Reasons to Become a Nurse Practitioner

October 14th, 2009

Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses who have completed their nursing education on an advanced level, as well as completed training in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. To become a certified nurse practitioner one must complete an approved master’s, post-master’s and doctoral level adult, gerontologic, and family nurse practitioner programs. After successfully completing a program, one must be licensed by the state, each of which has its own licensing and certification criteria. While this may sound like a lot of work, it hasn’t stopped many nurses from advancing to this level of practice. According to the "National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses 2008: Initial Findings" by the Health Resources Services Administration, there were an estimated 158,348 nurse practitioners in the United States in 2008. This is not surprising, given that there are quite a few good reasons to put forth the effort.

Even though initially registered nurses are going to have to spend more money to complete additional education, the payback is worth it. According to Salary.com, depending on experience, setting, and specialty, nurse practitioners can earn from $72,000 to $100,000 a year. Not bad compared to the $56,000 to $68,000 they were earning annually as registered nurses. Nurse practitioners can expect to begin making a better salary shortly after advancing their careers. According to PayScale, those with less than one year experience earn between $60,562 and $77,572 annually, while those with one to four years of experience earn from $66,021 to $81,443.

Since nurse practitioners complete more education than registered nurses, they have the freedom to work more independently. Originally, the nurse practitioner position was created to free up physicians, so these specialty nurses are even allowed to perform some of the same duties as doctors. Many of which include, conducting physical examinations, diagnosing and treating common illnesses, and prescribing medicine. Although nurse practitioners still work underneath physicians, they tend to work independently on a regular basis and can serve as a patient’s regular health care provider.

If as a registered nurse one was interested in working in a specific area of medicine, they can still do so as a nurse practitioner. As an advanced nurse they work at a higher level within various specialties such as family practice, pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health, acute care, and school nursing. Nurse practitioners who desire to specialize in a specific area can do so through the American Nurse’s Credentialing Center. After meeting all requirements, such as holding a master’s degree in nursing, candidates can sit for a specialty examination certification to will validate their ability to practice.

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