Nurse Practitioner Specialty Comparison
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are playing an increasingly vital role in a wide range of healthcare settings, meeting critical needs across patient populations. As healthcare demands grow, choosing a specialty aligned with your strengths and interests can position you to make a meaningful difference. The table below offers a side-by-side look at each specialty to help guide your decision.
| Specialty | Responsibilities | Patient Population | Level of Acuity | Healthcare Settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (AGACNP) | Treatment of acute and critical illnesses, and complex chronic conditions | Late adolescents, adults, and older adults with acute and critical illness | High | Hospital critical care units, medical-surgical units, inpatient specialty services, outpatient specialty practices |
| Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (AGPCNP) | Primary care, health promotion, disease prevention, chronic disease management, and treatment of episodic illness or injury | Mid-adolescents, adults, and older adults | Low to moderate | Primary care clinics, long-term care facilities, private practices, home healthcare |
| Family NP (FNP) | Primary care, including women’s health; health promotion, disease prevention, chronic disease management, and treatment of episodic illness or injury | Infants to older adults | Low to moderate | Primary care clinics, urgent care, school-based health clinics, outpatient clinics, private practices |
| Psychiatric Mental Health NP (PMHNP) | Prevention and treatment of mental health conditions and psychiatric disorders, individual and group psychotherapy, and medication management | Children to older adults with mental health conditions and psychiatric disorders | Moderate to high | Inpatient and outpatient psychiatry programs, community and behavioral health clinics, chemical dependency programs, school-based clinics, private practices |
| Pediatric Primary Care NP (PNP-PC) | Pediatric primary care, including well-child care, chronic disease management, basic behavioral health, developmental assessments, and treatment of episodic illness or injury | Infants to late adolescents | Low to moderate | Pediatric clinics, pediatric hospitals, school-based health centers, outpatient clinics, private practices |
| Pediatric/Neonatal NP (PNP-NNP) | Neonatal and pediatric care, neonatal critical care, and well-child exams | PNP: Newborns to late adolescents NNP: Preterm neonates to age 2 |
Moderate to high | Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), pediatric clinics, pediatric hospitals |
| Pediatric Acute Care NP (PNP-AC) | Treatment of complex, critical, and chronic illnesses, disabilities, or injuries; stabilization of critically ill pediatric patients | Infants to late adolescents with acute and critical conditions | High | Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), inpatient units, emergency departments and trauma centers, urgent care facilities, specialty areas |
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