They are found in a variety of medical settings, including community health centers, hospitals, private practice, clinics, physician offices, nursing homes and hospices. The University's family nurse practitioner program, approved in 1992, was an instant success, fulfilling a need in nursing education and in the health-care field, Sheer said. The program has been full with a waiting list since its inception, and the quality of students who apply is high. There is a great demand for nurse practitioners. Limited to 45 students, the program requires that candidates must have at least one year of nursing experience before applying, but most have an average of 10 years, Sheer said.
Some students participate in the program full-time while others also combine work with school.
The program is demanding, Sheer said, with 47 classroom credits, more than other nursing master's programs, in such areas as pathophysiology, pharmacology and episodic and chronic health needs and problems. The students also must have a minimum of 500 hours of clinical experience and write a thesis or carry out a scholarly project. Nurse practitioners also are activists in the legislative and political arena, promoting recognition of their profession. Sheer was involved in the passage of Delaware House Bill 427, which permits qualified advance practice nurses to make medical diagnosis and to prescribe medication under regulations established by a Joint Practice Committee of nurses and physicians. D.C. Sheer holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a pediatric nurse practitioner's degree from Rutgers, a family nurse practitioner degree from the State University of New York in Binghamton and a doctorate in nursing education from Widener University.