Best states for practice

[DrCOVID, DNP]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for a little guidance as far as where I should go for NP school. I know the economy is dynamic, and job demand/supply will change, but one thing I'm really considering is having my own practice eventually and it doesn't make sense to stay in a red state. I can essentially go anywhere for school, as I have the post 911 GI bill. I really don't want to get the DNP though I see many schools are making the NP tracks DNP only.

I'm currently in Texas and we are a red state. Most of the states which I wanted to go and have family are red. Seems to me I should move to a state before I start a program so that I'll be licensed somewhere where NP practice is more autonomous. As far as I can see there are no compact states for APRNs. How hard is it to get multiple licenses?

One thing I haven't really seen discussed here is if the degree of autonomy affects how much you can make. It seems obvious it would, seeing as some states require you to be under supervision of more staff than others.

Also, are the certification exams different for each NP program? I came across a NP certification book (no specialization) - that's what sparked this question. I thought they would be different.

[mcleanstrong]

Hey Adam,

I just finished an online FNP program. I live in Michigan and my school was based out of Colorado. All of my course work, lectures, case studies, discussions, tests, etc. were online and my clinical hours were to be arranged (by me) in the community in which I live. You might look into something like that because then you don't have to decide which state you want to live in (and practice in) before you start school. There are different certification exams for the different NP tracks. Here's the link to the ANCC website that lists each of the NP tracks you can take.

ANCC Certification Center

Michigan is a red state as well. I have a friend in Colorado, new NP grad, who is practicing independently. His salary is comparable to the NP salaries here, but he's in a really underserved community so I'm not sure how well that translates. Feel free to message me with any questions!

Kate