Write the Next Chapter of Your Nursing Career
Earn your degree to become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), an advanced practice specialty that puts your skills to work in the realm of primary care, so you can make an even more significant and lasting impact on patients’ lives.
Gwynedd Mercy University’s Master of Science in Nursing Program – Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP) track offers the advanced knowledge, skills, and clinical experience you need to provide patients with personalized primary care.
Did you know? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics currently rates nurse practitioners as the #1 fastest growing occupation in the country with an expected job growth rate of 46% through 2031, nearly 10x the national average.
See Program Details
What sets us apart from other family nurse practitioner programs? Gwynedd Mercy University’s online MSN-FNP program offers the flexibility and convenience you need. Earn your degree in two and half years of full-time online classes – or complete the program in three to five years of part-time study so you can continue to work.
Our advanced nursing programs also have deep and broad partnerships with health care affiliates and clinical sites throughout the region and Pennsylvania, which means you will have many different opportunities for first-hand clinical experience while you pursue your MSN-FNP with us.
After graduation, you should be prepared to pass the Family Nurse Practitioner exam.
A Leading Regional Nursing School for More Than 60 Years
For decades, Gwynedd Mercy University’s Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions has led the region in health practitioner education. We've earned our reputation as one of the best nurse practitioner schools in PA, thanks to our small classes and rigorous curriculum that produce confident, capable nursing professionals. The nursing faculty members we select bring clinical expertise, academic rigor, and a passion for the nursing profession to the classroom.
The community of nursing experts, scholars, and regional health care leaders we have developed — not to mention our thousands of nursing alumni — is an invaluable resource for your professional development and personal enrichment. Inside and outside the classroom, the GMercyU community offers you the opportunity to earn your MSN-FNP degree from a renowned nurse practitioner program online.
GMercyU Nurse Practitioner programs prepare you for the responsibilities of primary care. Through the course of the program, you’ll expand your clinical knowledge and clinical practice skills, engage in professional research and writing, and explore contemporary issues in policy and society that impact health care. You’ll emerge from the program equipped to be the health practitioner and advocate your patients need.
As a GMercyU Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP) graduate, you will be able to:
- Collaborate with colleagues and consumers to provide and improve advanced nursing care
- Demonstrate expertise as an advanced practice nurse through the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic health problems
- Demonstrate professionalism as a nurse practitioner grounded in the Mercy tradition
- Demonstrate social responsibility for individuals, families, and communities within the context of a multicultural society
- Utilize knowledge to provide holistic care in a defined area of advanced practice nursing or nursing education in accordance with standards of practice and codes of ethics
- Strategize to improve health for all by influencing policy
- Synthesize knowledge from nursing and related disciplines as a foundation for evidence-based practice as a nurse practitioner
- Assume a leadership role in interpreting and promoting advanced nursing to members of the profession, to other disciplines, and to consumers
- Contribute to advanced nursing knowledge through scientific inquiry
You will complete 48 credits with 720 clinical hours in our MSN-FNP program, either as a full-time student for two and a half years or a part-time student for three to five years.
Core Course Requirements for Master of Science in Nursing Programs
| NUR 500 | Advanced Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Roles |
| NUR 510 | Advanced Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Roles |
| NUR 570 | Advanced Assessment & Lab for Advanced Nursing Roles |
| NUR 530 | Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Roles |
| NUR 610 | Nursing Research Methodology & EBP |
| NUR 535 | Leadership & Health Policy |
MSN-FNP Courses
| NUR 572 | Role Transition I |
| NUR 573 | Role Transition II |
| NUR 630 | Primary Care I – Introduction |
| NUR 631 | Primary Care II – Newborn (0-5) |
| NUR 632 | Primary Care III – Young Child (6-11) |
| NUR 633 | Primary Care IV – Adolescent (12-18) |
| NUR 634 | Primary Care V – Young Adult (18-29) |
| NUR 635 | Primary Care VI – Middle Adult (30-55) |
| NUR 636 | Primary Care VII – Older Adult (56+) |
| NUR 637 | Primary Care VIII – Women’s Health & Pregnancy |
Licensure: This program was designed to meet national licensure requirements. Carefully review the process of your home state’s licensure requirements. For more information, please visit our Program Licensure Requirement page.
If you already hold a Master of Science in Nursing, you can complete the courses you need to become a family nurse practitioner with our FNP Post-Graduate Advanced Practice Nurse (APRN) Certificate Program.
We will work with you to evaluate your prior learning and determine a personalized certificate program curriculum for you.
Make a difference in the lives of patients as a primary care practitioner — enroll in Gwynedd Mercy University’s accelerated MSN-FNP program today.
Call 877-531-7941 or email accelerate@gmercyu.edu to contact an admissions counselor or begin your application online now!
About FNPs
FNPs provide healthcare for entire families. You’ll work with patients from all ages and walks of life, from newborns and their parents to the elderly.
As a certified FNP, you can:
- Assess patients
- Diagnose patients
- Treat acute and chronic illnesses
- Prescribe medications (subject to collaborative agreement by the state in which you practice)
- Make referrals to specialists
- Advise and educate patients and family members on health issues and healthy living habits
As the baby boomer generation ages and the population continues to grow, demand for primary care is rising. With their expanded scope of practice, FNPs can offer patients care and service similar to that of a physician, while also emphasizing health education for their patients.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts up to 112,700 new job openings for nurse practitioners through 2031. Becoming an FNP helps you deliver effective, thorough, compassionate care that fills an urgent societal need.
As an FNP, you can work in a diverse array of professional settings, including:
- Physician offices (family medicine)
- Community centers
- Nurse-managed clinics
- Self-owned practices
- Hospices
- Urgent care facilities
- Home care services
Accreditation
The Master of Science in Nursing program at Gwynedd Mercy University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://ww.ccneaccreditation.org).
