Is becoming a nurse practitioner right for me?
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How to become a Nurse Practitioner
Aspiring nurse practitioners can begin their education by earning a bachelor's degree in nursing. Courses include anatomy, physiology, community health, pediatric nursing and pharmacology. This takes about four years of full-time study and requires both classroom and clinical learning.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, candidates must complete an additional two to six years of study to earn a master’s degree in nursing, or Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Many graduate schools require nurse practitioner candidates to have a few years of experience as a registered nurse. To enter some specialties and sub-specialties (child and adolescent psychiatry, for example), nurse practitioners must complete an additional supervised clinical experience.
A nurse practitioner must be licensed by the state in which they practice.