Selecting a career may require you to know the nature of the job. 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 also called an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Some of their work cannot be done by nurses. The job duties of an NP vary from one specialization to another. 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
How Much Does A Nurse Practitioner Make In Spokane?
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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NPs receive higher salaries if they are badly needed in the area. NPs in Hawaii are the highest earners among all the states as they receive $115,000 every year. Compared to the average earnings of NPs in the rest of the country, they earn 30% more. While Delaware offers something around $67,000.
Years of Experience
As far as experienced is concerned as a factor of salary, in this field, even with experience, the salary hardly increases. 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
A range of skills can increase your potential to earn a lot more. 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. Those who work as geriatrics and internal medicine specialists earn somewhere in between.
Work Promotions
The only real way to increase your salary in this line of work is to get promoted or get specialized. Achieving this may require you to do the following. You can try to become a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist who can earn about $150,000 a year. You could also try to become an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner to earn a bit more than a normal 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.
Benefits
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. 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. There is a high possibility that Nurse Practitioners will receive higher salaries later on. As an NP you are also given more time and freedom to choose which cases to work on.
Nurse Practitioner Spokane 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. This is primarily due to the lack of healthcare professionals. 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. 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.
[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. NPs are more sought for than PAs for this reason.
Rustic areas have a continuous need for better healthcare. 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. The biggest employers of NPs are 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. This means that they can give a more accurate diagnosis of the patient’s problem if it falls in their area of specialty.
Nurses are also in demand in the field of education. Medical schools have a shortage of teachers for nurses and medical professionals. A Ph.D. title is needed before a nurse practitioner becomes a teacher in the field. People generally go into consulting or teaching after a certain age. 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. In the field of teaching, nurse practitioners may get as much as $85,000. If you have been exposed to many medical specialization, your salary could increase to $175,000 within a year. 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. 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.
Career Requirements For Nurse Practitioners In Spokane
Becoming a Registered Nurse
First, one needs to become a registered nurse. Earning a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree is needed to become one. Another way is earning a diploma. 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. Experience during the bachelor’s or an associate’s degree internship contributes to this requirement. 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.
[asd_program_button /]Completing Bachelor’s Degree
The next step is to earn a Bachelor’s degree. 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. One’s experience in the field contributes a lot to the career of a medical professional. You may be a bachelor’s degree holder already and going for a Registered Nurse career at the same time. In such cases, there are bridge programs from RN-BSN. 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.
Period of Experience
One of the best ways to make it in the health care field is to get lots of experience. 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. 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.
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. Students who want to be enrolled in other programs needs 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. You might also try to get a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree as an alternative.
[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. You can choose to specialize in fields like family care, gerontology or health systems.
State License and Certification
The state license is a requirement for those who want to be an NP. Different states may require some documents that other stated do not. 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. You can pass your application and requirements in any establishments under the American Nurses Association such as the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.
In summary, becoming a registered nurse requires you an associate’s degree or a diploma. Then you must obtain a bachelor’s degree after which you move on to gain some experience. 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 Spokane Nurse Practitioner?
General Work
Physicians and other medical professionals of the same level supervise nurse practitioners. They can diagnose and treat patients like a primary healthcare provider. If patients need to undergo medical tests and other proceedings, they can are also allowed to conduct them. They interpret these results and consult with the patient. During surgery, they could assist as a surgeon or as an anesthetist. They could also handle high risk surgeries.
[asd_program_button /]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. Patients under NPs will receive consultation including some advices on avoiding illnesses or injuries.
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
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.
Working as 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. He or she could design a treatment plan for the patient along with a professional psychologist’s help.
Working As Pediatric NP
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). 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
Old people are the patients of those working as gerontology nurse practitioners. They educate them about disease prevention and manage any illnesses they might have. However, since old people are more sickly, it is the expert’s job to make sure their illnesses do not reduce the quality of their lifestyles. In an effort to prolong the life of their patients, they provide them fitness plans.
These are just some of the specializations of a nurse practitioner. 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). These information should now be able to help you make sound career choices.
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