So, what jobs can a nurse practitioner do?
Nurse practitioner careers are fast becoming one of the most popular nursing career choices. Nurse practitioners (NP) were originally meant to serve as “physician extenders”, meaning they worked toward improving children’s health. Today, the role of an NP has become much more broad, allowing for a lot of careers and job opportunities to those who’ve gone through schooling to become a nurse practitioner.
In this article, you will learn what types of jobs a nurse practitioner can get, and what those careers entail.
Interesting Jobs You Can Get as Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioners play an important role in the healthcare system. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) are autonomous and licensed clinicians whose roles involve managing people’s diseases and health conditions. The role is dynamics are NPs are specialized by the patient’s population.
The role has been steadily evolving ever since it was created in 1965. Those who intend to practice are expected to have professional qualifications. Americans make trips to NPs about 900 million times in a year. The Bureau Labor of Statistics predicts that openings for nurse practitioners is expected to grow by 35% between 2014 and 2024.
What Does a Nurse Practitioner do?
The responsibility will in most cases depend on the area of specialization and the state on is practicing. NPs primarily provide acute and specialized healthcare to different types of people. Since they are highly trained, NPs can diagnosis ailments, provide treatment and provide health care education to the patients depending on their ailments. A good NP should strive for continuous education and keeping abreast with the technological advancements in the field.
NPs also have prescriptive privileges in all the States. The scope of work will depend on the specialization and also the state that they’re working. There are states that reduce the practice areas of the NP while some give them more privilege.
Nurse Practitioners Specialization
The most common NPs specialization has to be the family NP. According to AANP, family nurse practitioners constituted 51.1% of all the amp jobs. There are some that specialize in emergency conditions. The second most popular kind of NPs are the ones that focus on the aging populations.
Nurse Practitioner Certification
According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 98.7% of NPs have graduate degrees while 99.3% are nationally certified. The doctor of nursing practice is the most recommended degree to pursue a career in the field. Nursing is among the very few fields in healthcare that doesn’t require a doctorate in order to practice.
There are several options to explore if you want a career as an NP. You can start by pursuing a bachelor of science degree in nursing. The two main programs are Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Practitioner Jobs That You Could Get
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Pediatric Nurse
Can nurse practitioners deliver babies? There has been a never-ending debate on the topic but there is no straight forward answer to the question. A family nurse practitioner will work the parents and children throughout their lives. The whole experience of spending time with kids can be very fulfilling.
Becoming One
In order to be a pediatric nurse, you must at least have a Master of Science in Nursing degree.
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Midwifery
The work of a midwife is not only limited to the birth of the child. They also provide the coordination before, during, and after the child is born. This is always the best option especially if the midwife has been in the family for a while. The Master of Science in Nursing Midwifery can after so many years of practice as a family nurse practitioner. If you’re still asking the question “Can nurse practitioners deliver babies” when most deliveries are done by midwives.
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Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
It is easy to form bonds in your day-to-day duties as you get to interact with different people. A family might find themselves in a situation where they need the services of a neonatal nurse if the child is born prematurely. The work of a neonatal nurse is to provide intensive care for prematurely born infants.
Becoming a Nurse Practitioner
You will need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing before you can qualify for this job. You also need experience working with babies. The demand for the job is expected to increase by 17% by the year 2022.
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Oncology Nurse Practitioner
Chances are high you will be exposed to patients that have been diagnosed with cancer. As an oncologist, your primary role will be providing care for people suffering from cancer. You may have to work with them one on one in the hospital or at their homes.
How to Become One
An oncologist qualification will mainly be anchored on the experience. With experience, it will be easier to earn the oncology nurse certificate. It is expected that there will be 20% more jobs opening for the position in 2020.
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Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
This nurse works mostly with the elderly. It can be in a hospital or a home. It won’t be a surprise if you have worked in a similar role before. Most practitioners jobs are versatile and you can’t really be choosy when you’re just starting out. For this specialization, you will require an MSN degree. You will also need a board certification for gerontological practice. This is one of those amp jobs that is expected to grow 23 % by 2022.
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Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Although a family NP may offer counseling to patients, he or she may not have the right specialization. A psychiatric nurse has a higher level of expertise since that is the area of specialization. They can help patients deal with addiction, mental health, and anxiety.
You will need an MSN degree before you can think about specialization. You will also require board certification for psychiatric nursing which is issued by the American Nurses Credentialing Center of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
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Education Consultant
NPs can sometimes be hired privately by institutions and universities to support the teaching staff. NPs can offer expert advice on issues patterning to nursing and healthcare. Experts hired by institutions can conduct department-wide assessments and provide recommendations.
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Telemedicine
There are so many ways NPs can be involved on consultancy level. Telemedicine is all about using technology to collect and disseminate medical information. This technology is autonomous and you need someone to bring it all together for it to be meaningful. Such practitioner jobs provide flexible working hours and you get to work from home.
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Chronic Pain Nurse Practitioner
This is an area that is considered to be very important in the healthcare field. This is because of the fact that it can significantly improve the quality of life of a patient. Some people may argue such roles should be carried out by a family NPs. You will also need an MSN degree to qualify.
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Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner
“Aesthetic nurses salary” is one of the most popular searches related to nursing on the major search engines. This is because the role is lucrative when it comes remuneration. Cosmetic nurses assist in clinical procedures. They usually work in the supervision of doctors. They can also carry out some light procedures.
Aesthetic nurse practitioners may see patients independently without the involvement of a doctor. Treating patients will be under the supervision of a doctor. It is not hard to estimate aesthetic nurses salary given how expensive plastic surgery can be.
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Travel Nurse Practitioner
Some people don’t like to be tied to a single location when they’re working. The work of a traveling NPs comes with a lot of flexibility. There are those people who are afraid of searching for traveling nurse practitioner jobs because there is a notion that they are not permanent jobs. On the contrary, there are jobs that are actually permanent. There is also the possibility of making more money than you would in a traditional setting. There is also less competition when it comes to traveling nurse practitioner jobs.
Top 10 Things you can do with a Nurse Practitioner Degree:
Aside from the nurse practitioner jobs we’ve listed above, here are some of the other awesome careers a nurse practitioner can do:
- Learning Disabilities Nurse
- Prison Nurse
- District Nurse
- Pharmaceutical Nurse
- Public Health Nurse
- Plasma or Blood Bank Nurse
- Hospice Nurse
- Surgery Nurse
- Rehabilitation Center Nurse
- Rural Nurse
To Sum it Up
You can never go wrong with a nurse practitioner job. There so many areas of specialization to choose from and jobs are not that hard to come by.
