Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Careers

Assess, treat and diagnose the specialized health needs of women across their life cycle.

Women’s health concerns are unique and vary considerably from men’s health needs. Women’s health is a particularly important area of health care, especially because the health of mothers may directly impact the health of newborns and families.

Women’s health nurse practitioners deliver comprehensive health care to women throughout their lifespan in areas pertaining to women’s health care needs, including obstetrics, gynecology, urogynecology, gynecologic oncology, infertility, and maternal/fetal medicine. Their responsibilities can include screening women for STIs, cancers, depression, domestic abuse and providing specialized care for lesbian, transgender, and menopausal women. WHNPs may also be qualified to conduct pregnancy testing, fertility evaluation, prenatal visits, and provide after-pregnancy care. WHNPs serve well as advocates for their female patients and provide ongoing education on nutrition and wellness topics.

An opportunity to work as a women’s health nurse practitioner (WHNP) could prove to be particularly rewarding as these professionals are diving deeply into the issues that women uniquely face, are taking significant steps to raise awareness, and provide better services, information and support to women across the nation.

WHNPs are in demand

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) reports that as of May 2021, there were 325,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the U.S., however only an estimated 2.9% of NPs are educated and certified as WHNPs.

WHNPs are difficult to find, yet they are an integral segment of the American health care system – over half of the nation’s population is comprised of females.* Female patients and an aging female population, who prefer nurse practitioners and doctors who are trained in the specific health care needs of women, drive the demand for WHNPs.

*Census.gov