Career Paths: Advancing Your Nurse Practitioner Career
While nurse practitioners must earn at least a masters degree to practice, there are still more learning opportunities available that could lead to possible raises or promotions throughout your career.
NPs are often required to complete continuing education courses every few years to maintain their state licensure or renew their specialty certifications. By taking continuing education courses and staying up to date on the latest practices, you can gain new knowledge in your field and make yourself more desirable in the field.
If youre worried that your busy schedule wont allow time to take courses, dont worry. Many continuing education classes for nurses are offered online and sometimes only take a few hours to complete. You might also be able to earn continuing education credits at workshops, conferences, and seminars.
A word of caution: Before enrolling in an online continuing education class, check if its approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center , an accrediting body thats recognized by all state boards of nursing.
If you want to go beyond continuing education courses, earning your DNP can help boost your career . Earning your DNP can help you apply for higher- level roles and stand out among other candidates. You might be able to find DNP programs online, at local universities, or as a hybrid.
Salary By Nurse Practitioner Specialty
When a nurse practitioner specializes, they open up even more opportunities for their career and compensation. While each specialty will have different pay scales, many of them are in-demand areas of healthcare that can command lucrative salaries. The particular salary of a nurse practitioner who specializes depends on a number of factors, but the information below provides a broad overview of what can be expected.
How Do Nurse Practitioner Salaries Compare To Other Nurses
With a mean annual wage of $114,510, NPs earn significantly more money than registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists . The chart below compares RN, CNS, and APRN salaries, along with pay for nurse administrators, anesthetists, and midwives.
Physician assistants, also listed below, perform similar duties as NPs. These professionals follow a different educational path and credentialing process that requires more practical experience and clinical hours. Certification, education, and specialization areas also affect NP compensation.
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How Do You Become A Family Nurse Practitioner
You wont find an entry level job as a nurse practitioner starting at the range of salaries listed above. This represents one of the highest heights in the nursing profession, and youll need years of schooling to reach this level. Going from non-nurse to nurse practitioner represents a long journey, but can also open doors to all sorts of different opportunities.
Herzing University offers several online FNP programs, including an FNP program for BSN nurses and an accelerated RN to FNP program for ADN/ASN holders looking to reach the next level of education and advance their career. With Herzing, you can complete your MSN-FNP in as little as 20-24 months. Not including the clinical component, you can complete your nurse practitioner degree 100% online.
How Much Does A Nurse Practitioner Make
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average nurse practitioner earns $115,800 yearly Importantly, this figure is typically reflective of base pay, and does not include any benefits such as retirement contributions or overtime or weekend differentials, which can raise this number even higher.
The BLS also estimates that the demand for nurse practitioners is expected to grow by approximately 45 percent between 2019 and 2029, which is much faster than the demand for all other jobs. For comparison, consider that the demand growth for all jobs is estimated to be approximately four percent. This means that NPs will enjoy nearly 10 times the demand as the typical worker, which is an astounding fact.
There are a number of factors driving this increased demand. By far the largest factor is the fact that the U.S. population in general is aging, particularly among the Baby Boomer generation. This aging population will require more medical intervention and support to live meaningful, healthy lives.
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How Competitive Is The Job Market For Nps
Although theres a nursing shortage and nurse practitioners are in high demand, you may still need to compete with other qualified candidates to land the best job offersespecially if youre in a geographical area with a higher number of NPs. Depending on the organization, employers might prefer to hire candidates who already have a certain level of experience or specialize in a particular area or patient population. Having a higher degree can make an impact when youre shooting for certain roles, too.
Other ways to stand out can include joining a professional nursing organization, where you can meet other nurses and find potential mentors, or tapping into your schools alumni association. You can use your alumni association to identify promising opportunities within your schools professional network. It can also be helpful to use LinkedIn to stay connected with other professionals in your field.
Nurse Practitioner Salaries By Role
A nurse practitioners wage can also depend on their area of certification. The AANP Compensation Survey lists the annual base salary for a number of areas:
- Psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner: $125,000
- Neonatal nurse practitioner: $122,500
- Adult nurse practitioner: $107,000
- Womens health nurse practitioner: $105,000
As you can see from the survey data, nurse practitioners generally earn the most in specialized fields like psychiatry and neonatal care, while nurse practitioners in primary care roles like family health or womens health earn the least. However, keep in mind that these salaries are based on survey responses. Your salary can vary within your specialty depending on your experience, education, location, and other factors.
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What Kind Of Salary Growth Can I Expect
As you gain more experience as an NP, your salary could increase as well. According to the AANP survey, the nurse practitioner yearly salary tends to rise along with experience. While nurse practitioner respondents with between zero and five years of experience reported earning a median base salary of $104,000, those with six to 10 years of experience earned $110,000.
Salary levels stayed steady for NPs in their second decade of experience. Salaries for NPs with between 11 and 20 years of experience averaged $118,000, while the most experienced NPsthose with more than 20 yearsearned even more, reporting an average of $121,000.
Do Nps With A Dnp Make More
It depends. Since you can work as an NP with an MSN or a DNP, the starting paying is often the same. However, there might be opportunities available to you as a DNP that MSN-educated NPs dont have. Some markets are more competitive than others and some roles, such as executive and faculty positions, are starting to require the DNP. For example, if you want to be a chief nursing officer , odds are the hospital will require a DNP, or a DNP applicant will go to the top of the applicant stack, according to Hunt.
If you want to teach nursing, then the DNP or PhD is often required and always preferred, explains Hunt. Management positions and executive positions pay more, so the DNP can indirectly increase your wages that way. You can also negotiate a higher wage by proving the skills you learned in your DNP program are valuable to the company you are working for.
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What Can You Do As A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Psychiatric Liaison Nurse Salary In New Jersey
How much does a Psychiatric Liaison Nurse make in New Jersey? The salary range for a Psychiatric Liaison Nurse job is from $53,525 to $91,747 per year in New Jersey. Click on the filter to check out Psychiatric Liaison Nurse job salaries by hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, and yearly.
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HOW SHOULD YOU USE THIS DATA?
Employees: Use this as a guide for salary expectations, but be aware that responsibilities can change across companies for the same job title, so there may be differences between this data, other free site and our subscription products bought by employers.
Employers: This data could be used as reference point in your market pricing, but not the only source, due to differences across jobs locations, and sizes of companies.Consider additional sources like our Employer reported data.
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How Much Does A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner In Jersey City Nj Make
The average Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Jersey City, NJ makes $110,549, 5% above the national average Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner salary of $105,476. This pay is 7% lower than the combined average salaries of other metros Dallas, TX, Boston, MA and Chicago, IL.
Jersey City Average
Quality Of Life For Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
With a take-home pay of roughly $7,068/month, and the median 2BR apartment rental price of $2,506/mo** in Jersey City, NJ, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner would pay 35.46% of their monthly take-home salary towards rent. The average income spent on cost of living excluding rent within Jersey City per month for an individual is $1,250, and for a 4-person family $4,592***. This means for an individual, total cost of living is 53.14% of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Jersey City’s salary leaving $3,312 as discretionary income whereas for a family of 4, total cost of living is 100.44% of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Jersey City’s salary leaving $-31 as discretionary income. When considering cost of living, this places Jersey City, NJ as 2nd out of the 2 largest nearby metros in terms of quality of life for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners**.
** This rental cost was derived according to an online report at Apartment List*** Average cost of living was acquired from Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index
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Frequently Asked Questions About A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salaries
The average salary for a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner is $148,791 per year in New Jersey. Salaries estimates are based on 8 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner employees in New Jersey.
The highest salary for a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in New Jersey is $156,842 per year.
The lowest salary for a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in New Jersey is $134,887 per year.
Two What Do Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners Do
Psychiatric NPs take care of patients suffering from a variety of mental illnesses and disorders. Their duties will vary based on where they work, but they often include:
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What Are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities For Psych Nurse Practitioner Jobs In New Jersey
Weve identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Psych Nurse Practitioner job is above the average in New Jersey. Topping the list is Paterson, with Jersey City and Trenton close behind in second and third. Trenton beats the New Jersey average by 10.7%, and Paterson furthers that trend with another $27,485 above the $126,223.
Significantly, Paterson has a very active Psych Nurse Practitioner job market as there are several companies currently hiring for this type of role.
With these 10 cities paying on average above the average for New Jersey, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Psych Nurse Practitioner appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 17% between Paterson and Camden, reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Psych Nurse Practitioner role.
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Advanced Practice Nurse Salary
Advanced practice nurses, or advanced practice registered nurses, have finished advanced clinical and educational certifications. Theyre nurses whove chosen to further their education, specialize in a specific area, and obtain additional certification credentials. Research online master of nursing degrees.
Here are three types of nurses who fall in this category, according to the BLS:
Certified nurse practitioner: Cares for patients of all ages, diagnosing and treating illnesses, and focusing on wellness and overall changes that promote better health outcomes. NPs can specialize in areas such as family nurse practitioner.
Certified nurse-midwife: Cares for pregnant women and their families, assisting with prenatal care, labor and delivery to helping new mothers in the postpartum phase adjust to life with a newborn.
Certified nurse anesthetist: Administers anesthesia before and after surgery.
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How Long Does It Take To Become A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
The Role Of A Psych Np
As nurse practitioners, psych NPs help meet medical demands by providing an additional option for health care, especially in rural areas and other locations that face physician shortages. NPs can offer many of the same services as physicians at a lower cost, including prescribing medication.
Nurse practitioners who specialize in psychiatric-mental health, or psych NPs, are also called PMHNPs. They assess, diagnose and treat patients mental health needs, working with individuals, families, groups and the community.
Psych NPs and other nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses . Anyone interested in becoming an APRN must have a registered nursing license and then earn at least a masters degree in nursing . While most who want to become APRNs pursue masters degrees, they also can earn doctoral degrees, such as a Doctor of Nursing Practice .
Psych NPs typically must also have certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center . Earning the status of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified requires passing an exam that evaluates entry-level clinical knowledge and skills. Additionally, certification must be renewed every five years.
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Comparing Apn And Staff Nurse Salaries In New Jersey
MSN-educated APN specialists in New Jersey earned substantially higher wages than staff nurses who typically have BSNs or ADNs. This is apparent from a 2014 wage survey by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development:
Annual Salaries:
Additional evidence for the difference between the wages of nurses with MSNs in all areas of clinical and nonclinical practice, versus those with BSN degrees comes from a salary survey conducted by the Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses. The results indicated that MSN-educated nurses in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic and lower great lakes region earned an average of $12,293 more than those with BSNs:
- MSN $81,546
- BSN $69,253
Psych Np Salary By Industry And Location
As with all nurse practitioners, psych NPs salaries vary by experience, work environment and location. PayScale reports that psych NPs with less than a year of experience earned around $102,000 annually on average, and that salary increased to more than $115,00 after 20 or more years of experience.
Following are the top-paying industries for NPs regardless of specialty as of May 2019, according to the BLS.
- Community food, housing, emergency and other relief services $139,140
- Residential facilities $123,900
- Grant-making and giving services organizations $123,760
- Religious organizations $118,530
The highest-paying states for NPs were:
- California $138,660
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Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Salary
With a specialization as an acute care nurse practitioner, you could earn well over $100,000 annually. Employers in the northeast portion of the United States, such as those located in New York and Pennsylvania, tend to pay higher-than-average salaries for those who hold an acute care nurse practitioner specialization. The southern states, notably Georgia and Tennessee, pay salaries that are below the national average.
The table below represents current median Acute Care Nurse Practitioner salaries according to three popular salary reporting websites:
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Get Your Graduate Degree
To work toward APN certification in New Jersey, you must successfully complete a masters-level program designed to educate and prepare either nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists. The school you attend must be accredited by an institutional, programmatic, or specialized nursing accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.
If you are an advanced practice nurse specializing in anesthesia, you may be exempt from the masters degree requirement as long as you can show evidence of the successful completion of a Board-approved advanced practice nursing program for certified registered nurse anesthetists.
You must be able to show evidence that you completed your education no more than two years prior to submitting your application for APN certification to the Board.
Prescriptive Authority
Your education program must include at least 39 hours in pharmacology, as well as 6 contact hours in pharmacology related to controlled dangerous substances, including pharmacologic therapy and addiction prevention and management overseen by:
- An organization that has been approved by a certifying agency accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies
- A college or university licensed by either the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education of another out-of-state agency with similar requirements
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