Nurse practitioners are advanced-level nurses who have a larger range of responsibilities regarding patient care, even similar in some ways to a doctor. In most states nurse practitioners (NPs) are even allowed to act completely independently of a physician. In the others, an NP needs to work in partnership with a licensed doctor to treat a patient. This is a much different practice compared to lower level nurses, who are normally not given the same level of freedom or responsibility as the nurse practitioners are. The additional training leads to that extra responsibility, but also extra skills and often much higher pay and potential for career advancement. If you decide that becoming a nurse practitioner is in your future then you’re likely to love the additional satisfaction of really helping people and freedom you get in your job.
To become an NP, you will need to first obtaining your BSN (bachelor’s of science in nursing), have your designation as a registered nurse, and then go on to earn your master’s in nursing that comes with an accredited nurse practitioner specialization. Virtually every (if not all) NP programs will want you to focus on a specialty like children, adult, neonatal, or something similar.
The salary and benefits of being a nurse practitioner are also much higher than being simply a registered nurse. In 2008 the average income for a NP was around $81,000 although this profession certainly has the potential to earn much more. In fact, the highest average earning salary was a little over $90,000 in the specialty of hematology/oncology.
Like many nursing jobs, you can’t become a nurse practitioner if you expect to work from 9 to 5. NPs are often called in at odd hours when there are fewer physicians available and the clinic or hospital requires someone with physician-like authority, without the costs or burden.
However, much of the freedom that nurse practitioners currently enjoy may be coming to a close. There have been debates in recent years as to the validity of permitting a NP (who does significantly less schooling) to act reasonably independently of a physician. On the one hand, the job outlook remains very bright because of the thought that NPs will be able to act as “physician extenders” and will be able to help alleviate the growing shortage of qualified doctors. This kind of role will help to ensure greater levels of job security than regular nurses. Opponents of this theory are weary that, due to the disparity between schooling levels, NPs may not be fully qualified to act in this capacity.
At the end of the day it is hard to argue with the decision to become a nurse practitioner in order to advance your career. The additional work is definitely worth it compared to the benefits and if you’re going to go that far anyway, what’s another two years for a 50 to 100% rise in pay plus extra benefits and supervisor powers. Factor in the rest of the benefits and it’s not at all hard to see why becoming an NP might be an excellent career move.
Considering to become a nurse? See what Marc Arlen, an established author in the nursing profession, has to say about it. His free informative articles on how to become a registered nurse will help you to decide if this is for you.
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