Job Prospects for Nurse Practitioners | Incredible Health (2023)

FAQs

Job Prospects for Nurse Practitioners | Incredible Health? ›

A growth industry

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects the number of nurse practitioners to grow 45% between 2019 and 2029, adding more than 117,700 jobs to the field.

A growth industry

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects the number of nurse practitioners to grow 45% between 2019 and 2029, adding more than 117,700 jobs to the field.

The job outlook for nurse practitioners is the fastest growing in the medical field. As previously mentioned, NP career has a projected growth rate of more than 50% over the next decade. The second fastest-growing career in healthcare is a physician assistant, at almost a 31% projected growth over the next decade.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the demand for nurse practitioners is expected to grow 46% from 2021 to 2031. This is much faster than the average for all occupations as well as the average for physicians (3% projected growth). As we will show you, the reasons nurse practitioners are in high demand.

According to Medscape's "Nurse Practitioner Burnout & Depression Report 2022," almost a third of NPs are considering leaving health care, particularly as more of them struggle with burnout and other work difficulties.

With a shortage of primary care physicians leaving more than 90 million people without access to primary care, according to the Health Resources & Services Administration, it is not surprising that NPs and PAs are filling the gap and being sought to do so.

The average annual salary for a Nurse Practitioner is $118,040. The bottom 10% of average annual NP salaries is $79,470. The top 10% is $163,350 per year. The median annual wage for a Nurse Practitioner is $120,680.

The best Nurse Practitioner jobs can pay up to $400,000 per year. Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with additional responsibilities including prescribing medication, examining patients, diagnosing illnesses, and providing treatment, much as physicians do.

What state needs nurse practitioners the most? ›

As the baby boomer generation ages, hospitals and other care centers will need a significant number of new healthcare professionals filling many roles. This is a large reason why the healthcare sector is expected to grow faster than any other industry, adding about 2.6 million jobs over the 10-year period.

"Their importance and prestige is rising as more hospitals, health systems, and accountable care organizations... move to team-based care, in which they play a big part," Hoogerwerf says. As a result, NPs "are far happier" than physicians, Megan Brooks writes for Medscape Medical News.

More and more, NPs are balking at the irregular hours of the profession, with those with families feeling it the most acutely. Mothers report that they regret becoming a nurse practitioner when it comes to the job stealing critical time from their family life.

Being a nurse practitioner does not mean you can take short cuts on your road to being a doctor. After you become a nurse practitioner you will still need to go to four years of medical school and 4 years of residency if you want to be a doctor.

Yes, nurse practitioners are overall very happy in their professional positions. NPs have many of the benefits of being a physician combined with some of the characteristics that they loved about nursing.

Their duties may be more stressful compared to RNs because nurse practitioners often manage complicated patient cases and are responsible for making higher-level decisions.

In addition, 87% of physicians said their working relationship with NPs was "good to very good," and 92% of NPs said the same about their working relationship with physicians.

What is the new term for nurse practitioner? ›

Community Health Officer (CHO) also called Mid Level Health Provider (MLHP) and non-physician practitioner, are trained health care providers who have a defined scope of practice.

NPs can specialize in several areas, including gerontology, mental health, pediatrics, and women's health. PAs have a more generalized education and can specialize in areas like emergency medicine, orthopedics, and general surgery.

Can Nurses Make Six Figures? Yes, you can 100% make six figures as a nurse. The disclaimer is that working in some states may make this easier than working in other states. Geographic location is a huge indicator of starting salary and can be a reason why some of you are not as close to others when looking at raw data.

Your career path with a DNP will greatly influence your salary. Depending on the role, you can make anywhere from an a median wage of $83,000 to $180,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As leaders in every facet of healthcare, nurses with DNPs work to improve patient care.

The lowest-paying states are Tennessee ($95,120), Alabama ($102,410), South Carolina ($102,850), Missouri ($103,490), and West Virginia ($104,750). NP salaries vary significantly across the country.

Family Nurse Practitioner or FNP is the most common Nurse Practitioner specialty, accounting for about half of all NPs – and there's good reasons for that, because FNPs are the most versatile NP certification that there is. FNP programs focus on family medicine, spanning from birth to death, ages 0-100+.

What is the average age of a nurse practitioner? ›

The average age of a nurse practitioner is 43.4 years old, but the nurse practitioner age range starts between 20 and 24 years to 65 years old and over. Most nurse practitioners are between 35 and 44 years old, equaling almost 39% of all nurse practitioners in the United States.

Nurse practitioners tend to specialize in fields, whereas PAs tend to have a more generalized education. NPs also tend to have more autonomy in 24 states, where they have full practice authority. PAs work interdependently with physicians.

The current California job market for new grad NPs is rough. However, this is not typical. Due to reduced patient demand for provider visits due to COVID, a lot of RNs, NPs, PA, MDs were laid off or had to accept reduced hours. The job market for NPs is slowly coming back.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is projecting the number of nurse practitioner roles will grow by 52% (335,200) by the year 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing roles in health care.

Background: Care provided by NPs results in high patient satisfaction, mostly related to the assurance of continuity of care, and to receiving information and advice on coping with the disease. Research shows that health care provided by NPs equals the quality of care provided by physicians.

Can an RN become a doctor? A registered nurse (RN) can become a doctor if they complete the required certifications and education. Typically, nurses have many of the prerequisites that medical schools require, so you may be able to accelerate the medical school admissions process.

75% prefer to be treated by a physician. 75% said they prefer to be treated by a physician—even if it takes longer to get an appointment and costs more.

you're seeking a faster way to advanced practice. If better work-life balance is important to you, a NP has more flexibility and more options for accelerated training than a MD. you want to practice more autonomously.

A nurse practitioner has the advantage of more time with patients, and is also able to provide a different level of care. Doctors are focused on diagnostics and specific types of treatment, whereas nurses spend more time delving into prevention and a wider range of holistic and wellness based treatments and therapies.

Can you go from NP to MD? An NP could become an MD by applying to medical school and going through all the requirements.

Is 40 too old to become an NP? ›

Yes—you absolutely can become a nurse practitioner after 45. There is no right age to become a nurse practitioner—and often times your knowledge and skills gained in your years as a nurse will greatly benefit you in your new career.

Reflect on your weaknesses

Spending too much time on paperwork. Paying too much attention to detail. Attempting to complete too many tasks at once. A lack of clinical experience, which may apply to recent graduates or new nurses.

Courses and content are more challenging. The level of knowledge you're required to have as a Nurse Practitioner is a huge step up from a RN. You'll take a lot of the same courses as you did with your BSN, but will go into each topic with a lot more depth because you'll be diagnosing and treating health problems soon.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-Prepared Practitioner

The Doctor of Nursing Practice is a terminal nursing degree, meaning that it is the highest possible practice-based degree in nursing.

The Nurse Practitioner Job Outlook Is Positive

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for nurse practitioners includes a 40% growth rate by 2031. This means that 118,600 jobs will need to be filled in this time.

While doctors and nurse practitioners have many similarities, there are some notable differences. The biggest difference between the two is the amount of time spent on training. While NPs have more training than a registered nurse, they receive less training than a doctor. They also are licensed differently.

The importance of nurse practitioners in healthcare is unmistakable as they help provide care to people who live in underserved areas. This may include urban and rural areas with limited access due to a lack of providers leading to a lack of healthcare resources and further enhancing health disparities.

The best Nurse Practitioner jobs can pay up to $400,000 per year. Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with additional responsibilities including prescribing medication, examining patients, diagnosing illnesses, and providing treatment, much as physicians do.

More time with patients.

Despite these positives when compared to working as an RN, the NP role can be very challenging and more demanding. Their duties may be more stressful compared to RNs because nurse practitioners often manage complicated patient cases and are responsible for making higher-level decisions.

Why is a nurse practitioner better than a doctor? ›

Many duties can overlap, but a nurse practitioner's role differs from a doctor's in flexibility and scope. A nurse practitioner, for example, can often be available to patients who need immediate care sooner than from a doctor, allowing nurse practitioners to serve as a frontline of defense in helping patients.

The profession of nurse practitioner (NP) covers a spectrum of specialties, including pediatrics, women's health, and adult gerontology. A family nurse practitioner (FNP) is a nurse practitioner who specializes in family medicine and treats a diverse patient base, providing care to patients throughout their life span.

Many patients prefer to visit a nurse practitioner rather than a doctor as they often find the interactions to be overall more friendly, the wait times when scheduling an appointment to be far shorter and the prices to often be far more affordable.

In addition, 87% of physicians said their working relationship with NPs was "good to very good," and 92% of NPs said the same about their working relationship with physicians.

Is NP higher than PA? Neither profession ranks "higher" than the other. Both NPs and PAs work in the healthcare field but with different qualifications, educational backgrounds, and responsibilities. They also work in different specialties.