Nurse Practitioners

High School

If you want to become a nurse practitioner, you will first need to become a registered nurse. To prepare for this career, you should take high school mathematics and science courses, including biology, chemistry, and physics. Health courses will also be helpful. English, speech, and foreign language courses should not be neglected because you must be able to communicate well with patients.

Postsecondary Training

You must be a registered nurse (RN) before you can become a nurse practitioner. There are three basic kinds of training programs that you may choose from to become a registered nurse: bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctorate degree. The training program to choose depends on your career goals. A bachelor's degree in nursing is required for most supervisory or administrative positions, for jobs in public health agencies, and for admission to graduate nursing programs. A master's degree is usually necessary to prepare for a nursing specialty or to teach. For some specialties, such as nursing research, a Ph.D. is essential.

A master's degree is required to become a nurse practitioner. Admission to good nurse practitioner programs is very competitive. Nurse practitioner programs last one to two years and provide advanced study in diagnostic skills, health assessment, pharmacology, clinical management, and research skills. Usually the student begins with generalist work and later focuses on a specific nurse practitioner specialty.