Family Nurse Practitioner

Carolina Nursing’s top-ranked Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) specialty offers the following distance-based degree options:

• MSN
• DNP
• Post-Graduate Certificate Program

Our online FNP program prepares students as advanced practice nurses for community-oriented primary care. Graduates provide comprehensive health promotion services to ambulatory clients; evaluate presenting problems at the client’s initial contact with the primary care system; and provide continuing care to clients with acute and stable chronic illnesses.

Curriculum and Clinical Experience

Themes emphasized throughout the primary care courses include: epidemiology; holism and caring; family and community systems; appropriate use of technology; cost effectiveness; collaboration; consultation and the referral process; and the research base for primary care practice.

FNP students with an interest in community-oriented primary care or global health have opportunities to focus their study in areas of special interest such as vulnerable populations or health disparities through clinical placements, elective courses, and the Master’s Paper. Students are encouraged to talk with their advisors about their interests in special areas for developing an individualized plan of study.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the American Nurses’ Association (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) certification examination for the Family Nurse Practitioner.

Dr. Leslie Sharpe is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Nursing and FNP Program Director. An experienced family nurse practitioner of 25 years with experience in primary care specializing in the care of patients with complex, co-morbid physical and mental health illnesses, Dr. Sharpe is committed to educating primary care nurse practitioners to be able to apply behavioral health concepts in primary care. She is the Primary Care Education Team Lead for HRSA ANEW Grant “Partners in Practice, Engagement, & Education in rural NC: Preparing Nurse Practitioners for Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care” (PI: V. Soltis-Jarrett). She is also a hub team member of the UNC ECHO MOUD ABC (Addiction-Behavioral Health Clinic) team.

Dr. Sharpe is passionate about teaching NP students and mentoring new nurse practitioners as they enter the workforce. With a desire to serve the community, she embraces the opportunity to work with underserved communities and currently volunteers as a provider with the UNC School of Nursing Mobile Health Clinic. The UNC SON MHC provides clinical inter-professional education and practice in a robust mobile health environment that mentors students from multiple disciplines to screen for social determinants of health, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and anxiety, provide health education and resources, and connect to healthcare. Dr. Sharpe is routinely involved in advocating for increased access to care for patients in North Carolina.