Written By: Jennifer Schlette MSN, RN
Nurse practitioner is an extremely versatile field with a good projected job growth outlook. There are so many different options out there that you can choose from when pursuing this advanced practice nursing degree, but let’s face it, not each specialty is created equally. Some specialties will be more challenging than others to get accepted into. Some specialties will overlap and enable you to further specialize in order to meet your career goal. Am I confusing you yet?
I know you are probably sitting there thinking, well, what are the easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into? Let’s take a look and see. Keep on reading, and I will give you a look at the 5 easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into, so you can start your advanced nurse practitioner career today.
WHAT ARE THE EASIEST NURSE PRACTITIONER SPECIALTIES TO GET ACCEPTED INTO?
(Following are the 5 easiest nurse practitioner specialties that you can get accepted into.)
1.Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner
The Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner or AGPCNP will primarily focus on the adult and geriatric populations in the primary care setting. You will find yourself working in long-term care settings, hospital-based clinics, and private practices in this role. This specialty is more primary care focused, not acute or critical care and is concerned with the adult and aging population. So, I know what you are probably saying to yourself, what makes this a specialty that is easy to get accepted into. Well, you need to look at the fact that it is a general population focused specialty and that it is in primary care. If you chose acute care or critical care, it would be more challenging to get accepted into an accredited program. This is due to the additional knowledge and practice you would have to learn for acute and critical care and that acute and critical care are even more specialized.
2.Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
The Pediatric Nurse practitioner is a Nurse Practitioner specialty that focuses on children. These NPs will primarily practice in private practice, ambulatory and school-based clinics, homes, hospitals, and subspecialty clinics. Once again, this is a single population focus specialty with a primary care focus, not acute or critical care, making it one of the easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into.
3.Family Nurse Practitioner
The family nurse practitioner is a versatile role with many job possibilities. This specialty Nurse practitioner is able to fill the gaps in the healthcare system that are lacking. These gaps are in part to the declining number of physicians as well as the growth rate of physicians declining. It goes back to that old concept of supply and demand. This supply and demand concept increase the acceptance rates for education programs. In this role, you will provide primary care to patients in all health stages.
4.Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners (OHNP)
The OHNP primarily focuses on preventing and treating stress, injuries, or illnesses derived from the work environment. These types of NPs usually care for patients directly working for medical facilities such as hospitals, doctor offices, or employee health clinics. Other roles that they may perform is that they may act as educators, researchers, or consultants. To become an OHNP, you would pursue your FNP degree and then later study and sit for a certification exam for the OHNP. This is one of the easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into because you are essentially pursuing your FNP, and you can study at your own pace for your OHNP certification. Remember the whole supply and demand concept. FNPs are in demand.
5.Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner
This type of Nurse Practitioner will require that you earn your FNP degree and then go on to train to become an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner. You would work in a clinic that offers botox and chemical peel treatments, to name a few. In order to accomplish this goal, you can train on the job and also take courses that will increase your knowledge base about the career. Your independence in this field will depend on the level of practice authority of the state you choose to practice in.
The Bottomline
So, what are the easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into? Well, I hope that this information I gave you, you find helpful. In a nutshell, there are many different nurse practitioner specialties out there that you can choose from. Sure, some will be more difficult than others, and sure, some will have higher acceptance rates than others. Those careers that are more general and in primary care seem to accept more students than those that are focusing more on acute and critical care. Supply and demand also play a role in the acceptance rates for programs. If a particular specialty is in need, then more students will be accepted. Nurse practitioner programs will not put a student through school just to have difficulty finding a job after completing the program, which looks bad for business. The 5 easiest nurse practitioner specialties to get accepted into that I have discussed in this article will enable you to broaden and accelerate your career to another level.
Jennifer Schlette MSN, RN
Jennifer Schlette is a registered nurse in pediatric critical care in New York City. She is the former Director of Undergraduate Nursing at a college located in New York. After obtaining her BSN from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, she went on to complete her MSN.
