Selecting a career may require you to know the nature of the job. The same could be said in the medical field, where different jobs could be mistaken for others. A Nurse Practitioner is also called an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Some of their work cannot be done by nurses. NPs have different work depending on the field they specialize on. Let us look at the general job duties and that of their specializations.
Table Of Contents:
- Nurse Practitioner Salary
- Nurse Practitioner Employment Outlook
- How To Become A Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Practitioner Job Description
How Much Salary Does A Nurse Practitioner Get In Winchester?
A nurse practitioner receives an average of $90,000. Compared to a registered nurse this is quite high since an RN gets something around $65,000. The reason behind this is that NPs train longer so they could be medical practitioners.
[asd_program_button /]Site
The higher the demand for NPs, the higher they will be paid. 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.
Years of Experience
Salary increase in this field is rare even for those who have extensive experience. 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. 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.
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. Other options include being a Family, Pediatric NP, Psychiatrist NP, or an Adult NP. You could also increase your salary with other specializations after doing the procedures. In order to achieve these things, you will need to undergo a number of training sessions and acquire additional certification.
Assistance
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. They are also paid to attend certain conferences and their registration fees are taken care of.
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. There are also more time for NPs to choose the type of cases they wish to do.
Job Prospects of Winchester Nurse Practitioners
In 2014, the United States of America provided 170,000 jobs to nurse practitioners. 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. The need for doctors and physicians cannot be catered by the number of medical professionals. Thus, the need of people like PAs and NPs is increasing and is projected to increase even further. The jobs for neonatal NPs will boost by 34%. The same could be said with Family, Pediatric, Gastroenterology, and Hospitalist NPs, which will have an 11% 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. Thus, patients sometimes prefer NPs to PAs.
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. 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. 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.
Nurses are also in demand in the field of education. Medical schools have a shortage of teachers for nurses and medical professionals. Getting a Ph.D. is a requisite for a nurse practitioners to be able to teach. After spending much time with work, most people go for teaching jobs. 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 is a brighter future for nurse practitioners in terms of earnings. 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 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 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.
Nurse Practitioner Job Requirements In Winchester
Becoming a 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. Although, some papers may not be useful because medical experience weighs more. This experience is provided by an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. 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.
[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. The course Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) needs to be completed. During this period, the concepts learned will also be applied and put into actions during clinic duties. 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. Such cases can be addressed through the bride programs offered by 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.
Years of Practice
One of the best ways to make it in the health care field is to get lots of experience. 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. The training you will receive may enable you to dealwith patients effectively, treat ailments, work with other professionals, and do the tasks efficiently.
Master’s Degree
Getting a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is mandatory for becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Many programs accept RNs with a diploma or an associate’s degree. Students who want to be enrolled in other programs needs 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. Alternatively, you could get a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.
[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. Reaching this far will potentially increase your earnings and also your reputation as a medical professional. Others choose family care, gerontology or health systems as their field of specialization.
State License and Other Documents
The state license is a requirement for those who want to be an NP. Each state has a different list of licensing requirements. Some only accept those whose bachelor degrees fall under their list of accepted programs. 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.
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. Finally, you acquire a master’s degree following which you get licensed after applying for the appropriate program.
What Work Is Done by A Winchester Nurse Practitioner?
General Work
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.
[asd_program_button /]Nurse practitioners work with the patient-centered method. This means that they focus more on the patients’ needs and wants while treating them. They want to prevent the disease rather than cure it and thus advise the patient to take the necessary steps to do so. 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. Here are the most common duties they do.
Family NP
NPs on this field consult with whole families. 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. They also provide direct care to the family in collaboration with a physician.
Psychiatric NP
Psychiatric nurse practitioners work with a group of people who have mental issues. Both therapy and prescription of medicine can be administered by them. However, phsychological testing is not a part of their job. He or she could design a treatment plan for the patient along with a professional psychologist’s help.
Pediatric NP
As the name suggests, pediatric NPs look after kids of all ages – from newborn babies to 18-year old kids. A subspecialty is a 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 responsible for immunizations.
Working as a 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.
These are just some of the specializations of a nurse practitioner. Some NPs may specialize in other fields that interest them. Different specializations may have variations in salaries. The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetis (CRNA) is included in the list of highest paid specializations . After learning these work descriptions for your future career, you may now be able to choose the ideal path for you.
[asd_program_prefilter_box /]