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Nurse Practitioner

Overview

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are Advanced Practice Nurses who provide care to patients throughout the lifespan, from premature newborns to the elderly.

They perform comprehensive and focused physical examinations; diagnose and treat common acute illnesses and injuries; provide immunizations; manage high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and other chronic health problems; order and interpret diagnostic tests such as X-Rays and EKGs, as well as laboratory tests; prescribe medications and therapies, perform procedures, and educate and counsel patients and their families regarding healthy lifestyles and health care options.

NPs can prescribe medications, including controlled substances, in all 50 states. In 25 states, NPs have authority to practice independently.

Additional information about the various types of NP practice can be found at the following websites:

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Nurse Practitioner 16 May 2008 [pdf, 166 KB]

Working Conditions

In addition to working in clinics, office practices, managed care organizations, and hospitals, Nurse Practitioners deliver care in rural sites, inner city community health centers, college campuses, worksite employee health centers, and other locations. NPs also work for healthcare technology companies (e.g., pharmaceutical manufacturers), perform health care research, teach in schools and universities, and serve in governmental agencies (e.g., health departments, the military, etc.).

Approximately 15% of all NPs have their own private practices. There are also a number of nurse-managed health centers across the US, in which all of the health care is directed and provided by Nurse Practitioners, along with other health care professionals.

A recent national survey found that the average full-time salary for a Nurse Practitioner is just under $75,000; however, the salaries, duties, required and working conditions vary among the many different practice sites and patient populations. Depending upon the type of practice, working schedules may be a conventional work week or may include weekends, and holidays, and/or being available on-call after hours.

As the numbers of primary care physicians decrease and the demand for health care services increases, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are a highly recruited group of professionals.

AA woman with steth in pink smiling at older patient (Photo: Getty Images)

Average Salary

$74,812

Years in school

6 - 8

Job outlook

Excellent

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Academic Requirements

Nurse Practitioners are Registered Nurses with graduate education in nursing. Most NPs have a master’s degree, which requires two years of full-time study beyond the bachelor’s degree in nursing. NPs specialize in pediatrics, adult, family and women’s primary care, geriatrics, occupational health, psychiatric/mental health, and acute care. Sub-specialty preparation is also available (i.e., oncology). Search for schools that provide training for this career.

NPs need to be critical thinkers: they must obtain relevant information about a person’s health status from a wide variety of sources (the patient’s verbal communication, clinical examination, diagnostic tests) and use that data to independently make evidence-based decisions about when, why, and how to address health care needs. They also need to be able to cope well with stress, since their work includes direct involvement with human suffering, emergencies, and other pressures.

If you are going into this field, you should know that there is a growing national movement to require all NPs to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. This degree is called a practice doctorate and is similar to the academic credentials earned by dentists (DDS), physicians (MD/DO), clinical psychologists (PsyD or PhD), clinical pharmacists (PharmD) and other health care providers. DNP programs require 3 to 4 years study beyond a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Nurse Practitioner educational programs include graduate-level courses in health sciences (e.g., pathophysiology, pharmacology, epidemiology) and courses in the diagnosis and clinical management of health and illness. Students also complete several semesters of supervised clinical practice, to demonstrate competency in providing health care. Graduates from these programs are eligible to sit for national board examinations to become certified.

The cost of earning a graduate degree can be high, but funding resources are available. In addition to grants for graduate nursing education, there are federal government education loan forgiveness programs that will cancel up to 85% of federal student loans for NPs who practice following graduation or become faculty members in an accredited nursing program. Also, as a benefit, many hospitals offer their nurse employees tuition reimbursement for pursuing advanced nursing degrees. Additional information about possible sources of educational funding may be found on this website, as well as at: