Nurse Practitioner - Post-nominal Credentials and Initials

Post-nominal Credentials and Initials

Post-nominal initials NPs may use are regulated by the state in which they are licensed and include:

• ACNP-BC (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner - Board Certified; if certified by the ANCC)
• ACNPC (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certified)
• APRN-BC (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse - Board Certified; no longer awarded, replaced with specialty-specific credentials by the ANCC )
• ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner)
• CAS (Certificate of Advanced Study)
• CNP (Certified Nurse Practitioner)
• CPNP (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner; if certified by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board PNCB)
• CPNP-AC (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care; if certified by the PNCB )
• CPNP-PC (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care; if certified by the PNCB )
• CRNP (Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner; used primarily in Pennsylvania and Alabama )
• DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice; the terminal practice degree for NPs)
• DNSc (Doctor of Nursing Science; equivalent to Ph.D., most D.N.Sc. programs now converted to PhD programs)
• FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing AAN)
• FAANP (Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners AANP)
• MA (Master of Arts in Nursing)
• MN (Master of Nursing)
• MSN (Master of Science in Nursing)
• NP-C (Nurse Practitioner - Certified; if certified by the AANP)
• PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
• PMC (Post-Master's Certificate)
• RN (Registered Nurse)
• RN(EP) or NP (Registered Nurse - Extended Practice; Manitoba, Canada)
• RN(NP) (Registered Nurse - Nurse Practitioner; Saskatchewan, Canada)