Nurse practitioners (NP) are advanced-practice nurses who work independently (in some states) or as part of the healthcare system to provide general preventative care or diagnose and treat various illnesses. They may work with both inpatient and outpatient service providers. They can also prescribe medications to patients.
Education and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in nursing (4 years)
- Master’s degree from an accredited Nurse Practitioner program.
- All states require NPs to be licensed as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs).
- Additionally, they are expected to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic life support (BLS), or advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certifications.
- NPs have to meet continuing education requirements and recertify every five years.
Responsibilities and a Day in the Life
Most NPs work full time (40 hours a week) but based on the type of organization (clinic vs. hospitals), they may work night shifts, weekends, and even holidays to provide round-the-clock patient service. Some NPs are expected to be on-call as well.
Their daily routines could be as follows:
- Functioning independently to gather histories from patients and family members if needed.
- Recording patient histories and symptoms in the system.
- Performing detailed physical exams and collect samples from patients for further testing.
- Ordering diagnostic and therapeutic tests.
- Interpreting test results from X-rays, EKGs, lab reports, etc., to determine reasons for patient symptoms.
- Operating medical equipment if necessary.
- Creating a patient care plan to cure the disease/illness.
- Prescribing medicines and therapies.
- Monitoring progress, detecting changes in the patient’s health, and taking corrective actions to the treatment plan.
- Communicating with patients and their family members about their health conditions, treatment plans, and progress.
- Training patients to manage illness and prevent injuries.
- Assisting in other areas of the healthcare system like surgery, etc.
- Providing immunizations to patients.
- Collaborating with other healthcare professionals (in general).
- Hiring, training, and supervising junior staff members.
Other Necessary Skills
- Compassion and understanding to deal with patients and their families suffering from illness or injuries.
- Communication skills
- Emotional stability
- Interpersonal skills, including suitable bedside manner while working with sick patients.
- Ability to use advanced electronic medical equipment and computer systems
Career Progression
- Certified NPs can step into supervisory roles to manage other staff.
- Some choose to specialize in areas like emergency medicine, psychiatry, etc.
- Some even decide to move into management roles.
Salary
The salary can vary by location, employer type, specialization, experience, etc. According to BLS, the median salary is $118K.
Job Growth
- In 2021 about 235K NPs were employed in the US. This is expected to grow by another 94K by 2031; about 40% growth. This growth rate is much, much faster than other professions.
Summary
If you have a passion for the healthcare industry and for supporting suffering patients but want to avoid investing 11+ years to become a doctor, the nurse practitioner role could be a good fit. NPs perform similar duties and help patients heal from injuries or illnesses. The job does come with some stress, and some NPs work long hours on their feet, but the satisfaction from helping a patient may well be worth the time.
