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 also known as 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.
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 Union Star?
A nurse practicioner earns $90,000 on average. 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.
[asd_program_button /]Location
NPs receive higher salaries if they are badly needed in the area. For instance, Hawaii pays $115,000 annually to NPs, which makes them the highest paying state. This is about 30% percent more than the national average. In Delaware, NPs could earn as much as $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%.
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. Those who have family care skills can earn up to $92,000. The skills of geriatrics and internal medicine both fall somewhere in between these two.
Increase in Position
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. 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. 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.
Assistance
There are several benefits that an NP could gain. Among the number of assistance, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid vacations are included. Employees who want to enhance their skills through schooling can gain financial support from their company. They are also paid to attend certain conferences and their registration fees are taken care of.
Because of this shortage for main medical practitioners, many aspiring health care professionals would most likely work in the field. 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.
Nurse Practitioner Union Star Employment Outlook
The United States of America needed 170,000 nurse practitioners in 2014. According to BLS, the industry is expected to grow by 31% over the next decade. In other words, that period will have roughly 57,000 new jobs. The lack of medical professionals caused this. Doctors and physicians cannot meet the demands of the people. This means that PAs and NPs will continue to be needed for a long time. 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 /]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.
Rustic areas have a continuous need for better healthcare. NPs are the best medical professionals in these areas because establishments are impossible to build there. These professionals work hand in hand with physicans to provide medical assistance to the patients in such areas. The biggest employers of NPs are Office of Physicians, Outpatient Care Centers, and General Hospitals.
There is an increase in the demand for specialized medical care. 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.
Nurses are also in demand in the field of education. 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. Some people resort to teaching after a long period of service. So this is the perfect option for NPs who feel that they are now not fit enough to handle the stresses that come with the medical field.
There are many good news when it comes to the financial aspect of the nurse practitioner careers. Because of the need for nurse practitioners, a 19% salary raise in 2020 may be given. A salary of $85,000 may be earned by those who are in teaching. 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. 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.
How To Become A Nurse Practioner In Union Star
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. 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. 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. Another option is to become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.
[asd_program_button /]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 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. This is extremely important as experience plays a key role in any medical field. You may already have a bachelor’s degree while you were pursuing a career as Registered Nurse. 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. Bridge courses by LPN-BSN are also available.
Period of Experience
The medical field treats experience as a great factor. 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. Before earning a graduate degree, they recommend more training. Most graduate degrees require a certain amount of experience before the student could be admitted. 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
To become a Nurse Practitioner, one needs to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. 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. Either way, the master’s degree includes spending time in both the classroom and the clinic. While studying to earn the NP title, RNs mostly need to undergo long hours of training. 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
Additionally, one can opt to get a Ph.D. in any of the specializations after the master’s degree. Reaching this far will potentially increase your earnings and also your reputation as a medical professional. Specialization in family care, gerontology or health systems are good options.
State License and Other Documents
It is mandatory for an aspiring NP to get licensed by the state. Requirements for licensing may vary in every state. They publish a list of accepted programs and bachelor’s degree. To become a nurse practitioner, it is important for every candidate to have a valid RN license, a master’s degree in nursing and to pass the state licensure exam. Your specialization is also a big factor in the type of licensure exams you will take. You can pass your application and requirements in any establishments under the American Nurses Association such as the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.
To revise, you first need to get an associate’s degree or a diploma to become a registered nurse. A bachelor’s degree should follow wherein you will be trained in the field. Then, you choose the best specialization and earn your license after finishing your master’s degree.
What is the Work of A Union Star Nurse Practitioner?
General duties
The nurse practitioner cooperate with a physician or other professionals of the same range. They are authorized to diagnose and treat patients, too. They can also order certain tests and medical procedures to be conducted. They can handle patient consultations and also interpret test results. During surgery, they could assist as a surgeon or as an anesthetist. They could even perform risky operations.
[asd_program_button /]Nurse practitioners work with the patient-centered method. Their patient’s needs are more important to be able to treat them effectively. They want to prevent the disease rather than cure it and thus advise the patient to take the necessary steps to do so. Patients under NPs will receive consultation including some advices on avoiding illnesses or injuries.
Before the licensure exam, a nurse practitioner is generally required to complete a specialization program. The specific duties of an NP depend on this specialization that they have chosen. Here are the most common duties they do.
NPs Specializing in Families
These NPs take care of the 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.
NPs Specializing in Psychiatry
Patients who have mental issues may be handled by experts including the psychiatric nurse practitioners. They can practice as therapists and sometimes prescribe appropriate medicine. 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.
NPs Practicing Pediatrics
Pediatric NPs can handle newborn babies up to 18-year old patients. 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. Illnesses are treated and prevented with the help of these practitioners by giving their patients some advice. 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. They are also responsible for coming up with fitness plans for such people who will need it to live for an extended period.
These are just some of the specializations of a nurse practitioner. There are more fields that NP would want to pursue. Different specializations may have variations in salaries. The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a specialization that lets one earn one of the highest salaries. These information should now be able to help you make sound career choices.
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