Family nurse practitioners are gaining more and more responsibility in the medical field. As baby boomers age, and more healthcare is needed; many towns and cities are finding that there is a shortage of healthcare professionals dedicated to family practice. Family nurse practitioners are filling this gap, by being able to handle many of the practitioner duties once held only by doctors. This is a growing field, with lots of opportunity coming in the future. If you’re interested in the family nurse practitioner field, here are 21 open courseware classes you might want to consider. They can give you a great jumpstart on the education required for this promising field of medicine. It’s pretty amazing how much knowledge you can gain for free using open courseware on the web.
- General Human Anatomy:Offered by Berkeley, this class focuses on the functional anatomy of the human body.
- Introduction to Biology: This course from MIT is basic biology.
- Introduction to Health Policy: This course from Johns Hopkins explores the basic issues in health policy and management.
- Human Growth and Development: Tufts University offers this course on how humans develop and grow.
- Adolescent Health and Development: Another course from Johns Hopkins, this course covers the development of the adolescent body.
- Cardiovascular Pathophysiology: This course from Tufts offers an in depth look at the cardiovascular system.
- Musculoskeletal Pathophysiology: This course from Tufts offers an in depth look at the human musculoskeletal system.
- Renal Pathophysiology: Learn how the kidneys function and adapt to disease in this course from Tufts University.
- Introduction to Human Nutrition: This course from Berkeley gives you an overview of basic nutritional requirements.
- Genetics: This course from Tufts covers basic human genetics, including how they contribute to disease.
- Images of Memorable Cases: 50 Years at the Bedside: This course from Connexions is a study in the art and science of medical diagnosis.
- Epidemiology of Infectious Disease: This course from Johns Hopkins explores infectious disease epidemiology.
- America’s Battle for the Cure: The Culture and Politics of Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: This course from Columbia University explores the politics and culture that surround breast cancer in the United States.
- General Psychology: An introduction to General Psychology from Berkeley.
- Aging Health and Diversity: These podcasts from Berkeley explore aging and how different cultures embrace it.
- Health Issues for Aging Populations: This course from Johns Hopkins explores aging and health policy related to treating older persons.
- Ethical Issues in Public Health: This course from Johns Hopkins explores ethics in healthcare.
- Diabetes Mellitis: Diagnosis and Pathophysiology: This course from Tufts University explores diagnosing and treating diabetes, one of America’s most prevalent chronic diseases.
- Impact of Pandemic Influenza on Public Health: This course from Johns Hopkins explores the public impact of an influenza pandemic.
- Biological Agents of Water and Foodborne Bioterrorism: This course from Johns Hopkins explores the possibility of bioterrorism through food and water borne illness.
- Environmental Health: This course from Johns Hopkins explores environmental concerns and the health problems associated with them.
There is a lot to learn for family nurse practitioners. Since they often take care of patients of every age, from administering vaccines to healthy babies to helping older patients deal with chronic and serious illnesses, the family nurse practitioner needs a broad knowledge base in healthcare. These are just some of the areas of knowledge you’ll need to build in order to be able to handle family medical needs for patients of all ages and varying degrees of health.
The family nurse practitioner is definitely in high demand these days, and there’s every reason to believe that the field will continue to grow as demand for healthcare increases and as the population becomes more comfortable with turning over more and more healthcare needs to nurse practitioners. This is definitely a field for the future. If you’re up to the challenge, consider one of the degree programs in this field after you’ve checked out all these free courses you can find on the web.
