Selecting a career may require you to know the nature of the job. This is especially true for the medical field, since the job descriptions of so many professions in this field are similar. A Nurse Practitioner is also called an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Some of their work cannot be done by nurses. NPs have different work depending on the field they specialize on. The rest of the article will show you the specializations and general work duties of these professionals.
Table Of Contents:
- Nurse Practitioner Salary
- Nurse Practitioner Employment Outlook
- How To Become A Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Practitioner Job Description
What Is The Salary of A Nurse Practitioner In Keenesburg?
A nurse practicioner earns $90,000 on average. Compared to a registered nurse this is quite high since an RN gets something around $65,000. This value is lower compared to an NP since an NP goes through more training and education and later earns the right to practice medicine.
[asd_program_button /]Location
NPs receive higher salaries if they are badly needed in the area. For example, Hawaii is the highest paying state with an average salary of $115,000 a year. Compared to the average earnings of NPs in the rest of the country, they earn 30% more. While Delaware offers something around $67,000.
Length of Practice
As far as experienced is concerned as a factor of salary, in this field, even with experience, the salary hardly increases. After 20 years of working, the salary may increase 10-15%.
Skills
An increase of salary may be given if you have more expertise in some fields. An approximate salary of $99,000 could be given to those with skills in acute care and emergency room skills. Whereas family care can take it only up to $92,000. The skills of geriatrics and internal medicine both fall somewhere in between these two.
Promotions
Getting a specialization or a promotion may be the only way to earn higher. Achieving this may require you to do the following. An option is to earn $150,000 annually by becoming a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist. You could also try to become an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner to earn a bit more than a normal NP. Becoming a Family, Pediatric NP, Psychiatrist NP, or an Adult NP are the top options, as well. You could also increase your salary with other specializations after doing the procedures. The specific area you take may require you to spend a period of time to apply what you learned and you will receive certificates in return.
Benefits
NPs also receive some benefits. These include paid vacations, retirement planning and health insurance. They are often reimbursed for any further studies that they may wish to undertake to improve themselves. They are also paid to attend certain conferences and their registration fees are taken care of.
Because of this shortage for main medical practitioners, many aspiring health care professionals would most likely work in the field. There is a high possibility that Nurse Practitioners will receive higher salaries later on. There are also more time for NPs to choose the type of cases they wish to do.
The Status of Nurse Practitioner Employment In Keenesburg
The United States of America needed 170,000 nurse practitioners in 2014. The BLS predicts an average of 31% growth in the industry within the next 10 years. During that time, as much as 57,000 jobs will be available. This is primarily due to the lack of healthcare professionals. The need for doctors and physicians cannot be catered by the number of medical professionals. Thus, the need of people like PAs and NPs is increasing and is projected to increase even further. There is an expected 11% increase in jobs for Family, Pediatric, Gastroenterology, and Hospitalist NPs while jobs for neonatal NPs will have a 34% increase. Compared to other jobs, this increase in growth is faster.
[asd_program_button /]Another reason for the increasing demand of nurses is because they take a patient-centered approach rather than a disease-centered one. It is the reason why NPs are preferred over PAs.
Rustic areas have a continuous need for better healthcare. It is not possible to set up the infrastructure in such areas and thus NPs are the source of primary health care. They coordinate with physicians and treat the patients in such areas. The biggest employers of NPs are Office of Physicians, Outpatient Care Centers, and General Hospitals.
Specialized health care demands are rapidly increasing. Specializations of nurses include those in pediatrics, gerontology, acute care, and other fields. This means that they can give a more accurate diagnosis of the patient’s problem if it falls in their area of specialty.
Another need for nurses is coming up in education. Teachers of nurses and other medical professionals are needed due to the lack of people honing the skills of the future medical practitioners. So, if a nurse practitioner gets a Ph.D. he or she would be authorized to teach as an academic. People generally go into consulting or teaching after a certain age. This choice is made by NPs who feel that the regular work in the medical field has already worn them.
There are many good news when it comes to the financial aspect of the nurse practitioner careers. In 2020, the 19% salary increase is most likely provided to nurse practitioners. In the field of teaching, nurse practitioners may get as much as $85,000. If you have been exposed to many medical specialization, your salary could increase to $175,000 within a year. The salary increase depends on the nurse practitioner’s specialization. The earnings of a nurse anesthetist could range from $150,000 to $235,000.
Each career’s status and salary rate may differ in each state. For more statistics and data on the job outlook of NPs, you can visit Bureau of Labor Statistics. As you can see, this is a highly competitive job with great prospects.
Nurse Practitioner Job Requirements In Keenesburg
Becoming a Registered Nurse
First, one needs to become a registered nurse. In order to be one, get your bachelor’s or an associate’s degree from an accredited school. Another requirement is your diploma. However, they do not hold as much importance as the other two since some of the clinics and hospitals need you to have some clinical experience before applying for the job. Experience during the bachelor’s or an associate’s degree internship contributes to this requirement. Then, the licensure examination for nurses will take place and only then will you be called an RN if you pass the standardized national test. You could also try to take a different path and become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.
[asd_program_button /]Completing Bachelor’s Degree
The next step is to earn a Bachelor’s degree. This is mostly for people who had earlier applied for a diploma or an associate’s degree. The course Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) needs to be completed. This will not only give you a more in-depth education in the medical world, but it will make you undergo a lot of clinical rounds. One’s experience in the field contributes a lot to the career of a medical professional. You may already have a bachelor’s degree while you were pursuing a career as Registered Nurse. RN-BSN offers bridge programs to help you in this case. Duration of program may depend on certain conditions. The duration is longer when you are also studying while working. There are also bridge courses from LPN-BSN.
Experience
The medical field treats experience as a great factor. Earning your master’s degree right after your bachelor’s degree may be the ideal process to follow to become an NP. However, many people already in the profession feel that this leaves you inadequately trained for the situations that you might face in life. Thus, they recommend you go through some training before applying for a graduate degree since some of the NP training programs also require you to have some prior experience. This training teaches you how to work with a team of medical professionals, how to work efficiently, how to tend to different patients and how to treat a variety of infections.
Master’s Degree
A requisite of becoming a Nurse Practitioner is one’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. RNs having diploma or an associate’s degree are usually accepted in most programs. A bachelor’s degree is needed to enroll in other programs. It doesn’t matter which one you go for, you will be trained for knowledge and application in real settings. While studying to earn the NP title, RNs mostly need to undergo long hours of training. Another option will be to take the course of becoming a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
[asd_program_search_bar /]Doctorate (optional)
The Ph.D. title follows after the master’s degree and in this program, one can opt for the specialization that best fits him/her. Reaching this far will potentially increase your earnings and also your reputation as a medical professional. Specialization in family care, gerontology or health systems are good options.
State License and Other Documents
It is mandatory for an aspiring NP to get licensed by the state. Requirements for licensing may vary in every state. They publish a list of accepted programs and bachelor’s degree. Becoming a nurse practitioner requires one to have the RN state license, master’s degree in nursing, and a passed state licensure exam. Your specialization is also a big factor in the type of licensure exams you will take. For example, you can apply at the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board or any other institution which is a subsidiary of American Nurses Association.
In summary, becoming a registered nurse requires you an associate’s degree or a diploma. Then you must obtain a bachelor’s degree after which you move on to gain some experience. Finally, you acquire a master’s degree following which you get licensed after applying for the appropriate program.
What is the Work of A Keenesburg Nurse Practitioner?
Works in general
A nurse practitioner usually works under the supervision of a physician or someone of the same level. They can diagnose and treat patients like a primary healthcare provider. They can also order certain tests and medical procedures to be conducted. They interpret these results and consult with the patient. During surgery, they could assist as a surgeon or as an anesthetist. They could also handle high risk surgeries.
[asd_program_button /]Nurse practitioners take a patient centered approach to treatment. Treating their patients involve their patient’s needs as a big factor. They want to prevent the disease rather than cure it and thus advise the patient to take the necessary steps to do so. Thus, a huge role of NPs is to consult patients on how to prevent injuries and illnesses.
In general, nurse practitioners need a specialization before they take the licensure exam. There are specific duties by NPs on the field, which is why they need this. Here are the most common duties they do.
NPs for Families
NPs on this field consult with whole families. They can treat people of all ages and discuss ways to prevent diseases with the family. They also provide direct care to the family in collaboration with a physician.
NPs Specializing in Psychiatry
Psychiatric nurse practitioners work with a group of people who have mental issues. Both therapy and prescription of medicine can be administered by them. However, they are not allowed to perform psychological testing. In this case, they can work with a professional psychologist to come up with a treatment program base on the results.
Pediatric NP
Pediatric NPs can handle newborn babies up to 18-year old patients. The neonatal NP belongs to this specialization. These people look after infants and work at Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Pediatric NPs also help kids transition through puberty as this may be a difficult time for some. They are also responsible for immunizations.
Working as a Gerontology NP
Those specializing as nurse practitioners in gerontology will be dealing with medical problems of elderlies. They educate them about disease prevention and manage any illnesses they might have. However, since old people are more sickly, it is the expert’s job to make sure their illnesses do not reduce the quality of their lifestyles. Most patients who could only live for a certain period are kept healthy by these professionals using fitness programs.
The mentioned are only few of the specializations a nurse practitioner have. There are several others that an NP might try to get into according to his or her own interests. Each of these specializations offers a different amount of salary. The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a specialization that lets one earn one of the highest salaries. After learning these work descriptions for your future career, you may now be able to choose the ideal path for you.
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