Healthy families, healthy communities
Our Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track within the DNP degree program prepares you to provide comprehensive, holistic care focused on health promotion and diagnosis and management of individuals across the lifespan with stable acute and chronic conditions. FNP practice focuses on optimizing physical and psychosocial health, caring for patients who are medically stable, and recognizing, diagnosing, and referring patients experiencing sudden or progressive deterioration. You will learn to work with individuals across the lifespan, from infancy through older adulthood.
#2 ranking
Of public schools offering a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
$3.8M in funding
147 DNP scholarships funded in 2023-24, totaling $3.8 million.
Pre-arranged clinicals
We manage your clinicals, setting us apart from most other DNP programs.
Family Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:
- Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering and interpreting diagnostic procedures
- Partner with patients and families for health promotion and disease prevention
- Generate differential diagnoses and manage acute and chronic health problems
- Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
- Utilize developmental, patient-and family-centered approaches
- Act as leaders in healthcare systems
- Advocate for nursing and the role of the FNP
Graduates from our FNP track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:
- Primary care
- Internal medicine
- Urgent care
- Subspecialty services (e.g., gastroenterology, oncology, cardiology, neurology, dermatology)
- Medically underserved and rural practice settings
- Veteran’s health
The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.
After successfully completing the FNP track, FNP students are eligible to sit for the FNP certification exams through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP).
“I had the most amazing clinical preceptors at the UW SoN. It’s hard to choose one particular moment! I think my rural rotation as a whole was such a meaningful experience. I was able to learn first-hand the barriers that persons in rural areas face in low-resource settings that are not as evident in urban settings. It was eye-opening and motivated me to improve access to my patients who live in rural settings and advocate for them as best as I can from this urban oasis.”
What makes our program unique?
Pre-arranged clinical placements.
Post-DNP study
Graduates from the FNP track who are interested in Veteran’s health are eligible to apply for the post-DNP residency program at the VA Puget Sound Center of Education for Interprofessional Collaboration. Unchanged: Graduates from the FNP track who are interested in Veteran’s health are eligible to apply for the post-DNP residency program at the VA Puget Sound Center of Education for Interprofessional Collaboration.
Interested in learning more? Join us for an upcoming online information session, or contact us at asknursing@uw.edu to find out if this program would be a great fit and how to create a quality application.
Alumni spotlight
Bridget Chandler, nurse practitioner received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2021-2022 Excellence in Advancing Nursing Practice Award.