and here are some of them.
When it comes to this particular program, you will be dealing with subjects like advanced anatomy and physiology. As this course is developed for individuals who have undergone a bachelor’s degree in nursing, this course will serve as a brief review of the human anatomy and physiology. You will also learn about the miniscule elements of the human body in this case.
You will also learn all about primary healthcare when you engage in a family nurse practitioner program. The basics of primary care will be something that you are already familiar with since you are already a bachelor’s degree holder. Through this program, you will be introduced to advanced elements of primary healthcare.
Since health assessment is the most vital part in the treatment of patients, it is one of the basic courses in any nurse practitioner program. A course called advanced health assessment will introduce you to various methods used for making patient assessments. What you have here is something that will brief you on the fundamentals of health assessment as well.
Although family nursing involved dealing with patients both young and old, most of the patients that you will get are generally older. Because of this, lessons in adult and geriatric care are provided in the program. This course will tackle patient care for patients that are 13 years old and above.
Another subject that you will deal with is advanced pathophysiology and it will teach you about patient diagnosis. In order to come up with an accurate diagnosis and the right kind of patient care, you first have to figure out the pathophysiology of the condition. What you have here applies to pediatric and adult diseases.
Another subject that is important for family nurse practitioners is advanced pharmacology since they will be dealing with the prescription of meds in this line of work. When it comes to drugs, there is a nursing care aspect that is concentrated on by undergrad studies. It is the full specifications of medicines that should be learned by nurses who want to be nurse practitioners as they will provide patients with prescriptions.
Research is also a fundamental aspect in a family nurse practitioner program. Here is where students have to deal with the thesis requirement. Aside from critical thinking, research methods and practical skills are necessary in this case.
When it comes to this line of work, you will always be hands-on and this is why clinical experience is mandatory. Programs require several hours of work inside a medical facility. Enough practice in the medical setting is highly necessary.
Here is where nurse practitioner schools dictate the fundamental courses students have to take. Students have the option to concentrate on different nursing areas. However, the basic subjects such as anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology and health care are still part of the fundamental course work, whatever specialization it may be.