Nurse practitioner specialties, and the exam behind each

The APRN Consensus Model, a national framework published in 2008, names six population foci for nurse practitioners: family/individual across the lifespan, adult-gerontology, neonatal, pediatrics, women's health/gender-related and psych/mental health. An APRN "may specialize but can not be licensed solely within a specialty area", and the split into acute and primary care applies only to the pediatric and adult-gerontology foci (NCSBN, Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, July 7, 2008, PDF p. 10).

Read across a row and the pattern is plain (the board for each code is in the table):

• Family: FNP-C or FNP-BC.
• Adult-gerontology primary care: AGNP-C or AGPCNP-BC.
• Adult-gerontology acute care: AGACNP-BC or ACNPC-AG.
• Pediatrics: PNCB alone, with CPNP-PC for primary care and CPNP-AC for acute care.
• Neonatal: NNP-BC from NCC.
• Women's health: WHNP-BC from NCC.
• Psychiatric-mental health: PMHNP-BC or PMHNP-C.
• Specialties on top of a focus: ENP-C for emergency care, AOCNP for oncology, DCNP for dermatology.

Credentials such as ANP-BC, ACNP-BC, GNP-BC and PPCNP-BC no longer take new candidates; the list is on ANCC NP certification.

Because education, certification and licensure have to match in role and population (Consensus Model, PDF p. 10), a second population focus starts with a second program, usually a post-graduate certificate in that focus. The board then applies the entry rule it applies to anyone (for the PMHNP-BC exam: PMHNP program + 500 hours).

Specialties work differently, by practice in the field:

• ENP-C: FNP + emergency pathway.
• AOCNP: NP + 500 or 1,000 oncology hours; the hours depend on whether the NP program had an oncology concentration.
• DCNP: 3,000 dermatology hours, counted over the last three years.

FNP vs AGPCNP

FNP covers families and individuals across the lifespan, newborn to older adult; adult-gerontology primary care starts at adolescence (adolescents through frail older adults, in primary care). Children are the whole difference. Two boards offer each, and the choice between them is on AANP vs ANCC.

FNP vs PMHNP

Different foci, different programs. An FNP treats depression and anxiety at the primary care level; the psychiatric exam goes into psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and risk, and PMHNP-BC gives 17% of its outline to ethics, law and culture alone. See the PMHNP-BC outline next to the FNP-C blueprint.

FNP vs AGACNP

Primary care against acute care. The acute care exams are AGACNP-BC and ACNPC-AG; AACN's had 74.2% (2025), the lowest rate published for 2025 among these exams.

FNP vs CPNP-PC

Both see children in primary care, but only the pediatric exam is built around them: CPNP-PC gives 30% of its outline to health maintenance and promotion. The two also differ in upkeep: FNP-C is valid for 5 years, CPNP-PC for 1 year (7-year cycle). Details: CPNP-PC.

FNP vs WHNP

WHNP-BC is women's and reproductive health with obstetrics: gynecologic and reproductive health and obstetrics are the two largest parts of its outline. FNP covers women's health at the level of primary care. See WHNP-BC.

WHNP vs certified nurse-midwife

A certified nurse-midwife holds a different APRN role in the Consensus Model, not a nurse practitioner focus, and certifies outside the boards listed here.