Piedmont South Carolina Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

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). 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:

What Is The Salary of A Nurse Practitioner In Piedmont?

A nurse practitioner receives an average of $90,000. The NP receives higher salary than RNs, which is approximately $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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Location

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 is about 30% percent more than the national average. NPs in Delaware receive $67,000.

Nurse practitioner salary information

**Image Source – BLS.gov

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

A range of skills can increase your potential to earn a lot more. Skills in acute care and emergency room may help increase salary to $99,000. Whereas family care can take it only up to $92,000. The skills of geriatrics and internal medicine both fall somewhere in between these two.

Promotions

The only real way to increase your salary in this line of work is to get promoted or get specialized. There are a few processes you can follow to achieve this. You can try to become a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist who can earn about $150,000 a year. Another is by becoming an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, who earns slightly more than the regular NP. Other options include being a Family, Pediatric NP, Psychiatrist NP, or an Adult NP. Besides taking these courses, you could earn more by taking other specialization courses. The specific area you take may require you to spend a period of time to apply what you learned and you will receive certificates in return.

Benefits

NPs also receive some benefits. Some of the few are retirement plans, paid vacations, and health insurance. Most of the time, the company gives back the amount of money spent on further schooling that enhances their abilities. If there are conventions or seminars, they are given registration fees and some allowances.

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. There are also more time for NPs to choose the type of cases they wish to do.

Average nurse practitioner wage in

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Nurse Practitioner Piedmont Employment Outlook

The United States of America needed 170,000 nurse practitioners in 2014. Over the next decade, the BLS expects approximately 31% development in the field. During that time, as much as 57,000 jobs will be available. The main reason for this is the shortage of medical workers. Doctors and physicians cannot meet the demands of the people. The need for PAs and NPs will keep on increasing in the future. 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. 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. Thus, patients sometimes prefer NPs to 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. They coordinate with physicians and treat the patients in such areas. NPs could apply in 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. 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

Another need for nurses is coming up in education. Medical schools have a shortage of teachers for nurses and medical professionals. 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. NPs who do not have the strength to carry on the usual work may opt for this.

There are many good news when it comes to the financial aspect of the nurse practitioner careers. 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. A high salary as amounting to $175,000 could easily be achieved after a year when you have skills and experience. 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.

The state you live in has a say on the job standpoint and salary of each career. Those who want to know the data statistics of NP employment could 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

Nurse Practitioner Job Requirements In Piedmont

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. A diploma can work as well. However, they do not hold as much importance as the other two since some of the clinics and hospitals need you to have some clinical experience before applying for the job. 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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Earning 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. 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. 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. There are also bridge courses from LPN-BSN.

Years of Practice

As mentioned before, being experienced is key to getting into of the careers in the medical field. Getting a master’s degree after a bachelor’s degree might be the most efficient way of becoming 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. 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.

Earning a 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. Both kinds will train you inside the classroom and in the field. 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)

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. You can choose to specialize in fields like family care, gerontology or health systems.

Credentials and State License

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. Passing the state licensure exam, RN license, and a master’s degree are the requirements in becoming a nurse practitioner. The licensure exam differs depending on the specialization you are choosing. 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. Finally, you acquire a master’s degree following which you get licensed after applying for the appropriate program.

What is the Work of A Piedmont Nurse Practitioner?

Works in general

A nurse practitioner usually works under the supervision of a physician or someone of the same level. They are authorized to diagnose and treat patients, too. 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. They could also handle high risk surgeries.

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A more patient-centered treatment approach is done by nurse practitioners. Their patient’s needs are more important to be able to treat them effectively. They value prevention over treatment, which is why they advise their patients to start taking precautions. This means that part of the NPs job is to discuss prevention of injuries and diseases to their patients.

A nurse practitioner is generally supposed to take up some or the other kind of specialty before taking the licensure exam. There are specific duties by NPs on the field, which is why they need this. Let us look at some of the popular choices and their job duties.

NPs Specializing in Families

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.

Psychiatric NP

One of the professionals who can handle patients with mental problems is the psychiatric nurse practitioners. These professionals can prescribe medicine and do therapeutic consultations with them. However, they are not allowed to perform psychological testing. 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.

NPs Practicing Pediatrics

Newborn to 18 year old patients are handled by pediatric NPs. A subspecialty is a neonatal NP. These people look after infants and work at Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Another work of pediatric NPs is helping kids have a smooth journey through puberty. 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. 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. 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. 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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