Westport Connecticut Nurse Practitioner Salary And Job Requirements

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 also known as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). They have duties that nurses cannot do. The job duties of an NP vary from one specialization to another. Here are the general tasks and the specific work they do.

Nurse Practitioner Career Summary

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Table Of Contents:

What Is The Salary of A Nurse Practitioner In Westport?

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.

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Setting

NPs receive higher salaries if they are badly needed in the area. 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. While Delaware offers something around $67,000.

Nurse practitioner salary information

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Length of Practice

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.

Skills

An increase of salary may be given if you have more expertise in some fields. 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 earn somewhere in between are mostly geriatrics and internal medicine practitioners.

Work Promotions

The only real way to increase your salary in this line of work is to get promoted or get specialized. To do this there are several options. An option is to earn $150,000 annually by becoming a Nurse Practitioner Anesthetist. The Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner also earns more than the normal 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

NPs also receive some 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. 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. As an NP you are also given more time and freedom to choose which cases to work on.

Average nurse practitioner wage in

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The Status of Nurse Practitioner Employment In Westport

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. 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. 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.

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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. It is the reason why NPs are preferred over 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. These professionals work hand in hand with physicans to provide medical assistance to the patients in such areas. Most NPs get hired to work for Office of Physicians, Outpatient Care Centers, and General Hospitals.

Specialized health care demands are rapidly increasing. 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.

Employment outlook for nurse practitioners in

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Another need for nurses is coming up in 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. 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. If you have been exposed to many medical specialization, your salary could increase to $175,000 within a year. The specialization of a nurse determines the amount of salary he or she earns. A nurse anesthetist earns about $150,000 and this can go up to $235,000.

The salary and job prospects of any career also depend on the state one is residing in. 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.

Nurse practitioner job outlook

**Image Source – BLS.gov

Nurse Practitioner Job Requirements In Westport

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 requirement is your 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. After this, you must take a standardized national test and then get the license to practice as an RN. You could also try to take a different path and become a Licensed Practical Nurse first.

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Earning Bachelor’s Degree

It is also recommended that one completes his/her Bachelor’s Degree. This is mostly for people who had earlier applied for a diploma or an associate’s degree. The course Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) needs to be completed. Besides the comprehensive learning of medical procedures, there is also application during internship clinic rounds. It is essential work because there is always a need for experience. You may already have a bachelor’s degree while you were pursuing a career as Registered Nurse. 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.

Years of Practice

The medical field treats experience as a great factor. Getting a master’s degree after a bachelor’s degree might be the most efficient way of becoming an NP. The practicality is not provided in this process, according to many senior nurses in the field. Before earning a graduate degree, they recommend more training. Most graduate degrees require a certain amount of experience before the student could be admitted. The training you will receive may enable you to dealwith patients effectively, treat ailments, work with other professionals, and do the tasks efficiently.

Earning a 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. A bachelor’s degree is needed to enroll in other programs. It doesn’t matter which one you go for, you will be trained for knowledge and application in real settings. While studying to earn the NP title, RNs mostly need to undergo long hours of training. 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. 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

It is mandatory for an aspiring NP to get licensed by the state. Each state has a different list of licensing requirements. Others have a set of bachelor’s degree and programs they accept. 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.

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. Then, you choose the best specialization and earn your license after finishing your master’s degree.

What Does A Westport Nurse Practioner Do?

Works in general

Physicians and other medical professionals of the same level supervise nurse practitioners. They are authorized to diagnose and treat patients, too. They can also order certain tests and medical procedures to be conducted. 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. They could even perform risky operations.

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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. 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.

In general, nurse practitioners need a specialization before they take 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

NPs on this field consult with whole families. They can deal with patients of every age and help avoid illnesses within the family. Working with other physicians is also common when taking care of families.

NPs Specializing in Psychiatry

Patients who have mental issues may be handled by experts including the psychiatric nurse practitioners. These professionals can prescribe medicine and do therapeutic consultations with them. 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.

Pediatric NP

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. Immunizations are also part of their work.

Gerontology NP

A gerontology nurse practitioner specializes in the healthcare of old people. 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. 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. Each of these specializations offers a different amount of salary. One of the highest paying specializations is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). 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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