Altoona Iowa Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

While choosing a career, it is imperative that we know the exact job. The same could be said in the medical field, where different jobs could be mistaken for others. A Nurse Practitioner is 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. Here are the general tasks and the specific work they do.

Nurse Practitioner Career Summary

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents:

What Is The Salary of A Nurse Practitioner In Altoona?

A nurse practitioner receives an average of $90,000. Compared to a registered nurse this is quite high since an RN gets something around $65,000. The reason behind this is that NPs train longer so they could be medical practitioners.

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Wherever there is a growing need of NPs, they will be paid more. NPs in Hawaii are the highest earners among all the states as they receive $115,000 every year. This amount is 30% higher than the average national salary. In Delaware, NPs could earn as much as $67,000.

Nurse practitioner salary information

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Length of Practice

Experience is not too much of a factor for salary increase in the field. It increases about 10-15% over 20 years of experience.

Expertise

Your capacity for work could contribute to your salary increase. Skills in acute care and emergency room may help increase salary to $99,000. The professional may earn up to $92,000 for specializing in family care. Those who earn somewhere in between are mostly geriatrics and internal medicine practitioners.

Work Promotions

Getting a specialization or a promotion may be the only way to earn higher. To do this there are several options. A Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist earns $150,000 annually, which is one option. The Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner also earns more than the normal NP. Other alternatives are to become a Family, Pediatric NP, Psychiatrist NP, or an Adult NP. Besides taking these courses, you could earn more by taking other specialization courses. These things will require an additional certification and some more hours of training in that specific field.

Incentives

NPs also receive some benefits. Some of the few are retirement plans, paid vacations, and health insurance. Employees who want to enhance their skills through schooling can gain financial support from their company. Learning skills is a big matter, which is why they are given money and registration fees to participate in conferences that improve their abilities.

Since primary medical personnel is short in numbers, the demand for mid-level medical care professionals may increase. There is a high possibility that Nurse Practitioners will receive higher salaries later on. NPs also tend to have more time on their hands to opt for the work assignment they want.

Average nurse practitioner wage in

**Image Source – BLS.gov

The Status of Nurse Practitioner Employment In Altoona

As of 2014, there were about 170,000 jobs for nurse practitioners solely in the United States of America. Over the next decade, the BLS expects approximately 31% development in the field. This means that about 57,000 new jobs will come up in that period. The lack of medical professionals caused this. Doctors and physicians cannot meet the demands of the people. Thus, the need of people like PAs and NPs is increasing and is projected to increase even further. The jobs for neonatal NPs will boost by 34%. The same could be said with Family, Pediatric, Gastroenterology, and Hospitalist NPs, which will have an 11% increase. This is way above the average growth rate of other careers.

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The best way to deal with people in the medical field is to use the patient-centered approach, which is a much ideal process than only focusing on the illness. Nurses perform these tasks, that’s why they are needed. It is the reason why NPs are preferred over PAs.

There is a growing demand for medical care in rural areas. NPs are the best medical professionals in these areas because establishments are impossible to build there. These medical practitioners may ask help from other physicians to cater to the patients in the area. 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.

Employment outlook for nurse practitioners in

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Another need for nurses is coming up in education. There is a lack of teachers for nurse practitioners and other medical personnel. A Ph.D. title is needed before a nurse practitioner becomes a teacher in the field. People generally go into consulting or teaching after a certain age. So this is the perfect option for NPs who feel that they are now not fit enough to handle the stresses that come with the medical field.

There is a brighter future for nurse practitioners in terms of earnings. Because of the need for nurse practitioners, a 19% salary raise in 2020 may be given. As for an academic, the average salary starting out is about $85,000. If you have been exposed to many medical specialization, your salary could increase to $175,000 within a year. The specialization of a nurse determines the amount of salary he or she earns. A nurse anesthetist earns about $150,000 and this can go up to $235,000.

The salary and job prospects of any career also depend on the state one is residing in. Those who want to know the data statistics of NP employment could visit Bureau of Labor Statistics. Obviously, it is a career that is challenging and highly accredited, as well.

Nurse practitioner job outlook

**Image Source – BLS.gov

How To Become A Nurse Practioner In Altoona

How to Be A Registered Nurse

One should strive to become a registered nurse first. Earning a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree is needed to become one. Another requirement is your diploma. However, the skill acquired during internship or work experience are more important. This experience is provided by an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. Taking and passing the standardized national exam for RNs is your next step so you can work officially. Becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse first is another way to achieve your goals.

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Bachelor’s Degree

It is also recommended that one completes his/her Bachelor’s Degree. Those who have applied for a diploma or an associate’s degree should consider this. 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. In such cases, there are bridge programs from RN-BSN. Duration of program may depend on certain conditions. The duration is longer when you are also studying while working. LPN-BSN also offers bridge courses.

Period of Experience

As mentioned before, being experienced is key to getting into of the careers in the medical field. Earning your master’s degree right after your bachelor’s degree may be the ideal process to follow to become an NP. The practicality is not provided in this process, according to many senior nurses in the field. 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.

Getting Your Master’s Degree

Getting a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is mandatory for becoming a Nurse Practitioner. RNs having diploma or an associate’s degree are usually accepted in most programs. Other programs require the students to have a bachelor’s degree. Either way, the master’s degree includes spending time in both the classroom and the clinic. Students are often required to get a lot of work experience as an RN while they are learning to be an NP. You might also try to get a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree as an alternative.

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Earning A Ph.D. Title

After earning a master’s degree, one has freedom to choose a specialization for his/her Ph.D. Reaching this far will potentially increase your earnings and also your reputation as a medical professional. Others choose family care, gerontology or health systems as their field of specialization.

State License and Certification

The state license is a requirement for those who want to be an NP. Different states may require some documents that other stated do not. They publish a list of accepted programs and bachelor’s degree. Passing the state licensure exam, RN license, and a master’s degree are the requirements in becoming a nurse practitioner. Your specialization is also a big factor in the type of licensure exams you will take. You can pass your application and requirements in any establishments under the American Nurses Association such as the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

In general, you will need an associate degree or a diploma to become a registered nurse. A bachelor’s degree should follow wherein you will be trained in the field. Finally, you acquire a master’s degree following which you get licensed after applying for the appropriate program.

What Work Is Done by A Altoona Nurse Practitioner?

General duties

The nurse practitioner cooperate with a physician or other professionals of the same range. They can diagnose and treat patients like a primary healthcare provider. They can also order certain tests and medical procedures to be conducted. They can handle patient consultations and also interpret test results. They are also authorized to help as a surgeon as an anesthetist when needed in an operation. They could even perform risky operations.

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A more patient-centered treatment approach is done by nurse practitioners. Treating their patients involve their patient’s needs as a big factor. Most usual advises include prevention because they want to keep their patients away from diseases before they occur. This means that part of the NPs job is to discuss prevention of injuries and diseases to their patients.

In general, nurse practitioners need a specialization before they take the licensure exam. There is a need for this because NPs have a specialization in the field. The following are the works most of them choose.

NPs for Families

NPs on this field consult with whole families. Through the assistance of NPs, the whole family can avoid illnesses together, and any disease no matter how how old the patient is could be treated. They also provide direct care to the family in collaboration with a physician.

NPs Specializing in Psychiatry

Patients who have mental issues may be handled by experts including the psychiatric nurse practitioners. Both therapy and prescription of medicine can be administered by them. They cannot interpret psychological tests, though. He or she could design a treatment plan for the patient along with a professional psychologist’s help.

Pediatric NP

Pediatric NPs can handle newborn babies up to 18-year old patients. Under this specialty is the neonatal NP. This is the work of the nurses you find in 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

A gerontology nurse practitioner specializes in the healthcare of old people. Illnesses are treated and prevented with the help of these practitioners by giving their patients some advice. Since old age is often the onset of many diseases, it is their responsibility to look after the old people and reduce the progress of such diseases as much as possible. Most patients who could only live for a certain period are kept healthy by these professionals using fitness programs.

These are just some of the specializations of a nurse practitioner. 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 Anesthetis (CRNA) is included in the list of highest paid specializations . 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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