The Family Nurse Practitioner Program in the Nursing Department at Sonoma State University offers a Master of Science in Nursing with FNP emphasis and a Post-Master's FNP Certificate. The program is currently delivered to three CSU campuses — Sonoma State University, Chico State University and CSU Stanislaus — but accepts students from all geographic areas in California with the acknowledgement that students will be required to attend some seminars and labs on one of the above campuses.

The Family Nurse Practitioner concentration focuses upon the theoretical and scientific bases for the diagnosis and treatment of common illness, as well as health teaching, counseling and preventive services. Emphasis is placed upon advanced clinical skills, including history-taking and physical examination, health screening, management of common illness, and techniques of prevention and risk reduction.

Curriculum

There are three curricular options:

The Master of Science in Nursing
1. The Post Master's Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate
The Pathways program

The graduate nursing program includes core courses which focus upon theoretical and conceptual foundations of nursing practice, research, leadership and issues in professional nursing. These courses include content basic to all nursing specialties. Courses in the Family Nurse Practitioner option focuses upon the theory and practice of family nursing in primary (and some secondary) care settings. Students have a three-semester clinical preceptorship with a primary care provider. Content includes assessment of the health needs and risks of all family members, family theories, legal, ethical, economic and professional issues pertinent to nurse practitioners.

The SSU Family Nurse Practitioner option meets criteria specified in Section 1484, Title XVI of the California Administrative Code and is fully approved by the California BRN and the National League for Nursing. Graduates are eligible for and encouraged to seek national certification by taking either the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) FNP exam or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner (AANP) exam.

FNP Summer Advanced Assessment Course N509