York College of PA Offers Online Family Nurse Practitioner Program Beginning in Fall 2022

As the nationwide shortage of primary care providers continues, York College of Pennsylvania’s Nursing program is responding by adding an online Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track to its Master of Science in Nursing program.

That shortage of providers also exists in and around York County, according to Dr. Karen March, Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Stabler Department of Nursing. “The FNP program is timely and responsive to the needs of the community,” she said, “and will prepare graduates to productively work as nurse practitioners across a wide variety of clinical sites both within the region and beyond.”

The degree can be completed in as quickly as two years, but the curriculum is flexible and designed to allow students to progress at a pace that suits their schedule. It incorporates a solid core of courses that have already been offered as part of York College’s other Nursing graduate programs. Students who already possess their Master of Science in Nursing degree will be able to complete the FNP as a stand-alone certificate in the future as well.

The FNP is complementary to the College’s existing Master of Science in Nursing tracks: Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist-Education Focus, and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

“This new track fills in a gap in our degree offerings,” March said. “It is an attractive program for our target audience of working nurses, and it’s available online.”