Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP)
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The 2018 NPWH Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Workforce Demographics and Compensation Survey highlights several environments in which WHNPs practice, including:

• Private practice offices
• Community health centers
• Hospital-based clinics
• Academic medical centers
• Schools and colleges
• Correctional facilities
• Inpatient settings
• Patients’ homes

WHNPs may work in urban, suburban, or rural areas, and may also potentially provide telehealth services (remote care).

A women’s health nurse practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who provides holistic care for women from puberty through the adult lifespan. WHNPs concentrate their care on gynecologic, obstetric, sexual, and reproductive health. 

They provide care both individually and collaboratively as members of a healthcare team. WHNPs may consult with additional healthcare professionals regarding how non-gynecologic conditions (and their treatment) can impact reproductive and sexual health.

Learn more about general WHNP roles and responsibilities.

The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health’s Guidelines for Practice and Education outline a large list of WHNP competencies across several important categories:

• Client-centered care
• Primary care
• Women’s gynecologic, sexual, reproductive, menopause-transition, and post-menopause healthcare
• Male sexual and reproductive healthcare
• Obstetric care
• Professional role

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for nurse practitioners are expected to grow by 45% from 2022-2032.* Given the projected growth in the baby-boom population the need for advanced medical care is expected to rise, and nurse practitioners will continue to be leaned on as primary contributors in this level of healthcare.

Precise scope of practice can vary by state and employer. The American Associate of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) provides a brief summary of the scope of practice common to all nurse practitioners.

You may have some initial questions about what a WHNP can and can’t do. For instance, can WHNP…

• Write prescriptions? Yes, nurse practitioners may write prescriptions.
• See male patients? Yes, some WHNPs may treat men. WHNPs are educationally prepared to care for individuals inclusive of sex, gender, or sexual orientation.
• Deliver babies? No, only midwives or obstetricians (Obstetrics and Gynecology - OBGYN) can deliver babies.
• Prenatal care? Yes, WHNP can provide pregnancy testing, fertility evaluation, prenatal visits, and postpartum care. 
• Be called an “OBGYN” nurse practitioner? Some WHNP may be informally regarded as an OBGYN NP if their care focuses primarily on the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum period. However, no WHNP has the same scope of practice as an OBGYN physician (or nurse midwife).
• Do mammograms? No. WHNP can order mammograms but they do not perform the actual exams.

You’ll learn more specifics over the course of the WHNP program.

The goal is to fully prepare you for success in your work as a WHNP. Clinicals are completed as part of specialty WHNP courses to best establish concepts learned in didactic courses and immediately apply your learning to real-life direct patient care in a precepted clinical site.

Every student in the WHNP program is subject to a clinical proficiency exam after completing Advanced Health Assessment, Advanced Pathophysiology, and Advanced Pharmacology. This ensures a strong foundational knowledge prior to entering the specialty clinical courses towards a WHNP.

There are benchmarks and assessments throughout the program to help ensure you’re on the right track. We work closely with every student to help them fully prepare for success as a WHNP. You are afforded the opportunity to learn and work with other women's health providers to gain real life knowledge and experience to prepare you as you enter your own practice.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse practitioners earn an average salary of $128,490 per year ($61.78 per hour). Pay depends on many factors, including your location, what healthcare institution you work for and your level of experience.*

Discover the average nurse practitioner salary by state and find out what nurse practitioners make on average near you. Salaries can vary between specialties, and the BLS does not provide a specific estimate for WHNP.

Both WHNP and certified nurse midwives (CNM) are advanced practice nurses with specialized roles for women, but they have unique focuses in terms of scope of practice.

Women’s health nurse practitioners specialize in providing primary health care to women across the lifespan, while nurse midwives are more focused strictly on the pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Midwives may deliver babies, but WHNP cannot.

Each has their own unique certification and educational requirements, as well as differences in salary potential.

Learn more about the primary differences between a WHNP and certified nurse midwife.

Yes, an FNP is educated and trained to work with all types of patients across the lifespan, so they can potentially provide women’s health care. 

However, an FNP curriculum includes topics in adult, geriatric, and pediatric care which may not be as relevant for those focused on women’s health only. The FNP curriculum includes women’s health, but our WHNP curriculum greatly expands on this to provide greater preparation for success both on the WHNP certification exam and success in your first WHNP job.

According to the 2018 NPWH Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Workforce Demographics and Compensation Survey, the significant majority of WHNP describe direct patient care as their primary role (84%).

Some WHNP may work in academia, management/administration, research, or health policy/advocacy. 

However, at this time there are no separate certifications for different types of WHNP: only the primary WHNP-BC certification from the National Certification Corporation (NCC).