The United States is projected to have a physician shortage of nearly 120,000 doctors by the year 2030, with Virginia expected to be short nearly 4,000 doctors. This state ranks in the bottom half of states for primary care and physician supply, and 70 of its 95 counties have more than 3,500 patients for every one provider.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) in Virginia can play an important role in making sure that the residents of the state get access to the care they need. In Virginia, NPs work under the supervision of physicians to assess, diagnose, and treat patients at the beginning of their careers. However, after achieving five years of full-time experience, they can apply for an autonomous practice designation on their licenses. With this designation, NPs can work independently, allowing them to open their own practices and help people in areas of the state where primary healthcare is sorely needed.
Virginia has many options for nurse practitioner programs, including MSN, DNP, and post-graduate opportunities, including the programs listed below.
Program Overview:
ECPI University has multiple campuses around Virginia and the southeastern United States. Its BSN to FNP program consists of 49 credits and 480 in-person clinical hours. All courses are offered online, making this an ideal program to accommodate a working professional’s busy schedule. ECPI offers classes year-round, so full-time students can complete the entire program in as little as 22 months.
Program Overview:
George Mason University started as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 and became a separate university in 1972. The School of Nursing in the College of Public Health offers more NP options than any other school in the state.
At George Mason, students have multiple pathways to becoming a nurse practitioner. Students who wish to complete an MSN degree and practice as a family NP have two options, an on-campus BSN to FNP program and an online BSN to FNP program. The on-campus option can be completed in two or three years. The online option consists of condensed eight-week courses and can be completed in 2.5 years. Both programs include 600 in-person clinical hours and cover the same course content.
GMU also offers multiple options for those wishing to pursue a DNP. The family NP doctorate program has two entry points (a BSN to DNP FNP and an MSN to DNP FNP option) as does the adult-gerontology DNP program (a BSN to DNP AGNP and an MSN to DNP AGNP option). The number of credits varies for these programs, but each requires a minimum of 1,000 in-person clinical hours.
Program Overview:
Located in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in north central Virginia, James Mason University is a public university founded in 1908. Its state-of-the-art Simulation and Clinical Laboratories offer nursing students over 7,000 square feet of learning space, including acute and primary care environments with low, moderate, and high-fidelity simulations and labs where students can gain proficiency in skills that will be essential in their future careers.
JMU offers two master’s programs for BSN-prepared nurses to pursue a degree as an NP. The BSN to FNP option is 49 credits and the BSN to AGNP is 46. Both tracks require 780 in-person clinical hours, and the school has a dedicated coordinator to help students find appropriate clinical placements. Both of these programs are offered in a hybrid format with classes meeting on-campus one day a week.
Program Overview:
Mary Baldwin University has roots back to 1842 when it began as the Augusta Female Seminary. The university’s namesake, Mary Julia Baldwin, graduated first in her class in 1846 and was eventually called back to become principal of the school. Under her guidance, the school expanded its offerings, becoming a junior college, a four-year liberal arts school, and officially being named Mary Baldwin University in 2016.
The College of Health Sciences was founded in 2014. It offers three options for nurses who wish to pursue careers as family NPs. The master’s-level BSN to FNP program is offered in a hybrid format. The 47-credit program includes 600 hours of in-person clinical and can be completed in 20 months.
Mary Baldwin University also offers a 74-credit BSN to DNP FNP option that can be completed in two to three years and a 32-credit Post-Graduate MSN to FNP option that can be completed in 20 months. Both of these tracks offer hybrid classes with in-person clinicals.
Program Overview:
Marymount University was the first Catholic college established in Virginia. It started as a two-year women’s college in 1950 and has since expanded into a respected co-ed university offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Malek School of Nursing Professions in the College of Health and Education offers three family NP tracks. The 45-credit part-time BSN to FNP option is an online program that can be completed in as little as two years. Students complete 750 in-person clinical hours and are required to attend an on-campus residency that allows students to connect and network with their peers.
The BSN to DNP FNP is between 63 and 70 credits and has 1,000 in-person clinical hours. Courses are completed online, but students are required to come to campus for an in-person residency to practice hands-on skills. This program is completed in 10 consecutive semesters and takes about three years.
Finally, the Post-Graduate MSN to FNP certificate is for nurses with an MSN in another specialty. The program consists of 30 credits with 700 clinical hours and two on-campus residencies. The program is five semesters and takes 20 months to complete.
Program Overview:
Old Dominion was established in 1930 as an extension of the College of William and Mary and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the school quickly expanded into a four-year institution. It gained independence in 1962 and became known as Old Dominion College, eventually expanding its educational offerings and becoming a university.
The Ellmer School of Nursing offers two NP degrees. The BSN to FNP track is primarily online, with video lectures, presentations, and life-streamed classes, but students are required to go to campus to practice clinical skills and work with standardized patients.
Old Dominion also offers one of the only BSN to PNP tracks in Virginia. This distance program is offered primarily online, including life synchronous course participation. Students are also required to come to campus at least once a semester to work with standardized patients and participate in clinical simulations. This program requires 560 in-person clinical hours that can be completed in the students’ home communities if suitable placements can be found.
Program Overview:
Radford University’s School of Nursing was established in 1966. MSN programs were introduced in 1991 with an FNP program beginning in 1995. The school graduated its first DNP students in the summer of 2011.
Radford has two FNP options. The BSN to FNP MSN track is a hybrid program that boasts a nearly 100% pass rate on the national certification exam. The program has 53 total credit hours and 540 in-person clinical hours and requires on-campus visits to practice hands-on skills.
The school also offers a BSN to DNP FNP track with 78 credits and 1,000 clinical hours. MSN-prepared nurses are also admitted to the program, and some transfer credits may be accepted.
Program Overview:
Shenandoah University has five locations across Virginia, but it began with one small school in Dayton in 1875. Its educational offerings and reputation grew and grew over the decades, and it achieved university status in 1991.
The university’s nursing program was started in 1962, becoming the Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing in 1987. In 1995, three specialty tracks were introduced, including the BSN to FNP program. This MSN degree is 45 credits with at least 600 clinical hours and takes seven semesters to complete. This program consists of synchronous online classes, but students are welcome to come to the main campus to take advantage of the resources available. Graduates of the FNP program at Shenandoah University have a 100% certification exam pass rate every year from 2018 to 2022, according to the most recent information available on the school’s website.
Program Overview:
Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819; today, it is one of the nation’s leading public institutions. The UVA School of Nursing is ranked in the top 3% of American Nursing Schools, offering students hands-on state-of-the-art learning experiences in the Mary Morton Parsons Clinical Simulation Learning Center. This center emulates a hospital unit, giving students experience in ICU simulation labs, a family of twelve high-fidelity manikins, and a women’s and children’s simulation unit.
UVA offers several NP options. Those wishing to pursue careers as family NPs have two options, the BSN to FNP MSN program or the BSN to DNP FNP program.
Those seeking careers as adult gerontological NPs have multiple options. The BSN to AGNP MSN program and BSN to DNP AGNP program prepare students for the national certification exam and careers as AGNPS.
UVA also offers unique BSN to AGNP + CNS and BSN to DNP AGNP + CNS programs. These tracks prepare students to sit for both the AGNP certification exam and the adult-gerontology acute care clinical nurse specialist exam. These programs are exceptionally demanding, and the school recommends that students do not work while pursuing their degrees.
UVA also offers a BSN to DNP PNP Acute Care program and a BSN to DNP PNP Primary Care program that prepares students for careers working with pediatric patients in various settings. Both of these programs have on-campus requirements and can be completed in about two years. Post-master’s certificates as an Acute Care PNP and Primary Care PNP are also available.
All DNP programs meet in person six times a semester with most classwork being completed online. Regardless of specialty, the DNP programs include 750 clinical hours and can be completed in as little as three years.
NP Programs in Other States
North Carolina
West Virginia
Kentucky
Maryland
Delaware
Pennsylvania