Oxford Massachusetts Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

While choosing a career, it is imperative that we know the exact job. 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). This means that they can perform a range of specialized activities that a nurse can’t. NPs have different work depending on the field they specialize on. Let us look at the general job duties and that of their specializations.

Nurse Practitioner Career Summary

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents:

How Much Salary Does A Nurse Practitioner Get In Oxford?

The average salary for a nurse practitioner is around $90,000. 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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Location

The higher the demand for NPs, the higher they will be paid. 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

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Years of Experience

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.

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 work as geriatrics and internal medicine specialists earn somewhere in between.

Increase in Position

Salary raise in the field could only be achieved when you get a promotion or when you earn a specialization. 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. 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

An NP is entitled to numerous benefits. These include paid vacations, retirement planning and health insurance. Employees who want to enhance their skills through schooling can gain financial support from their company. If there are conventions or seminars, they are given registration fees and some allowances.

With the shortage of primary health care personnel, the job outlook of mid-level health care practitioners is supposed to be on the rise. 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

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Nurse Practitioner Oxford Employment Outlook

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. In other words, that period will have roughly 57,000 new jobs. The main reason for this is the shortage of medical workers. 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. 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. Thus, patients sometimes prefer NPs to PAs.

The need for healthcare in rural areas is also increasing. Most of these areas are not suitable for new buildings, which means that the people could only consult with NPs. 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.

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. 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

Nurses are also in demand in the field of education. There is a lack of teachers for nurse practitioners and other medical personnel. So, if a nurse practitioner gets a Ph.D. he or she would be authorized to teach as an academic. After spending much time with work, most people go for teaching jobs. This choice is made by NPs who feel that the regular work in the medical field has already worn them.

There is a brighter future for nurse practitioners in terms of earnings. In 2020, the 19% salary increase is most likely provided to nurse practitioners. As for an academic, the average salary starting out is about $85,000. This can go up to $175,000 a year easily with experience. The salary increase depends on the nurse practitioner’s specialization. Those specializing as nurse anesthetists may receive a salary between $150,000 to $235,000.

The state you live in has a say on the job standpoint and salary of each career. More information and data about NPs could be found in Bureau of Labor Statistics. This career is not only very competitive but also have huge prospects.

Nurse practitioner job outlook

**Image Source – BLS.gov

How To Become A Nurse Practioner In Oxford

Becoming 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. Another requirement is your diploma. However, the skill acquired during internship or work experience are more important. You can get this experience through 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

Earning a bachelor’s degree is the next thing to do. 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. This is extremely important as experience plays a key role in any medical field. 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. If you have a part-time work, the period of the study may take longer. 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. However, many people already in the profession feel that this leaves you inadequately trained for the situations that you might face in life. For this reason, getting some training is advised if you are planning to get a graduate degree. This is because prior experience is a requirement in certain NP training programs. 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

To become a Nurse Practitioner, one needs to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Many programs accept RNs with a diploma or an associate’s degree. 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. Another option will be to take the course of becoming a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

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Doctorate (optional)

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

It is mandatory for an aspiring NP to get licensed by the state. Different states may require some documents that other stated do not. 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.

To revise, you first need to get an associate’s 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. Then, you choose the best specialization and earn your license after finishing your master’s degree.

What Work Is Done by A Oxford Nurse Practitioner?

Works in general

Physicians and other medical professionals of the same level supervise nurse practitioners. They can diagnose and treat patients like a primary healthcare provider. Apart from this, they could also send the patient for tests and other medical procedures. They interpret these results and consult with the patient. 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 take a patient centered approach to treatment. 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.

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 Specializing in Families

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. They also provide direct care to the family in collaboration with a physician.

Working as Psychiatric NP

One of the professionals who can handle patients with mental problems is the psychiatric nurse practitioners. Both therapy and prescription of medicine can be administered by them. However, phsychological testing is not a part of their job. They can choose to look at the results from the testing and then work with a professional psychologist or psychiatrist to determine a treatment plan for the patient.

Pediatric NP

As the name suggests, pediatric NPs look after kids of all ages – from newborn babies to 18-year old kids. 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

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. 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. 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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