A nurse practitioner is a multi-educated and experienced nurse who is both a registered nurse and has a masters or doctorate in nursing as well as completed a special program designed specifically for nurse practitioners. It is no wonder with all that education that nurse practitioners have higher salaries than most in the nursing profession. However, that salary makes all the difference when it comes to placement.
Average Salary
NURSE
The median salary for a person who is licensed as a nurse practitioner is ,000 a year. These professionals do most of the things a Physician's Assistant can do and some things that a PA can't. A nurse practitioner can do physical exams, order and read test results, make a diagnosis and prescribe medications (under the authority of a physician). They are highly skilled medical professionals who have taken the craft of nursing as far as it will go. Nurse Practitioners who have practiced at a hospital or clinic have the potential to make a 6 figure income within 5 years of service.
In The Service
The top of the salary chart for Nurse Practitioners is in military service. The reason for that is the rank of a person along with their MOS (job code) determines their salary. A person with enough education to be a Nurse Practitioner in the military is certainly an officer, and has probably been in long enough to achieve a high rank. This fact contributes to the ,000 median salary for a Nurse Practitioner in military or federal service.
Organizations
The next tier of the salary cap for Nurse Practitioners is being a nurse for a team, such as a sports team, or an organization. The reason they want a Nurse Practitioner is that the person can do a lot of things a general practice doctor can do - so it's like having a team or company doctor for the price of a nurse practitioner. Teams and private companies also have a limited medical staff so they need someone who can do lots of things at once and are willing to pay for that privilege. Their median salary there is ,000 per year.
Health Care
In the mid-range (,000- ,000) are health care facilities such as hospitals or clinics. Still the salary changes depending on where the nurse practitioner works. A NP who works in the emergency room is likely to make a much higher salary dealing with crisis situations, than a NP who works in outpatient surgery doing physicals on people before they have an outpatient procedure. A hospitalist not only gets a good salary but also insurance, benefits and structural job security.
The Low End of the Scale
Of course, the lowest paying job for Nurse Practitioners is the same institution that underpays most of its professionals - the school districts. NP's who work for colleges or school districts make an average of ,000 per year and often work in understaffed conditions. The fact that a floor nurse with a Bachelors degree can make more than an NP working for a school turns many people away from the educational field.
NP's have a lot of responsibility and as a result nurse practitioners salaries reflect the work they do and the important contribution they add to the healthcare system as a whole.
Compensation for Nurse Practitioners Rises with Placement NURSE
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