Post-master's Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program

Department of Nursing

Certificate Director/ FNP Director 

Dr. Valerie O’Dell, Certificate Director
3132 Cushwa Hall
(330) 941-2177
vmodell@ysu.edu

Dr. Patricia Hoyson, Family Nurse Practitioner Coordinator 

3112 Cushwa Hall 

(330) 941-1440 

plhoyson@ysu.edu 

Certificate Description

The online Post - Masters Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program at Youngstown State University is designed to prepare the Post-Masters prepared nurse with opportunities to build upon their current knowledge and obtain additional advanced practice knowledge and skill enabling them them to provide direct primary care across the lifespan. The Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program is not a degree program. This certificate program is designed to enhance the professional development of the masters prepared nurse by providing education and training that prepares them for a family nurse practitioner’s role.

The program is delivered in a fully online format. 

Youngstown State University online nursing program must meet the standards of the state(s) in which we possess authority to provide education and may only admit students from states in which we have approval. Online nursing program students must complete the program in the state of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, or Florida.       

Upon completion of the certificate, graduates are eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center and/or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners FNP certification examinations.  Following national certification, graduates are also qualified to be recognized as a Family Nurse Practitioner and is granted prescriptive authority through the State Board of Nursing.  

Advanced Standing Program (19 hours)

Applicants who are already have an MSN degree with nurse practitioner qualifications are automatically considered for advanced standing status. The advanced standing program permits students to complete all requirements of the Family Nurse Practitioner option in 19 hours. This unique program blends online coursework and clinical experiences, including a practicum consisting of 600 hours in a variety of primary care settings.

Admission Requirements

• MSN degree in Nursing from an accredited college/university
• Official transcript from each college or university attended (except YSU)
• Overall grade point average of 3.0 in graduate work
• Current Ohio Registered Nurse licensure or eligibility for Ohio licensure as a registered nurse
• Current CPR certification and current immunization
• Personal statement describing career goals
• Three letters of reference: one each from a faculty member, an employer, and a colleague
• Computer competency that includes word processing skills and the ability to communicate electronically
• Letter of intent (300 words) maximum stating one’s professional career goals and how graduate education in nursing will help fulfill said goals

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Option Curriculum                                                                          

Students will complete 600 hours of supervised clinical practice as part of this certificate option for national certification eligibility.

Advanced Standing Program (19 hours)

Applicants who are already have an MSN degree with nurse practitioner qualifications are automatically considered for advanced standing status. The advanced standing program permits students to complete all requirements of the Family Nurse Practitioner option in 19 hours. This unique program blends online coursework and clinical experiences, including a practicum consisting of 600 hours in a variety of primary care settings. 

Courses include:

Centofanti School of Nursing - Post-masters Certificate Grade Requirements 

Satisfactory academic progress at the graduate level is main­tained by satisfying the following criteria: 

• A degree-seeking graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Any required course grade of D or F must be repeated and passed with a grade of C or better. 
• A degree-seeking graduate student must successfully meet the requirements, including the time requirement, of all comprehensive examinations of the degree program. 
• A degree-seeking graduate student must complete with a passing grade any thesis require­ments (or the equivalent) of the degree program. 
• A non-degree graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). 
• Grades of D and F carry no graduate credit but will be used to determine the student’s grade point average. A student has the privilege of repeating a course once, but the repetition is treated merely as another course, along with the first, in calculating the student’s grade point average. 
• Any required course grade of D or F must be repeated and passed with a grade of C or better. Students may not advance in the program until they have taken the failed course, passed with a grade of C or better and maintain a GPA of 3.0.

For degree programs requiring up to 39 semester hours for completion, a student may count no more than six semester hours of coursework with a grade of C toward the minimum graduation hour requirements. For students in programs requiring 40 semester hours or more for completion, no more than nine semester hours of coursework with a grade of C may count toward the mini­mum graduation hour requirement.

• provide primary care to families and persons of all ages within the health care delivery system
• incorporate a variety of theories from nursing and related fields into the nurse practitioner role
• analyze social issues related to the health care delivery system and advanced nursing practice