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Preparing for Your Career as a Family Nurse Practitioner

Preparing for Your Career as a Family Nurse Practitioner

May 19, 2025 by Chamberlain University

caregiver with patient in a home setting

If you’re an RN looking for career advancement and change, you may want to consider becoming a family nurse practitioner (FNP). In family nurse practitioner jobs, you can provide mid-level care, practice more autonomously and enjoy the challenge of a new work setting.

“Becoming an FNP can give you so many job opportunities,” said Sue Ann Maughmer, a graduate of Chamberlain’s MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) specialty track. “Becoming an FNP has been one of the best decisions that I have made for my professional career.”

You may be asking, what is an FNP in the medical field? What can an FNP do? Where do family nurse practitioners work? Let’s take a look at the wide variety of family nurse practitioner jobs and roles.

What Is an FNP?

FNPs are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who care for patients of all ages. They are a patient’s direct point of contact for medical care. While RNs work under the supervision of doctors, FNPs work more autonomously. Some of their responsibilities include diagnosing patients, developing treatment plans and prescribing medications.

To prepare for this nursing career, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) says you must be an RN, have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and hold a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from a nurse-practitioner-focused program, like Chamberlain University’s MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track.

FNPs and other types of nurse practitioners must pass a national nurse practitioner board certification exam and meet licensure requirements, which are set at the state level.

Where Do Family Nurse Practitioners Work?

In a family nurse practitioner career, you can practice nursing in a diverse range of settings — from a doctor’s office to a prison to a factory and beyond. Here is a look at family nurse practitioner jobs and workplaces.

Acute or Urgent Care Centers

As a family nurse practitioner, you may be drawn to this fast-paced FNP job setting because you enjoy work that changes on a daily basis. Although broken bones and burn wounds are commonly seen in urgent care clinics, FNPs in these settings do have the opportunity to diagnose and treat a diverse community of patients experiencing a wide range of medical issues.

My day starts with seeing patients of all ages and with chronic and acute illnesses. I do a lot of school, employment and annual physicals. I see around 20 to 30 patients a day. Right now, with COVID-19, I see a lot of patients with respiratory illness that may or may not be positive.

My hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Sometimes it fluctuates depending on circumstances of patient load. [The most rewarding part is] leaving at the end of the day knowing I’ve made a positive impact on each patient by just listening, educating and providing treatment. – Chamberlain FNP Graduate Crystal Thomas, FNP-BC

Doctor’s Office or Private Clinic

When people ask, “Where do nurse practitioners work?” you might immediately think of a doctor’s office — and you’d be spot-on. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook, doctor’s offices were the largest employer of nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists in 2021.

“The majority of my patients are walk-ins, so what I do varies from day to day,” said Chamberlain FNP grad Holly Cox, who works in a private clinic. “We may be very busy one day and have a much more laid-back day the next. We see a lot of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, as well as those with diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.”

As a family nurse practitioner working in a clinic or doctor’s office, you may see fewer patients per day than you would in a hospital setting. You’ll also likely have more time to spend with your patients and will see them on repeat visits.

Holly’s favorite part of her nurse practitioner job? “When a patient returns for follow-up after I’ve treated them for something and they feel better, or the treatment plan is helping their issue.”

Hospitals

After a doctor’s office, the hospital is the second most common clinical setting for FNPs, according to the BLS. In hospitals, family nurse practitioners can work in a variety of settings — the emergency room, critical care and the maternity department, to name a few.

As a step in your family nurse practitioner career path, working in a hospital can be a helpful way to gain experience treating a wide variety of conditions and diverse patient populations.

As you consider family nurse practitioner jobs, it’s a good idea to learn about scheduling. Hospital work requires working in shifts, so you may have nontraditional hours. For FNPs, that can mean working nights, weekends and holidays.

Skilled Nursing and Long-Term Care Facilities

If you enjoy working with older adults, you might choose an FNP job in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or a long-term care facility (nursing home).

SNFs typically admit older patients who have been released from the hospital but still need rehabilitation and supportive care before going home or to long-term care. This care consists of physical rehabilitation, occupational therapy, determining proper medical treatment and making sure patients are stabilized on their medication.

One of the biggest issues for older adults is falling, so family nurse practitioners working in SNFs may help patients strengthen their muscles and learn to regain their ability to live as independently as possible. FNPs also work with patients’ families so they can help in the healing process.

If you choose an SNF for your family nurse practitioner job setting, you may get to spend a few months with your clients and come to know them well.

If you would prefer to work with the same patient population over a much longer period of time — and you prefer what can be a slower pace — then a long-term care facility might be where you want to situate your nurse practitioner career.

When you work in this FNP job role, it’s important to be a good listener. There also may be a fair amount of physical activity required, as you’ll help patients get up and sit down, take baths, and carry out other activities of daily living. You may want to specialize in gerontology if this nurse practitioner career path interests you.

As difficult as the job is, I get up every morning happy to go to my workplace, because every day is a new day with new challenges and new rewards. The rewards are plentiful when my patients and their families say thank you. My patients are 99% elderly, chronically ill people. I cannot cure them, but my goal is to make their stay with us as pleasant as possible, especially when families cannot visit their loved ones. – Chamberlain University alumna Eleina Sapoz

Hospice Centers and Patients’ Homes

Some FNPs are drawn to working with people who are in the final stages of illness. Palliative care nurses assist patients with their medications, make sure they are as comfortable as possible and provide emotional support. If the medical team decides that death will mostly likely occur within six months, the patient may be provided with a hospice nurse. Both palliative care and hospice nurses work with patients in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospice centers or patients’ homes.

A typical day for me is seeing patients in their home setting for symptom management to include acute symptoms and chronic symptoms, recent visits, and support visits for patients who are actively dying. I am also a support person for our nursing team and help them with any clinical needs they may have during their day. The most rewarding part of my job is the job's mission. Hospice is a unique clinical setting, and it's an honor to be able to walk this journey with any patient and their family during such a critical time in their lives. Being able to provide physical care, emotional care and spiritual care during the last days of a patient’s life is not only a blessing to them but a blessing to me. Also, providing supportive care to their family/caregiver is very rewarding. – Chamberlain Graduate Sue Ann Maughmer, APRN, MSN, FNP-BC

Convenient Care (e.g., Retail) Clinics

You may have noticed that many large chain stores have an area set aside for a clinic. These stores, along with stand-alone urgent care clinics, can be employment options for interested family nurse practitioners. As an FNP job in one of these settings, you would be involved in many aspects of patient care, such as giving flu shots and other immunizations; treating minor injuries, fevers and colds.

These clinics are becoming more popular primarily because they are convenient, low-cost places to be seen by a healthcare worker. The wait times are typically much shorter than in a hospital emergency department.

Private Practice

If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire for autonomy, then you might want to look into opening your own family nurse practitioner office or joining another private practice. The first thing to know is that not all states permit nurses to open their own practice.

The desire for autonomy can be compelling, but keep in mind that owning your own FNP practice involves many activities beyond providing healthcare services. For example, you would have to pay your own malpractice insurance, learn more about insurance reimbursements, and determine where and how you’re going to advertise your FNP business.

Correctional Facilities

When thinking about family nurse practitioner job settings, a correctional facility may not spring immediately to mind. It wasn’t the first thought for Chamberlain FNP grad Tracey Yeboah either, but she found this first step in her nurse practitioner career path to be exceptionally rewarding.

I gave the prison a try, and it's been amazing. On a typical day, I see about 10 to 15 scheduled patients. You may also see some acute conditions like chest pain, foreign body obstruction, nausea or vomiting. – Tracey Yeboah, FNP-C

Additional Healthcare Settings

Family nurse practitioner career paths can lead to even more healthcare settings than we have room to list here. These FNP job settings include school or college campuses, health departments, and occupational sites like factories.

I work on-site in a factory setting managing all the new workers. We also provide primary care services as well as urgent care/sick visits, lab work as needed [and] vaccinations as needed to all employees on-site. – Candice Dyer, MSN, FNP-C

If you want to earn a master’s in nursing but are not quite sure if a family nurse practitioner track is right for you, you can find more information here: Is an FNP Program Right for Me?

You also may be interested to know that nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist and nurse practitioner job opportunities are expected to increase by 40% through 2031, according to the BLS, which is much faster than average for all occupations.

Ready to Become a Family Nurse Practitioner?

Chamberlain is helping to prepare nursing students for rewarding careers in healthcare professions. The CCNE accredited university’s nursing programs offer many benefits. In fact, some students choose Chamberlain to earn multiple degrees.

In the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track, you can earn a degree in less than three years. And, with 100% of the coursework online, you can continue working while you’re building skills and knowledge for career advancement.

As a master’s candidate in Chamberlain’s MSN FNP program, you’ll participate in an Immersion Event that lets you practice your clinical assessment skills and receive feedback in real time. That’s experience you’ll take with you as you progress to your on-site practicum.

And it’s important to know the accredited institution’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are all accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

If you want to earn an FNP nursing degree, or just want to learn more, contact us online or call 877.751.5783.

Let Chamberlain’s nursing degrees help you meet your career goals and become a family nurse practitioner who is committed to improving the health of patients across the life span.

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Chamberlain University, an HLC-accredited institution, offers bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and certificate programs in nursing and healthcare professions. With a growing network of campuses and robust online programs, Chamberlain continues to build on more than 130 years of excellence in preparing extraordinary healthcare professionals.