CAREERS: Nurse Practitioner
Do you like taking care of people? If so, then maybe you’ve thought about a degree in nursing. Some people interested in nursing choose to become an RN, or Registered Nurse. Others choose to take their education a step further and to become a CNP, or Certified Nurse Practitioner. This position is in high demand and the pay can be excellent. But what does it really entail?
Are you interested in a career as a nurse?
What Is It?
A nurse practitioner works independently or sometimes as part of a support team for a doctor at a hospital or clinic. They provide a higher, more specialized level of care than an RN does, and can perform many services an RN can’t. In some fields, they can even practice independently, like doctors. The role of an NP varies from state to state, but some of their roles may include performing physical assessments, diagnosing illnesses, ordering and analyzing medical tests, managing patient treatment, and prescribing some medications. Many states are also currently considering legislation to give NPs even more authority, responsibility, and independence.
Education and Experience
So how does one become a nurse practitioner? First, you will need to get a bachelor’s degree in Nursing to become a Registered Nurse (RN). After that, you need to go to graduate school. Some students prefer to go directly from nursing school into a graduate program. Others, however, take a few years off to gain practical, real-world experience in applying skills, working in different medical environments, and how to work with other professionals in a medical setting. Some graduate programs even require that students spend a few years in the field gaining this knowledge and experience before applying.
Once in graduate school, you will need to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, which is the minimum degree required to become a nurse practitioner. It takes about 18-24 months of going to school full-time to earn this degree. From there, some choose to go on to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. This requires another two to three years of full-time study. In both cases, graduate nursing programs provide students with a mix of classroom study and clinical experience.
And that’s not all. After you complete your graduate studies, you must obtain a state license and then pass a national certification examination. Besides the necessary degrees and certifications, an NP must possess skills in active listening and communication, critical thinking, decision making, social perceptiveness, reading comprehension, and the ability to work with computers, medical tools, and technology.
Job Outlook
You might be wondering why anyone would be willing to go through so many years of schooling and training. But the nation’s growing population of aging people means that NPs are always in demand. In fact, the number of NP jobs is predicted to increase by more than 30 percent from 2014 to 2024.
This high demand means that NPs are also well-paid: in May 2014, the average annual wage for an NP was $97,990.
Pros and Cons
In addition to a high salary and excellent job security, nurse practitioners also often enjoy additional benefits such as flexible work schedules, educational opportunities, and even child care services. However, as the national demand for health care increases, more and more burden is often placed on the shoulders of NPs, who are cheaper to train than physicians are. Often, specialized NPs find themselves in positions where they have to perform the same medical tasks over and over again, which can lead to burnout. And the nontraditional schedules required of NPs mean that it can be difficult for them to strike a balance between work and home life.