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 an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). This means that they can perform a range of specialized activities that a nurse can’t. Depending on the specialization, NPs have differentiated work. Here are the general tasks and the specific work they do.
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 Portland?
A nurse practicioner earns $90,000 on average. RNs receive $65,000 on average, which means they earn less than NPs. The reason behind this is that NPs train longer so they could be medical practitioners.
[asd_program_button /]Setting
The higher the demand for NPs, the higher they will be paid. For example, Hawaii is the highest paying state with an average salary of $115,000 a year. This is about 30% percent more than the national average. 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. After 20 years of working, the salary may increase 10-15%.
Skills
Your capacity for work could contribute to your salary increase. 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. 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. There are a few processes you can follow to achieve this. An option is to earn $150,000 annually by becoming a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist. 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. 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.
Incentives
An NP is entitled to numerous benefits. Some of the few are retirement plans, paid vacations, and health insurance. Employees who want to enhance their skills through schooling can gain financial support from their company. 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. Therefore, an increase in Nurse Practitioners salary is more likely to happen in time. As an NP you are also given more time and freedom to choose which cases to work on.
Nurse Practitioner Portland 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. 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. This is way above the average growth rate of other careers.
[asd_program_button /]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.
There is a growing demand for medical care in rural areas. Most of these areas are not suitable for new buildings, which means that the people could only consult with NPs. These professionals work hand in hand with physicans to provide medical assistance to the patients in such areas. NPs could apply in 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. When the patient’s illness is within their scope of specialty, they can diagnose it more accurately.
Another need for nurses is coming up in education. Teachers of nurses and other medical professionals are needed due to the lack of people honing the skills of the future medical practitioners. A Ph.D. title is needed before a nurse practitioner becomes a teacher in the field. 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 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. As for an academic, the average salary starting out is about $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. The earnings of a nurse anesthetist could range from $150,000 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.
How To Become A Nurse Practioner In Portland
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 way is earning a diploma. However, the skill acquired during internship or work experience are more important. Experience during the bachelor’s or an associate’s degree internship contributes to this requirement. 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. You could also try to take a different path and become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.
[asd_program_button /]Completing Bachelor’s Degree
The next step is to earn a Bachelor’s degree. This is ideal for applicants for a diploma or an associate’s degree. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is required. Besides the comprehensive learning of medical procedures, there is also application during internship clinic 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. Such cases can be addressed through the bride programs offered by RN-BSN. The program has different time schedules. If you have a part-time work, the period of the study may take longer. There are also bridge courses from LPN-BSN.
Period of Experience
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. 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. 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.
Getting Your Master’s Degree
A requisite of becoming a Nurse Practitioner is one’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Many programs accept RNs with a diploma or an associate’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is needed to enroll in other programs. Both kinds will train you inside the classroom and in the field. While studying to earn the NP title, RNs mostly need to undergo long hours of training. Another option will be to take the course of becoming a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
[asd_program_search_bar /]Earning A Ph.D. Title
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. 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. 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. You can pass your application and requirements in any establishments under the American Nurses Association such as the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.
In general, you will need an associate degree or a diploma to become a registered nurse. A bachelor’s degree should follow wherein you will be trained in the field. 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 Portland Nurse Practitioner?
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 can handle patient consultations and also interpret test results. They are also authorized to help as a surgeon as an anesthetist when needed in an operation. They could also handle high risk surgeries.
[asd_program_button /]Nurse practitioners take a patient centered approach to treatment. 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. Thus, a huge role of NPs is to consult patients on how to prevent injuries and illnesses.
A nurse practitioner is generally supposed to take up some or the other kind of specialty before taking the licensure exam. The specific duties of an NP depend on this specialization that they have chosen. Let us look at some of the popular choices and their job duties.
Family NP
NPs on this field consult with whole families. They can treat people of all ages and discuss ways to prevent diseases with the family. 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. These professionals can prescribe medicine and do therapeutic consultations with 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. 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. 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 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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