MS Specialty: Family Nurse Practitioner - UCSF School of Nursing

Family--in its broadest definition--influences nearly every aspect of a person's health.

A family nurse practitioner meets the health care needs of the family by providing health assessments, direct care, and guidance, teaching, or counseling as appropriate, particularly around family self-care. The FNP typically works collaboratively with family primary care physicians and other professionals within the health care system.

In addition to conventional practice in an office, clinic, or ambulatory care center, the FNP may follow families in a variety of settings, such as school, home, work place, or hospital, dependent upon client need.

Program

FYI/Facts: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Specialty
Options/Focuses: Nurse Practitioner One-Year Option (- for nurses who are bachelor's prepared and FNP-certified) Specialty Coordinator: Ellen Scarr, RNC, MS, FNP, WHNP 2 Koret Way, Room #N-411M, San Francisco, CA 94143-0606 Telephone: 415-476-4431 Email: ellen.scarr@nursing.ucsf.edu Department: Family Health Care Nursing

Quick-Links: Family Nurse Practitioner
Definition		Program		Faculty		Graduates		Courses		Questions		Applying

"UC has an amazing social circle and I believe one of the program's strengths is the clinical sites and preceptors. My preceptors were knowledgeable, serving as my mentors during and following my training at UC. The diversity of clinical sites made me realize it was possible -- and prepared me -- to practice in various clinical settings."
Edna Yee,
Family Nurse Practitioner,
City College of SF and Private Practice

Meeting individual health care needs in the context of the family dictates that a family nurse practitioner understands the value of collaborative, family-centered care as well as the interaction among the physical, emotional, mental, and sociocultural systems of patients.

In addition, the program has a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of underserved, high-risk, and multi-cultural populations. These beliefs drive the FNP program.

A typical two-year course of study leads to the Master of Science degree and certification as a family nurse practitioner; a part-time study option is also available. In addition to the core program, students may pursue an emphasis in other areas such as teaching, HIV care, or health policy.

One-Year Option. Already certified nurse practitioners who have a bachelor's degree in nursing (or the equivalent) can earn a master's degree in one year by completing 36 units of academic coursework in an individually designed program of study.

Post-Masters Option. UCSF also offers a Post-Master's FNP program; nurses who have already completed a master's degree may complete a special studies program to obtain an FNP certificate.

Seminars focus on application of knowledge and development of critical thinking and decision-making. Clinical practice provides practical experience in a range of community and primary care settings in collaboration with nurse practitioners, physicians, and other health practitioners.

Using this preparation as a springboard, our graduates are collaborative and culturally aware as they help determine and treat the primary care needs of many individuals spanning all age groups across a variety of health care settings.

"I like the way the program gives you a greater ability to organize your care around nursing theory (treating the whole person) instead of just becoming a technician. And the speakers were incredible. Where else can you hear a pediatric-cardiology surgeon step out of surgery and speak to your class for an hour?"
Steve McCrosky,
Family Nurse Practitioner,
Coastal Health Alliance, Bolinas, California

Selected Faculty

Quick-Links: Family Nurse Practitioner
Definition		Program		Faculty		Graduates		Courses		Questions		Applying

Ellen Scarr, RN, MS, WHNP, FNP, is the Director of the FNP program. She is also a family nurse practitioner and women's health nurse practitioner, who practices in the UCSF-Mt. Zion Young Women's Clinic. There she provides obstetric, gynecologic, and family planning care to high-risk adolescent girls, and serves as a preceptor for nurse practitioner students and pediatric residents.

"The focus of our program is preparing excellent clinicians who will provide optimal care to patients across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on patients who are underserved and disenfranchised from the current health care system."

Pilar Bernal de Pheils, RN, MS, FNP, is an associate clinical professor who specializes in women's health and cultural issues that affect the health of Latinas. She practices at two multicultural clinics in San Francisco. Ms. Bernal de Pheils has also developed a summer exchange program for UCSF School of Nursing faculty and students with two schools of nursing in Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Enfermería y Obstetricia and Puebla Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla Escuela Nacional de Enfermería y Obstetricia. In the program, students spend six weeks learning Spanish and gaining or deepening their understanding of Mexican culture and the country's health care system.

"As a Latina nurse, my strength is in helping students best understand how to address the needs of Latinas. Practicing what I teach in a clinic that primarily serves a Latina population helps me keep this concern at the top of my mind."

Selected Graduates

"After graduating in 2001, I began working for the Coastal Health Alliance, three community clinics in West Marin where I had done my clinical work. This is a rural practice, a unique population that's about 40 percent monolingual Spanish-speaking farmworkers, much of the rest an aging population very interested in alternative or complementary medicine. I work both as a FNP and as an administrator, doing things like helping to devise continuing quality improvement programs.

"When I came into the program, after fifteen years as a RN, I wanted to concentrate on a rural practice, especially migrant health care, since much of my previous work had been with this population. The program at UCSF was attractive, because the faculty members have arrangements with so many different providers . . . . I like the way the program gave me a greater ability to organize my care around nursing theory (treating the whole person) instead of just becoming a technician.

"And the speakers were incredible. Where else can you hear a pediatric-cardiology surgeon step out of surgery and speak to your class for an hour?"

"By design, I've pieced together three different jobs since graduating in 2001. I work as a family nurse practitioner at the City College student health center, where I see students mainly on a drop-in basis. I work two and a half days a week at a family practice in North Beach, where a physician and I see clients throughout the lifespan with the exception of clients seeking obstetric services. Lastly, I work as a consultant for a hepatitis B education, outreach and screening program conducted among the Chinese community in San Francisco.

Courses/Curriculum

Details on the required courses for the Family NP specialty are available by selecting the following link:

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Quick-Links: Family Nurse Practitioner
Definition		Program		Faculty		Graduates		Courses		Questions		Applying

Quick-Links: Family Nurse Practitioner
Definition		Program		Faculty		Graduates		Courses		Questions		Applying

Quick-Links: Family Nurse Practitioner
Definition		Program		Faculty		Graduates		Courses		Questions		Applying

Q: My background has been in acute care. Will this be a problem in being admitted, since I don't have outpatient experience?

A: We have admitted students whose background has been oriented in a different direction than family health, but who are currently developing career goals clearly in the direction of family and community-oriented primary health care. Clinical experience in any area that requires high levels of decision-making is definitely an asset. Fluency in a second language is also an asset due to the cultural diversity mandates of our program. Prior experience with underserved groups, either through work or volunteer activities, is a priority.

A: Generally, no. After careful matching of student needs with available resources, faculty members arrange clinical placements for students. Students are welcome to help identify appropriate clinical sites. This may be particularly helpful when many students begin sub-specialty rotations. For yearlong placements, preference is for broad-based family practice settings that target underserved groups.

A: Yes. A car is required because placements are frequently out of the urban area and not accessible by public transportation.

A: We advise students to become "computer friendly" and to invest in their own personal computer with access to the Internet. Although there are computers available on campus, students will prefer to have a computer at home and to be familiar with using the internet (email and the web) and be able to use word processing software (e.g. Microsoft Word), for papers, write-ups, and the comprehensive exam. In addition, a telephone answering machine or voice mail system access is advised so that students can be notified of changes in clinical program and on-call times.

A: Most students enrolled in school need to work to supplement their financial aid, savings, or other sources of income. It is often difficult to accommodate both classroom and clinical schedules. When clinical hours are greatest and require flexible scheduling, it can be difficult to accommodate work schedules, but not impossible. Students have found that trying to keep a work schedule to 50% or less during the academic year is recommended.

A: Days on campus vary with each quarter of the program. Number of campus days is also influenced by the individual student's elective choices, by the need to fill prerequisites, and by individual clinical placements. On-campus classroom activities average two to three days per week. Flexibility in scheduling decreases throughout the program, as the clinical residency requires more time. Program faculty and students must accommodate the needs and limits of clinical resources and cannot necessarily choose specific days or hours for clinical placements.

A: Though discouraged, part-time study is available at this time on a limited basis. Students are accepted into the program in the Fall Quarter only and should carefully plan their curriculum early in their program. Faculty advisors will assist in planning.

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Family Nurse Practitioner

Definition

Program

Selected Faculty

Selected Graduates

Courses/Curriculum

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Application Information