WHNP-BC Certification: Overview and FAQ
If you’re passionate about women’s medicine and want to specialize in areas like reproductive health, family planning, or menopause management, earning a Board Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP-BC) certification might be the right path for you. These essential care providers help expand access for women of all ages. Let’s talk about the duties of this role, and how to become a WHNP.
Nurse practitioners, including women’s health nurse practitioners, play a vital role in addressing healthcare shortages, particularly in rural areas where access to specialists and physicians can be limited. In many states, they can even work independently — diagnosing, prescribing, and treating patients without physician oversight.
If you’re thinking about this path, you’d not only be helping patients access care, you’d also likely have many opportunities, since the demand for NPs is expected to grow by 46% in the next decade. Plus, NPs can work in a variety of outpatient and acute care settings, so this career offers stability and flexibility.
What Is a WHNP-BC?
The WHNP-BC medical abbreviation stands for Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner — Board Certified. This credential shows that a nurse practitioner has the training, education, and knowledge to care for women across the lifespan in gynecological, obstetric, and primary care areas.
This is an advanced-practice certification offered by the National Certification Corporation (NCC), and it’s an entry-level credential. There’s only one practice certification for this specialty — WHNP-BC. Meaning, if you’re interested in practicing as a women’s health nurse practitioner, you’ll need to obtain this certification to start seeing patients.
WHNPs specialize in areas like reproductive health, prenatal care, and management of conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menopause, and osteoporosis. They can work in a variety of both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings, including the following:
- Obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) clinics
- Primary care practices
- Integrative women’s health clinics
- Hospitals and labor and delivery units
- Community health centers
- Fertility clinics
- Urogynecology clinics
- College and student health centers
- Telemedicine platforms
What Does a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Do?
The specific tasks and skills that a women’s health nurse practitioner does in a day depend on the setting and specialty in which they work. Here are some examples:
- Physical exams: Perform full-body exams, breast exams, and Pap smears.
- Reproductive health services: Prescribe and manage contraception, support fertility treatments, and offer counseling on family planning.
- Prenatal and postnatal care: Monitor pregnancies, assess fetal health, and provide postpartum evaluations.
- Chronic conditions: Address common women’s health issues such as menopause, osteoporosis, or heart disease.
- Patient education: Offer guidance on nutrition, sexual health, and preventative screenings.
- Births: Monitor maternal and fetal health, coach patients during childbirth, and intervene when complications arise.
WHNP-BC Salary
What could you expect to make as a women’s health nurse practitioner? The average nurse practitioner makes about $128,490 per year. Your salary will be heavily influenced by your location, additional credentials and training, and experience.
Curious about states where NPs bring home the most income? Check out roles in these areas:
For an even closer look at salary ranges in your area, check out the latest OB-GYN nurse practitioner positions available on IntelyCare.
How to Earn WHNP Certification: 5 Steps
Step 1: Attend Nursing School
The path to any nursing specialty is to either complete an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. A BSN is preferred for advanced practice specialties because it covers additional classes on nursing theory, leadership, and public health. However, if you do pursue an ADN, there are some bridge programs that allow you to go straight to a master’s degree.
Step 2: Pass the NCLEX-RN
Once you graduate from nursing school, it’s time to take the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). This test is designed to assess whether new graduate nurses are ready to provide safe and effective care at the entry level.
It’s an adaptive exam, meaning that the length of the test depends on your performance, and you can have anywhere between 75 and 145 questions. To be prepared, be sure to review essential topics like safety, pharmacology, and health promotion.
Step 3: Gain Nursing Experience
Most WHNP-BC schools either recommend or require at least one year of clinical experience before you apply. If you’re planning to pursue this specialty, it would be wise to gain experience in one or more of these nursing specialties:
- Labor and delivery
- Obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN)
- Primary care or family practice
- Community health
- Postpartum nursing
Step 3: Attend a Specialty Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner School
Once you’ve gained your footing in clinical practice, it’s time to apply for and attend a master’s- or doctoral-level program to prepare you for this specialty. Typically, an MSN program for WHNPs will take you between two and three years. A Doctorate of Nursing Practice for WHNPs is the terminal clinical degree for nurses and takes up to four years.
In either program, you’ll take didactic courses and labs while also participating in clinical hours to gain experience and patient care skills as a provider. Before you apply, be sure that your program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). If your program is not accredited, you will not be eligible for board certification.
Step 5: Pass the Board Certification Exam
Once you’ve completed your schooling, you’ll need to pass the certification exam. WHNP-BC requirements to test include
- Active licensure: A current, unencumbered nursing or advanced practice nursing license in the U.S. or Canada (if the APRN graduated from an approved U.S. program).
- Graduate program: Completion of an MSN, DNP, or post-master’s NP program that meets NCC standards for WHNP preparation. Certificate-only programs are no longer accepted.
- Timeframe: Candidates must take the exam within 8 years of graduation.
Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner FAQs
Is WHNP-BC a doctor credential?
A women’s health nurse practitioner is not a physician. They are advanced practice nurses who have completed additional training and certification to practice as a provider. But this can be confusing since some WHNPs hold a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and can technically be called doctors. In a clinical setting, however, it’s more common for these professionals to introduce themselves as nurse practitioners.
Is there a difference in outcomes for WHNP-BC vs. MD providers?
Studies suggest that NPs, including WHNPs, offer similar patient outcomes compared to physicians. Patient satisfaction, health outcomes, and cost efficacy are often similar between the two types of providers.
NPs excel in offering personalized care, patient education, and preventative health services, and while MDs may be required for complex cases or specialized surgical interventions, WHNPs are well-suited to manage routine women’s health needs.
Related Training and Certifications
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS)
- Registered Nurse Certification in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB)
- Registered Nurse Certification in Maternal Newborn Nursing (RNC-MNN)
- Registered Nurse Certification in Neonatal Intensive Care (RNC-NIC)
- Electronic Fetal Monitoring Certification (C-EFM)
- Family Nurse Practitioner — Board Certification (FNP-BC)
- Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)
Find Roles for Specialty NPs
Seeking a job as a WHNP-BC? IntelyCare has the latest jobs for nursing professionals in a range of specialties and care settings. Learn more today.