Nurse Practitioner

Field of Study — Nursing

Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses whose advanced training and graduate education enable them to provide high level primary care to people of all ages. They work in collaboration with physicians and other health professionals. With the increased need for primary care providers, there is a particularly high demand for nurse practitioners nationally and across the commonwealth of Virginia.

Nurse practitioners:

Nurse practitioners sometimes specialize in one or more areas, such as acute care, pediatrics, adult, family, women’s, geriatric or school health. Depending on their interests, nurse practitioners may work in private medical offices, clinics, schools, health maintenance organizations, health departments or hospitals. Some have their own private practices.

Educational Requirements

Students interested in becoming certified nurse practitioners should take challenging high school courses in science, math and English, including advanced placement courses.

To become a nurse practitioner, students must first complete education and training to be a baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse. In addition, they must complete an accredited master’s degree program and pass certification examinations. Nurse practitioner programs are graduate level.

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Educational Institutions

Virginia Colleges and Universities

George Mason University
Hampton University College of Health, College of Health
James Madison University
Old Dominion University College of Health Sciences
Shenandoah University
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Commonwealth University



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Professional Associations


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