Bridgeport California Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

Selecting a career may require you to know the nature of the job. The assumption that related jobs have the same description is easily made especially in the field of medicine. A Nurse Practitioner is also called an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). They have duties that nurses cannot do. Depending on the specialization, NPs have differentiated work. The rest of the article will show you the specializations and general work duties of these professionals.

Nurse Practitioner Career Summary

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents:

How Much Salary Does A Nurse Practitioner Get In Bridgeport?

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.

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Setting

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

Salary increase in this field is rare even for those who have extensive experience. A 10-15% increase in the salary may be given to those who have been working in the field for more than 20 years.

Ability

Your capacity for work could contribute to your salary increase. 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. To do this there are several options. You can try to become a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist who can earn about $150,000 a year. 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. 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. Some of the few are retirement plans, paid vacations, 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. Therefore, an increase in Nurse Practitioners salary is more likely to happen in time. 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

Nurse Practitioner Bridgeport Employment Outlook

As of 2014, there were about 170,000 jobs for nurse practitioners solely in the United States of America. According to BLS, the industry is expected to grow by 31% over the next decade. This means that about 57,000 new jobs will come up in that period. The main reason for this is the shortage of medical workers. The number of doctors and physicians cannot cope with the increasing medical needs of the population. The need for PAs and NPs will keep on increasing in the future. 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. The speed of growth is much higher than the the other careers’ growth rate.

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The need for nurses is growing because their techniques in work are focused on the needs of the patient instead of the disease. 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 professionals work hand in hand with physicans to provide medical assistance to the patients in such areas. Most NPs get hired to work for Office of Physicians, Outpatient Care Centers, and General Hospitals.

There is an increase in the demand for specialized medical care. Pediatrics, gerontology, acute care and other specializations are usually practiced by nurse practitioners. When the patient’s illness is within their scope of specialty, they can diagnose it more accurately.

Employment outlook for nurse practitioners in

**Image Source – BLS.gov

The educational field is also in need of nurses. 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. 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. The salary of a nurse practitioner is expected to grow about 19% by 2020 because of above reasons. 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 state you live in has a say on the job standpoint and salary of each career. 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 outlook

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Career Requirements For Nurse Practitioners In Bridgeport

Becoming a Registered Nurse

The first step is 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. Although, some papers may not be useful because medical experience weighs more. This experience is provided by an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. After this, you must take a standardized national test and then get the license to practice as an RN. Another option is to become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.

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Earning Bachelor’s Degree

It is also recommended that one completes his/her Bachelor’s Degree. This is ideal for applicants 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. There are people who are Registered Nurses, while also professionals in other fields. Such cases can be addressed through the bride programs offered by RN-BSN. Duration of program may depend on certain conditions. It will take more time if you are working while you are studying. LPN-BSN also offers bridge courses.

Years of Practice

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. Some nurses who have been working for a long time feel that this process is somehow lacking when it comes to real life applications. 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. 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.

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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. This will improve your credibility as a medical professional and improve your chances to earn a bit more. Specialization in family care, gerontology or health systems are good options.

Credentials and State License

An NP must be licensed by the state. Requirements for licensing may vary in every state. 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. Licensure exams are in line with your specialization. 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 need to earn a bachelor’s degree, which will expose you to real life medical situations. Lastly, you will get a master’s degree in your chosen area of specialization and the license will follow.

What Work Is Done by A Bridgeport Nurse Practitioner?

General Work

A nurse practitioner usually works under the supervision of a physician or someone of the same level. Diagnosing and treating patients are also part of their jobs. Apart from this, they could also send the patient for tests and other medical procedures. They can handle patient consultations and also interpret test results. Sometimes, they are also allowed to assist a physician in surgery whether as the surgeon or an anesthetist. Some high-risk cases are also handled by them.

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Nurse practitioners work with the patient-centered method. Their patient’s needs are more important to be able to treat them effectively. 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.

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. The following are the works most of them choose.

Family NP

These NPs take care of the 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.

Psychiatric NP

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. They cannot interpret psychological tests, though. In this case, they can work with a professional psychologist to come up with a treatment program base on the results.

NPs Practicing Pediatrics

Newborn to 18 year old patients are handled by pediatric NPs. Under this specialty is the neonatal NP. 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.

NPs in Gerontology

Those specializing as nurse practitioners in gerontology will be dealing with medical problems of elderlies. Illnesses are treated and prevented with the help of these practitioners by giving their patients some advice. Old people are more prone to different diseases. These healthcare experts will help reduce the risks of other diseases. 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 more fields that NP would want to pursue. The earnings may be different for each specialization. One of the highest paying specializations is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). 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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