The Differences Between A Registered Nurse And A Nurse Practitioner

Are you interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare industry that specializes in patient care? You may choose to become a nurse or nurse practitioner, as both careers are integral parts of the healthcare industry. At first glance, you may not think that there is a significant difference between these two fields. However, the differences are significant between the two in terms of duties, educational requirements and salary. Let’s take a closer look at how these two career paths diverge.

A registered nurse can expect to aid patients by preparing a plan of action, administer treatments, record patient observations for doctors’ evaluations and educate patients. Prospective nurses have a few different paths available to them to reach their ultimate goal. If you are interested in becoming a nurse, you can pursue an associate’s degree in nursing. Upon graduation, you can secure an entry-level position as a nurse. You may instead choose to earn Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), which last four years. A BSN will expose you to both nursing classes as well as general educational and humanities courses. Graduates of both pathways can take the required National Council Licensure Exam. The average salary for a nurse is roughly $66,000 in the United States. Geography, training and experience do play a significant role in determining salaries for nurses.

Unlike registered nurses, nurse practitioners have the capacity to prescribe medicine. Nurse practitioners have more abilities and flexibility than nurses in they can perform diagnostic tests and X-rays, treat conditions like diabetes and infections and provide significant counseling to patients. If you aspire to become a nurse practitioner, the educational requirements are much stricter and tighter. You must complete a master’s degree in nursing and it is recommended that you complete a BSN prior to that. A bachelor’s degree is required to complete a master’s degree in nursing. Becoming a nurse practitioner requires more education than becoming a registered nurse does and the resulting salary number reflects the benefit of this. The average salary for a nurse practitioner is roughly $78,000.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare industry that specializes in patient care and you are willing to complete advanced education, you may want to become a nurse practitioner. In comparison to registered nurses, nurse practitioners have more abilities and can expect a much higher salary.

Clinical Nurse Practitioner Salary and Career Outlook

Are you interested in pursuing a robust career in an advanced medical field that boasts incredibly strong job prospects and earning potential? Do you enjoy helping others and creating a positive difference in their lives?

You may want to consider becoming a clinical nurse practitioner. Clinical nurse practitioners specialize in a variety of areas, most commonly including acute care, cardiovascular or neonatal areas.

Clinical nurse practitioners may also specialize in women’s health, school health, occupational health or geriatrics. In order to become a nurse practitioner, you must be prepare to successfully complete extensive education and training to earn your master’s degree and then go on to take a State exam to receive certification.

Let’s take a detailed look at the salary and career outlook expectations for clinical nurse practitioners.

As is the case with most other jobs in the health care industry, salaries for clinical nurse practitioners depend largely on geography and specialty of the practitioner. Let’s consider the salary figures for the three most common specialties: Acute care, cardiovascular and neonatal areas. Newly minted acute care nurse practitioners can expect to make roughly between $78,000 and $$85,000. If the candidate has substantial experience in the nursing field, he or she can start out with a $90,000 salary as an acute care nurse practitioner.

As you gain experience and prove yourself in the field, you salary can increase well over $100,000 as a clinical nurse practitioner. A cardiovascular nurse practitioner can expect to make between $65,000 and $75,000 starting out in the field. As is the case with acute nurse practitioners, cardiovascular nurse practitioners can increase their earning power as they develop experience.

The average salary for neonatal nurse practitioners is $91,000. As you can see, the statistics clearly show that clinical nurse practitioners can command very high starting salaries that will only increase as the candidate gains experience on-the-job.

As the aging members of the baby boom generation will require greater medical care in specialized areas, career outlook is expected to be very strong for clinical nurse practitioners.

If you are interested in pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner, feel confident knowing that salary and career outlook is currently strong and expected to only get better over the coming years.