3 Of The Best Schools For Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who possess varying levels of professional authority depending upon the laws of the particular state where they practice.  Nurse practitioner programs are available at the graduate level and incorporate a combination of academics and hands-on clinical practice.

In the US, nurse practitioners or NPs are highly sought after today and will continue to be so in the future. This is because there is already a shortage of primary care physicians in the country. And, with the over 30 million Americans who will become eligible for health insurance coverage in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, this shortage of doctors will be acute and will lead to a great need for qualified healthcare professionals who can fill the gap. Now is a great time to decide to study to become an NP.  Here is a list of the top three nurse practitioner schools in the United States.

The University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The University of Michigan or U of M is located in the city of Ann Arbor in southeastern lower Michigan. This school is rated as one of the top universities in the entire United States. U of M is also ranked among the top five research universities in the United States and among the top 20 universities in the entire world.

The University of Michigan School of Nursing offers several nurse practitioner programs. It has a degree program available at the master’s level in parent/child nursing which has a pediatric NP option. It also offers an acute care nursing program that has an option for an acute care practitioner degree. Both of these programs are considered among the best NP programs in the entire nation.

John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland

John Hopkins University or JHU has been ranked throughout its history as one of the top universities in the world. This university was the pioneer of the concept of the modern research university in the US. There have been 37 Nobel Prize winners affiliated with this leading university that has two main campuses both of which are located in beautiful Baltimore.

The university’s School of Nursing offers family, pediatric, and adult nursing programs – each of which has been ranked as being among the best NP programs in the nation. John Hopkins University offers master’s degree programs which include specialty training within pediatric primary care and family primary care. In both of these training programs, students can earn both a nurse practitioner degree and a master of public health degree.

John Hopkins University School of Nursing provides its graduating students with networking opportunities. It also provides continuing education programs for nursing professionals wherein students can obtain further education at the John Hopkins Hospital – one of the top hospitals in the United States. All of these factors combined to make this one of the most revered NP universities to attend.

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia, PA

The University of Pennsylvania or Penn as it is referred to is located in Philadelphia, PA. This school holds the esteemed honor of being the very first university in the United States. It’s School of Nursing is considered one of the best nursing schools in all of America. Penn’s School of Nursing offers master’s degree programs with a variety of specializations as well as over a dozen minors making it clearly one of the best nurse practitioner schools in the country.

The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing is among the leading family nurse practitioner schools in the US. Penn’s family nurse practitioner program began in 1973 and is among the oldest NP master’s degree programs in the nation. This program offers full-time, part-time,  post-master’s, and BSN/MSN studies. The full-time program is 16 months in length and consists of four core courses, one elective, and nine theory/clinical courses. Students who graduate from the family health NP program at Penn are eligible to become certified in the state of Pennsylvania as Family Health Certified Nurse Practitioners who are eligible for prescriptive authority.

There is plenty of information online where you can learn more about top nurse practitioner schools to help you make informed decisions about your career and education.