We should determine the actual job before making a career option. 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 an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). They have duties that nurses cannot do. The job duties of an NP vary from one specialization to another. Let us look at the general job duties and that of their specializations.
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 Bradford?
A nurse practicioner earns $90,000 on average. The NP receives higher salary than RNs, which is approximately $65,000. The reason behind this is that NPs train longer so they could be medical practitioners.
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NPs receive higher salaries if they are badly needed in the area. 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. NPs in Delaware receive $67,000.
Experience
As far as experienced is concerned as a factor of salary, in this field, even with experience, the salary hardly increases. It increases about 10-15% over 20 years of experience.
Skills
A range of skills can increase your potential to earn a lot more. Acute care and Emergency room skills will be something that can increase your average salary to up to $99,000. The professional may earn up to $92,000 for specializing in family care. 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. 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. After this, of course, there are further specializations that can help you a bit more cash if needed. In order to achieve these things, you will need to undergo a number of training sessions and acquire additional certification.
Assistance
There are several benefits that an NP could gain. 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.
With the shortage of primary health care personnel, the job outlook of mid-level health care practitioners is supposed to be on the rise. There is a high possibility that Nurse Practitioners will receive higher salaries later on. As an NP you are also given more time and freedom to choose which cases to work on.
Job Prospects of Bradford Nurse Practitioners
In 2014, the United States of America provided 170,000 jobs to nurse practitioners. 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. The need for doctors and physicians cannot be catered by the number of medical professionals. The need for PAs and NPs will keep on increasing in the future. It is estimated that the jobs for Family, Pediatric, Gastroenterology, and Hospitalist NPs will rise by about 11% whereas that of neonatal NPs will rise about 34%. This is way above the average growth rate of other careers.
[asd_program_button /]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. NPs are more sought for than PAs for this reason.
The need for healthcare in rural areas is also increasing. It is not possible to set up the infrastructure in such areas and thus NPs are the source of primary health care. 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.
The need for specialized health care is also increasing. Nurse practitioners are usually specialized in some or the other field like pediatrics, gerontology, acute care and many other things. The diagnosis of the illness is clearer and faster when the disease is specialized by the practitioner.
Another need for nurses is coming up in education. Medical schools have a shortage of teachers for nurses and medical professionals. Getting a Ph.D. is a requisite for a nurse practitioners to be able to teach. Some people resort to teaching after a long period of service. 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.
Financially speaking, the future for nurse practitioners is quite bright too. The salary of a nurse practitioner is expected to grow about 19% by 2020 because of above reasons. A salary of $85,000 may be earned by those who are in teaching. If you have been exposed to many medical specialization, your salary could increase to $175,000 within a year. The salary of a specialized nurse practitioner depends on the specialization. A nurse anesthetist earns about $150,000 and this can go up to $235,000.
Each career’s status and salary rate may differ in each state. More information and data about NPs could be found in Bureau of Labor Statistics. Obviously, it is a career that is challenging and highly accredited, as well.
Nurse Practitioner Job Requirements In Bradford
How to Be A Registered Nurse
One should strive to become a registered nurse first. To do this you must earn a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree from any of the registered institutions. A diploma can work as well. Although, some papers may not be useful because medical experience weighs more. Experience during the bachelor’s or an associate’s degree internship contributes to this requirement. After this, you must take a standardized national test and then get the license to practice as an RN. You could also try to take a different path and become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.
[asd_program_button /]Bachelor’s Degree
Earning a bachelor’s degree is the next thing to do. This is mostly for people who had earlier applied for a diploma or an associate’s degree. A requirement is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) diploma. 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. It is essential work because there is always a need for experience. 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. It will take more time if you are working while you are studying. Bridge courses by LPN-BSN are also available.
Experience
As mentioned before, being experienced is key to getting into of the careers in the medical field. To become an NP, the best course may be to earn a master’s degree after your bachelor’s degree. 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. During the training, you will learn how to work effectively as an individual and with other professionals, how to ensure the welfare of various patients and treat the infections they may have.
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. Other programs require the students to have a bachelor’s degree. It doesn’t matter which one you go for, you will be trained for knowledge and application in real settings. Extensive work experience is required for an RN before they turn into NPs. Alternatively, you could get a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.
[asd_program_search_bar /]Getting A 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. In this way, you can have more reputation in the field and you may have higher salary. Specialization in family care, gerontology or health systems are good options.
State License and Other Documents
The state license is a requirement for those who want to be an NP. Each state has a different list of licensing requirements. Others have a set of bachelor’s degree and programs they accept. To become a nurse practitioner, it is important for every candidate to have a valid RN license, a master’s degree in nursing and to pass the state licensure exam. Licensure exams are in line with your specialization. The American Nurses Association has ancillary branches and you can submit your application in any of them like the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.
In general, you will need an associate degree or a diploma to become a registered nurse. Then, you need to earn a bachelor’s degree, which will expose you to real life medical situations. Finally, you acquire a master’s degree following which you get licensed after applying for the appropriate program.
What Does A Bradford Nurse Practioner Do?
Works in general
Physicians and other medical professionals of the same level supervise nurse practitioners. Diagnosing and treating patients are also part of their jobs. They can also order certain tests and medical procedures to be conducted. They interpret these results and consult with the patient. They are also authorized to help as a surgeon as an anesthetist when needed in an operation. They could even perform risky operations.
[asd_program_button /]Nurse practitioners take a patient centered approach to treatment. Their patient’s needs are more important to be able to treat them effectively. They want to prevent the disease rather than cure it and thus advise the patient to take the necessary steps to do so. This means that part of the NPs job is to discuss prevention of injuries and diseases to their patients.
Before the licensure exam, a nurse practitioner is generally required to complete a specialization program. There is a need for this because NPs have a specialization in the field. Let us look at some of the popular choices and their job duties.
Family NP
One of the patient of these NPs is a whole family. 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. Working with other physicians is also common when taking care of families.
NPs Specializing in Psychiatry
One of the professionals who can handle patients with mental problems is the psychiatric nurse practitioners. They can practice as therapists and sometimes prescribe appropriate medicine. However, they are not allowed to perform psychological testing. He or she could design a treatment plan for the patient along with a professional psychologist’s help.
NPs Practicing Pediatrics
Pediatric NPs can handle newborn babies up to 18-year old patients. A subspecialty is a neonatal NP. People you see inside Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) caring for newborn babies work in this field. Kids can have a smoother puberty process through the help of pediatric NPs. They are also the ones who give immunizations and vaccines to children.
Gerontology NP
Those specializing as nurse practitioners in gerontology will be dealing with medical problems of elderlies. They help by recommending the ideal activities and treatments to address existing illnesses and prevent them from worsening. 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.
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. The earnings may be different for each specialization. One of the highest paying specializations is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Now that you know the different roles that your job may entail, you can make an informed decision about your career choice.
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