Nurse Practitioner Careers
Nurse practitioners (NP) play a vital role in the American healthcare system as part of a dynamic, fast growing career path. U.S. News and World Report has ranked the nurse practitioner career as the best STEM job, best healthcare job, and all-around best job in America. The NP field offers job security and a growing presence in a changing healthcare landscape. It provides opportunities for advancement and financial security to those wanting to work directly with patients. The nurse practitioner job outlook is one of the best in America and the nurse practitioner average salary reflects that.
NPs begin their careers as undergraduates with a degree focused on nursing. Some students start by pursuing their associate degree in nursing. Others jump immediately onto the bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN) track to be able to start working as a nurse more quickly. While not all nurses need a degree to get started in the industry, a BSN will help prove you have the knowledge and training for challenging medical work. BSNs are preferred by many employers and generally holders of the degree will be paid higher wages than those without. After receiving a BSN and passing the NCLEX-RN exam to become a licensed registered nurse (RN), many nurses decide to further their careers by pursuing more advanced training in a NP program.
Career outlook
Nurse practitioners receive advanced specialized training in patient care that puts them at the forefront of today’s healthcare industry. The number of nurse practitioners in America more than doubled in the span between 2010 and 2022 and that growth isn’t going anywhere. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the NP field to grow by 45% over the 2022-2032 time period. As the population of the United States ages and a projected physician shortage grows, there is a need for licensed, highly skilled patient care providers with advanced education and training. Despite the growing number of NPs entering the workforce, there are plenty of reasons to believe the job market is not becoming oversaturated. Chief among them is the looming retirement cliff that baby boomer nurses are approaching. As more nurses, physicians, and NPs reach retirement age, the more new medical workers are needed to enter the system.
The nurse practitioner job outlook is one where NPs play a critical role on patient care teams across medical settings. Most NPs are trained to provide primary patient care and can focus on preventative medicine – a fast rising need in American medicine. However, the way nurse practitioners are trained allows them to diversify their skillsets and provide patient care outside of primary care. Nurse practitioners, unlike PAs, are trained as specialists focused on either specific patient populations or medical specialities. NPs also focus heavily on the traditional patient care principles embedded in nursing, making them excellent candidates to deliver high quality on-going care. Across the U.S., there are many states where NPs can work without physician overview in an independent practice. The number of states where this kind of independent practice is possible may grow to meet the healthcare needs of the future.
Nurse Practitioner Specialities
After receiving their master’s of science in nursing (MSN) and passing their licensing exam to become an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), nurse practitioners are able to begin their practice. All NPs are able to diagnose patients, prescribe medication, and create treatment plans, but what else they do is determined by the speciality they study in their NP program. NPs choose their specialty by focusing on a specific patient population rather than a type of medicine. This allows nurse practitioners to gain an education and skills tailored exactly to the needs of the patients they will be working with. Every NP is trained on how to conduct physical exams, the ins and outs of pharmacology, and pathology. But the population level focus allows nurse practitioners to receive an education entirely geared around the type of patients they want to build their career around.
Some of the more popular specialities for nurse practitioners are ones that allow them to work with aging populations, children, families, and people who need women’s health care. NPs who want to work with aging adults specialize in gerontology either in acute or primary care capacities. For those who want to work with infants and children, a neonatal focus provides the training for NPs working with patients under the age of two. A pediatric speciality trains nurse practitioners to work with any child. NPs also train to work with people in need of psychiatric healthcare and substance use disorders.
Beyond the adaptability that specialization adds to the nurse practitioner job outlook, it also adds to the job satisfaction that NPs experience. Choosing a patient population focus allows NPs to provide more holistic care to their patients as they focus on a patient’s whole health. NPs say this focus allows them to really get to know their patients, developing deep connections and enabling them to provide health care that meets patients where they are in life.
Where do Nurse Practitioners work
NPs work just about everywhere, which is one of the most appealing aspects of the job. You’ll find nurse practitioners in hospital settings like cardiology and pediatrics units, emergency rooms, surgery departments, and critical care wings. Hospital work appeals to NPs who want to work in fast paced environments that often feature challenging and varied patient care situations. Nurse practitioners work in clinics across the country, whether they are devoted to outpatient or in-patient care. Clinics span a wide range of specialities just like hospitals, but usually have more reliable schedules and a lesser degree of emergency situations to face. For those NPs who want to build their career around primary care, private practice is an appealing option. Depending on the state they are in, NPs can work under the supervision of a physician or strike out on their own building an independent practice.
Travel nursing is a career path that has grown in recent years. It provides nurse practitioners the opportunity to work for designated periods of time away from home, providing nursing care in places experiencing staffing shortages. Traveling NPs not only get to see and experience new communities, they also are able to hone their skills on new challenges. Travel nursing can often pay enough to let NPs work schedules with extended free time. Some NPs will make a career of travel nursing, while others will do it for a set period of time before deciding on a more permanent nursing speciality and environment.
Facts and Figures
The national nurse practitioner average salary is $124,680. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the percentile wage estimates for NPs are:
- 90% of all NPs earn more than $94,530 annually
- 75% of all NPs earn more than $106,960 annually
- 50% of all NPs earn more than $126,260 annually
- 25% of all NPs earn more than $140,610 annually
- 10% of all NPs earn more than $168,030 annually
The five states with the highest employment levels for nurse practitioners are:
- Florida with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $119,710
- California with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $161,540
- Texas with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $130,010
- New York with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $142,830
- Tennessee with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $103,720
The five states with the highest average nurse practitioner annual salary are:
- California with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $161,540
- Nevada with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $148,670
- Washington with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $145,400
- New Jersey with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $145,030
- Oregon with an annual nurse practitioner average salary of $144,950
The metropolitan areas with the highest employment levels for nurse practitioners are:
- New York / Newark / Jersey City (NY, NJ, PA) with an annual average salary of $150,500
- Los Angeles / Long Beach / Anaheim (CA) with an annual average salary of $162,340
- Miami / Fort Lauderdale / West Palm Beach (FL) with an annual average salary of $120,580
- Atlanta / Sandy Springs / Roswell (GA) with an annual average salary of $122,910
- Chicago / Naperville / Elgin (IL, IN, WI) with an annual average salary of $129,270
- Boston / Cambridge / Nashua (MA, NH) with an annual average salary of $145,300
- Nashville / Davidson / Murfreesboro / Franklin (TN) with an annual average salary of $106,810
- Philadelphia / Camden / Wilmington (PA, NJ, DE, MD) with an annual average salary of $131,680
- Houston / The Woodlands / Sugar Land (TX) with an annual average salary of $139,360
- Phoenix / Mesa / Scottsdale (AR) with an annual average salary of $132,960
The annual mean wage for NPs by industry are:
- Offices of Physicians: $122,780
- Outpatient Care Centers: $139,860
- General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $135,610
- Offices of Other Health Practitioners: $121,250
- Home Health Care Services: $146,850
- Other Ambulatory Health Care Services: $144,570
- Psychiatric and Substance Use Hospitals: $141,260
Conclusion
The nurse practitioner field’s ranking as the top job in the country is built on its promise of job security, growing demand, excellent pay, and flexibility. Nurse practitioners do rewarding hands-on patient care in numerous settings and across diverse patient populations. While rigorous and challenging, nurse practitioner education is less expensive and time consuming than physicians, but allows NPs to do meaningful medical work daily.
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