Harwich Port Massachusetts Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

We should determine the actual job before making a career option. The assumption that related jobs have the same description is easily made especially in the field of medicine. A Nurse Practitioner is 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:

What Is The Salary of A Nurse Practitioner In Harwich Port?

A nurse practitioner receives an average of $90,000. RNs receive $65,000 on average, which means they earn less than NPs. 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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Location

The higher the demand for NPs, the higher they will be paid. For instance, Hawaii pays $115,000 annually to NPs, which makes them the highest paying state. 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

Years of Experience

Salary increase in this field is rare even for those who have extensive experience. After 20 years of working, the salary may increase 10-15%.

Skills

Your capacity for work could contribute to your salary increase. An approximate salary of $99,000 could be given to those with skills in acute care and emergency room skills. 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.

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. Another is by becoming an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, who earns slightly more than the regular NP. Becoming a Family, Pediatric NP, Psychiatrist NP, or an Adult NP are the top options, as well. After this, of course, there are further specializations that can help you a bit more cash if needed. These things will require an additional certification and some more hours of training in that specific field.

Incentives

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. Learning skills is a big matter, which is why they are given money and registration fees to participate in conferences that improve their abilities.

With the shortage of primary health care personnel, the job outlook of mid-level health care practitioners is supposed to be on the rise. So, in the future, there is a high chance that Nurse Practitioners are going to get paid much more. 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

Job Prospects of Harwich Port Nurse Practitioners

As of 2014, there were about 170,000 jobs for nurse practitioners solely in the United States of America. The BLS predicts an average of 31% growth in the industry within the next 10 years. In other words, that period will have roughly 57,000 new jobs. 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. This means that PAs and NPs will continue to be needed for a long time. 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%. Compared to other jobs, this increase in growth is faster.

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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.

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. They coordinate with physicians and treat the patients in such areas. Most NPs get hired to work for Office of Physicians, Outpatient Care Centers, and General Hospitals.

Specialized health care demands are rapidly increasing. 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. 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. NPs who do not have the strength to carry on the usual work may opt for this.

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. In the field of teaching, nurse practitioners may get as much as $85,000. This can go up to $175,000 a year easily with experience. The salary increase depends on the nurse practitioner’s specialization. The earnings of a nurse anesthetist could range from $150,000 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. 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 Harwich Port

Becoming 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 way is earning a 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. 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. 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. A requirement is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) diploma. During this period, the concepts learned will also be applied and put into actions during clinic duties. It is essential work because there is always a need for experience. There are people who are Registered Nurses, while also professionals in other fields. 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. Bridge courses by LPN-BSN are also available.

Experience

One of the best ways to make it in the health care field is to get lots of experience. Getting a master’s degree after a bachelor’s degree might be the most efficient way of becoming 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.

Earning a Master’s Degree

Getting a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is mandatory for becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Many programs accept RNs with a diploma or an associate’s degree. 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. Alternatively, you could get a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.

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Doctorate (optional)

After earning a master’s degree, one has freedom to choose a specialization for his/her Ph.D. This will improve your credibility as a medical professional and improve your chances to earn a bit more. Others choose family care, gerontology or health systems as their field of specialization.

Credentials and State License

The state license is a requirement for those who want to be an NP. Requirements for licensing may vary in every state. Some only accept those whose bachelor degrees fall under their list of accepted programs. Becoming a nurse practitioner requires one to have the RN state license, master’s degree in nursing, and a passed state licensure exam. The licensure exam differs depending on the specialization you are choosing. The American Nurses Association has ancillary branches and you can submit your application in any of them like the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

In summary, becoming a registered nurse requires you an associate’s degree or a diploma. 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 is the Work of A Harwich Port Nurse Practitioner?

Works in general

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. If patients need to undergo medical tests and other proceedings, they can are also allowed to conduct them. After the results are out, they can interpret and discuss them with the patient. During surgery, they could assist as a surgeon or as an anesthetist. They could also handle high risk surgeries.

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Nurse practitioners work with the patient-centered method. 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. 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. Let us look at some of the popular choices and their job duties.

NPs for Families

One of the patient of these NPs is a whole family. They can deal with patients of every age and help avoid illnesses within the family. They also provide direct care to the family in collaboration with a physician.

Working as Psychiatric NP

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. 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

As the name suggests, pediatric NPs look after kids of all ages – from newborn babies to 18-year old kids. The neonatal NP belongs to this specialization. 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 the ones who give immunizations and vaccines to children.

Gerontology NP

Old people are the patients of those working as gerontology nurse practitioners. 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. In an effort to prolong the life of their patients, they provide them fitness plans.

The mentioned are only few of the specializations a nurse practitioner have. There are more fields that NP would want to pursue. Each of these specializations offers a different amount of salary. 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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