FNP vs ACNP: What are the Differences?

There is no denying that working in the healthcare industry is rewarding. Every day, nurses not only improve the lives of their patients, but there are also several prospects for advancement in the nursing profession, which can have a number of advantages.

It’s time to think about your alternatives for specialization if you’re considering returning to school to increase your nursing credentials. Acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) and family nurse practitioner (FNP) are only two of the numerous specialized roles available in the nursing industry. You may compare the credentials of the ACNP and FNP using this comprehensive guide to help you choose the speciality that is ideal for you.

Nurse Practitioner Types: FNP vs. ACNP

The highly skilled medical professionals known as nurse practitioners (NPs) treat patients of all ages. Some people decide to advance in their jobs and take on managerial or administrative roles. Some people explore choices for advanced certification, like the FNP or ACNP certifications.

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What is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner?

Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) frequently work in hospital settings and provide treatment for patients with both acute and critical illnesses as well as chronic disorders. Patients often receive short-term care in an acute care setting for problems like:

• post-operative recuperation
• Illness
• Zphysical injury
• potentially fatal situations

The following are some typical duties an ACNP might have:

• monitoring patients and determining their needs
• assisting in the understanding of choices for patients and their families
• inspecting and maintaining patient records
• taking tests and exams
• observing any alterations in a patient’s state of health

Adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners (AGACNP), who work with young adults, older adults, and geriatric patients, are another subspecialization in this area.

An adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP), on the other hand, generally works at community health centers or private practice clinics. These specialists provide a strong emphasis on patient education and preventive wellness, which can assist patients in choosing better lifestyles. Additionally, AGPCNPs assist patients in controlling chronic illnesses like diabetes.

What is Family Nurse Practitioner?

In a primary care setting, a family nurse practitioner (FNP) works with families. FNPs frequently assist patients in managing long-term medical issues. FNPs can assist:

• Adults
• Seniors
• Young children
• Teens

For a patient with an urgent disease who has chosen to seek primary care rather than emergency care, a FNP is frequently the first point of contact. In this case, the FNP may offer initial treatment and diagnostic services before referring the patient to an acute care facility.

An FNP might perform a variety of tasks, such as:

• diagnosis and treatment of patients’ ailments
• recommending drugs and assisting patients in creating care plans
• ordering tests and evaluating laboratory findings
• interacting and seeking advice from other healthcare experts

Degree Paths for Family Nurse Practitioner vs. Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

It’s crucial to take into account both the academic requirements for each specialty track as well as the key characteristics of the ACNP and FNP routes while considering specialization alternatives.

How to Launch Your Acute Nurse Practitioner Career

A bachelor’s degree, more especially a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), is the first step on the road to becoming an ACNP. Before pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), nurses usually obtain some job experience first. All registered nurses (RNs) who want to become advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), such as ACNPs, must have this degree. These aspiring nurses should additionally finish an MSN program with an acute care focus.

The next stage for aspirants to become ACNPs is to pass an ACNP certification exam after receiving an MSN. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Corporation or the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), both of which are branches of the American Nurses Association (ANA), both provide these exams.

How to Launch Your Family Nurse Practitioner Career

An aspiring FNP, like an ACNP, must first complete a BSN program for either RN to BSN or pre-licensure. Future FNPs must complete an MSN specifically intended for family nurse practitioners after obtaining licensure.

Successful MSN degree program graduates with a focus on Family Nurse Practitioner are prepared to take national board exams. FNPs who pass the necessary tests can become APRNs. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners National Certification Board (AANPCB) or the ANCC may offer these exams.

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Is a Master’s Degree Required for FNP or ACNP Certification?

You must have a Master of Science in Nursing degree in order to become an APRN of any kind, regardless of the field of specialization you decide on. The difficulties of obtaining a graduate degree may appear overwhelming because registered nurses frequently work lengthy shifts. Given that their students are working professionals in demanding fields, MSN programs often provide a lot of flexibility.

Talking to your employer about returning to school should be among your initial preparations. Many healthcare businesses reimburse employees for tuition when they choose to further their education. Remember that if you accept tuition reimbursement, you might have to continue working for your company after graduation for a specific period of time.

Examine your schedule next to see how you can fit in lessons and study time. Look for innovative ways to make additional time, such as riding the bus or train to work so you may study there. You’ll probably find it simpler to balance all of your commitments as a graduate nursing student if you make a schedule in advance.

Renewal of Certification and Ongoing Education

You will be required to continuously pursue professional development and continuing education options regardless of whether you decide to become a FNP or an ACNP. All nurses are lifelong learners who are required to keep up with the most recent advances in pharmacology. Setting aside time each week to review the most recent research in your area of expertise is a good idea since it will help you provide your patients with the finest care possible.

A nurse’s certification renewal standards might alter over time and vary from state to state. It’s best to confirm these with the industry group who handled your certification exam. The company needs to be clear about the frequency of renewal requirements as well as how nurses might fulfill the requirements for continuing education.

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Where Does a FNP Work?

FNPs can be found working in any healthcare environment where primary care is provided. These conditions consist of:

1. Their Personal Practices.
2. Physician’s Office: FNPs collaborate closely with doctors to perform tests, make diagnoses, and create treatment regimens.
3. Community Clinics: FNPs frequently assist patients who encounter obstacles to care in other healthcare settings, such as language hurdles, insurance problems, or exorbitant fees, in community clinics.
4. Hospitals: FNPs can be found in emergency rooms of hospitals where they conduct preliminary evaluations, request diagnostic testing, and prescribe therapies for patients with non-acute health conditions.

Where Does an ACNP Work?

The working environment is one of the key distinctions between FNP and ACNP. ACNPs are used in any setting where patients seek care for severe wounds or illnesses with sudden onset and severe symptoms. These consist of:

1. Emergency Rooms: Adult-gerontology and pediatric acute care nurse practitioners in emergency rooms coordinate triage procedures, offer medical care, and supervise patient admissions to hospital units.
2. Critical Care Units: Adult-gerontology and pediatric acute care nurse practitioners diagnose and treat illnesses as well as acute flare-ups of chronic conditions in intensive care units, pediatric intensive care units, and critical cardiac care units. If they are employed in non-teaching institutions without medical interns or residents, they may undertake procedures like intubation and the insertion of central lines.
3. Operating Rooms: Acute care nurse practitioners may be in charge of preoperative and postoperative care up until a patient is transferred to a non-surgical inpatient unit, depending on the licensing rules in the states where they practice.

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How Long Does it Take to Train to be a FNP?

To become a family nurse practitioner, you need to complete six to eight years of training. The first stage is to complete a registered nurse program, which will take two years if you have an associate degree or hospital diploma in nursing or four years if you are pursuing a Bachelor of Nursing Science (BSN).

Keep in mind that many graduate nursing programs require applicants to have at least one year of professional experience before they can be considered for admission. After completing your BSN (two to three years), you will need to finish an MSN (two to three years) or a DNP (one to two years for students who have already finished an MSN; two to four years for students who haven’t).

What Is the Average Time to Become an ACNP?

Graduate programs for AG-ACNP and PACNP often last a few months longer than FNP programs. Other than that, there aren’t many differences between the schedules for becoming a FNP and an ACNP.

FNP vs ACNP: The Key Differences

The 15 most significant distinctions between FNP and ACNP are listed below.

1. Practice Areas

Both PACNPs and AG-ACNPs provide vital treatment for patients with complex, frequently unstable diseases. FNPs, on the other hand, provide care for people who have medical problems but are otherwise stable. The main distinction between FNP and ACNP is this.

2. Population Target

While PACNPs deal with severely sick infants and children under the age of 18, AG-ACNPs deal with critically ill adults and senior persons. FNPs treat patients of all ages, including infants and the elderly.

3. Professional Obligations

Professional obligations are another area where FNP and ACNP differ from one another. Primary care delivery is one of the professional duties of family nurse practitioners. Their expertise focuses in the field of preventative care, which includes working with patients to become more compliant with treatment regimens and includes education. This is in addition to the treatment of non-life-threatening health conditions.

Patients with complex disorders that have the potential to be fatal are treated by acute care nurse practitioners. ACNPs are trained in sophisticated procedures like intubation and central line placement that may be required to stabilize their patients in addition to assessing patients and creating treatment strategies.

4. Workplaces

Acute care professionals often work in specialist hospital wards such the neurological and pulmonary units as well as intensive care units, pediatric intensive care units, trauma units, emergency departments, and pediatric intensive care units. Additionally, subacute settings like cardiac step-down units and rehabilitation centers make use of their abilities.

Family nurse practitioners operate in settings where primary care is provided. They may do so in a variety of ambulatory venues, including their own private practices (if state practice laws permit this), doctors’ offices, community health clinics, hospital wellness centers, and other ambulatory locations. They frequently provide their knowledge as consultants to governmental bodies, healthcare-related companies, and managed care systems like health maintenance organizations.

5. Hours of Work

As mentioned, hospitals and healthcare institutions that are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, are where AG-ACNPs and PACNPs most frequently work. Therefore, nurses who specialize in these two acute care nursing specializations may be required to work night hours (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.), swing shifts (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.), and alternate weekends. They might be called up to work on holidays as well.

The workplaces where FNPs are present, however, are more likely to follow the standard 9 to 5 business hours.

6. Education

To be eligible to take their separate certification exams, FNPs, AG-ACNPs, and PACNPs must all complete an MSN, a DNP, or a certificate in the field of specialization that they have selected. Although their academic programs will occasionally overlap, prospective acute care NPs will focus more on advanced pathophysiology and collaborative management, and their clinical preceptorships will be in acute care settings similar to those they would eventually practice in. On the other hand, aspiring FNPs are more likely to complete their clinical rotations at ambulatory care facilities and community organizations.

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7. Employment Prospects

One of the important considerations for aspiring nurse practitioners weighing FNP vs. ACNP is the relative ease of getting future work. Compared to acute care nurse practitioners, family nurse practitioners have a much wider range of job options. This is mostly a result of the severe lack of primary care physicians in the United States. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicted in a research from 2020 that by 2033, the nation would have a shortage of 55,000 primary care doctors. Family nurse practitioners can serve as good, less expensive alternatives to primary care doctors, especially in jurisdictions where they are allowed to practice independently of physicians.

While medical interns and residents perform many of the tasks assigned to AG-ACNPs and PACNPs in non-teaching hospitals, the majority of acute care nurse practitioners are employed in hospital settings, and the 26 percent of American hospitals that are teaching hospitals are unlikely to have a high demand for their services.

8. Versatility

Because of their training, AG-ACNPs and PACNPs are more adaptable than FNPs and can work in both general care and acute care. But the family nurse practitioner program does not cover acute care standards and procedures.

9. Professional Organizations

The American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Association for Nurse Practitioners, Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP), and the online database American Family Nurse Practitioner (AFNP) are organizations that support and offer access to professional development as well as networking opportunities for family nurse practitioners.

The ANA, the AANP, and the DNP are also attended by AG-ACNPs and PACNPs. The Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) and the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) are two more organizations that may be of interest to AG-ACNPs on a professional level.

10. Marketability

FNPs must be viewed as more marketable because they serve a far more diversified population than either AG-ACNPs or PACNPs do. Because of their greater scope of practice freedom, FNPs are typically more appealing to potential employers outside of a critical care context. This is the decisive element for many aspiring nurse practitioners who are debating between the FNP and ACNP options.

Lack of training in treating children makes AG-ACNPs limited in their abilities. Children are occasionally treated in hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers, even though they may not make up a sizable portion of the patient population in those settings. The ideal employee will have pediatric care among his or her skill sets. Similar to this, PACNPs face challenges finding employment outside of a pediatric intensive care unit due to their inability to provide treatment for adults.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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