New Mexico Nurse Practitioner Programs and Careers

Improve the availability of primary care services in New Mexico and take your career one step further with a nurse practitioner degree. At nurse practitioner programs in New Mexico, you can learn how to serve as an acute or primary care provider for specific populations. On this page, learn more about program options, career paths and clinical work. Start searching for local schools by using the quick search box above or browsing the featured schools below.

Millions of Americans are getting health insurance for the first time, leading to an uptick in demand for primary and acute care practitioners. If you have a current registered nursing license in New Mexico, you may be a good candidate for a local nurse practitioner program.

How Can I Become a Nurse Practitioner in New Mexico?

Compare average requirements below to find out whether a Master’s degree or doctoral degree is the right choice for you. If you’re considering nurse practitioner degrees, New Mexico schools have many options for you.

Master’s Level Nurse Practitioner Schooling Requirements

Credit hours required: 45 credit hours
Average cost: $850 per credit hour
Clinical hours required: At least 500 clinical hours
Timeframe: Two to three years

Doctoral Level Nurse Practitioner Schooling Requirements

Credit hours required: 90 credit hours
Clinical hours required: At least 1,000 hours
Timeframe: Five years

What Types of Nurse Practitioner Programs Are Available in New Mexico?

Whether you decide on a doctoral degree or a Master’s degree, you have to decide which patient population you want to work with in your career. This decision determines which courses you are required to take, where you complete your clinical work, and where you are able to work after graduation.

As a New Mexico student, you may choose from options like psychiatric care, acute care, family healthcare, and pediatric health. Generally, a program’s curriculum includes core advanced nursing courses, core nurse practitioner classes, and courses unique to each patient population.

Courses for FNP Programs

Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing Practice
Research in Nursing
Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice
Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
Clinical Therapeutics
Primary Care Concepts
Healthcare Policy and Systems
Primary Care of Adults
Evidence-Based Practice for APRNs

There’s no question that clinical care is absolutely crucial to your nurse practitioner education. If you are currently employed as a registered nurse, you may be able to complete your clinical hours at your place of employment. This depends on whether or not your school has an agreement with your employer and if your place of employment is relevant to your specialized area of study.

How Can I Pay for Nurse Practitioner School in New Mexico?

NURSE Corps Scholarship Program: Through this federal program, selected students receive a scholarship. In return, they must commit to and complete two years of full-time work in a Health Professional Shortage Area.
NHSC Loan Repayment Program: This program is almost identical to the NURSE Corps Scholarship Program. However, selected applicants have up to $50,000 of student loans repaid instead of receiving a scholarship.
BestNursingDegree.com Scholarship: Through our website, nursing students like you can apply for $2500 scholarships four times per year.
New Mexico Nurse Practitioner Council: This local group awards multiple $500 scholarships per year, including the Candelario Garcia Scholarship and the Myrna Wood Founder’s Scholarship.

Licensing and Practice Requirements for NPs in New Mexico

Before you can use your nurse practitioner degree in New Mexico, you have to become licensed. You should have a current registered nursing license, which makes this easier. The New Mexico Board of Nursing requires that all nurse practitioner applicants have a Master’s degree or doctoral degree, national certification, and a registered nursing license.

One of the benefits of working in New Mexico is the fact that nurse practitioners have full practice rights in this state (AANP, 2016).

Nurse Practitioner Careers in New Mexico

Depending on where you live in New Mexico, you may have several career paths to consider. If you want to take on the benefits and challenges of self-employment, you may open your own health care clinic. This requires you to market yourself, get proper insurance for your business, and hire staff as needed to reduce your workload. You can also look into conventional employment at hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Overall, the average salary for a New Mexico nurse practitioner is $106,170 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). By the year 2024, O*Net expects job openings for nurse practitioners to increase 32% in this state (2016).

Become part of healthcare change in New Mexico and use your education in a way that benefits the people of your community.

Nurse Practitioner Schools in New Mexico

If you are interested in exploring your options for NP programs in New Mexico, take a look at the schools featured on this page, and request information from those you are interested in. Many programs now offer online options, as well as distance education initiatives that allow working adults to complete a program without undue sacrifice. NP programs for New Mexico nurses include:

New Mexico State University. New Mexico State recently dropped their Master’s level NP programs in favor of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program – a forward thinking move, since the DNP will become the minimal degree required for entry for all advanced practice nurses by 2015. Students can select either the BSN-to-DNP program, or the post-MSN-to-DNP program. The Pysch/Mental Health NP program is offered every other year; the Public/Community Health and Adult Health programs are offered annually, but currently only accept full-time students. Coursework is available online.
University of New Mexico. UNM offers a Master’s-level Family Nurse Practitioner program with a strong emphasis on primary care for rural and under-served areas. The program strongly encourages nurses from those areas to apply for admission. Some coursework is offered online, but onsite attendance is required for other classes.
Georgetown University. Georgetown University in Washington D.C. offers two online NP programs that are accessible to nurses in New Mexico: a Family Nurse Practitioner program and a Nurse Midwifery/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program. Classes are web-based, and clinical experiences can be arranged close to home.