Family Nurse Practitioner Program in Alaska - AK

By Andrew Vazquez, allied health world contributing writer
Published: January, 13 2011

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Nursing, like many other professions, has evolved into a highly competitive field with various levels and specialties. Despite the constant refinement and sophistication of the profession, a lack of available nurses has become apparent in recent years. This is especially true in the state of Alaska. A report by the Anchorage Daily News in 2009, estimated a ten to fifteen percent absence of the nursing work force in the Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska’s largest medical center.

Although there is an apparent shortage, there is no lack of academic options for those individuals seeking a career as a family nurse practitioner. Schools in Alaska can be found in major cities such as Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Sitka. Despite the availability of academic programs however, the number of nurse practitioners in the State of Alaska totals 650. This accounts for a mere 0.4% of the total number of nurse practitioners in the country. In addition to this, there are 93 nurse practitioners per 100,000 members of the population. This figure is significantly higher than the average for the entire country, which has 51 nurse practitioners per 100,000 members of the population.