Earning potential

[JUSTanLPN]

I was shadowing a CRNA the other day an he asked me why did I want to become one when ACNP's can make just as much. I told him anesthesia interests me a lot and all the reasons that come with being CRNA. However, his statement surprised me because I had no idea NP's could make $175k. He said he knew plenty making 200k with enough OT and call. Most worked ED's where they could perform a lot procedures am bill for them he said.

I was wondering how valid his statements were regarding earning potential for NP's. is it common if enough time is invested each week?

I'm in the Memphis area to give you an idea of region

[apocatastasis]

Just an FYI for new grads and prospective students reading this thread. People reporting 200-500k salaries as nps are outliers. Most mds do not make that much. I'm not saying its impossible if you're savvy enough and money is a very high priority for you. But it's very far from the norm. I'm in NYC and new grads are being offered 80-90. I know people with 20 years experience making around $120. This is not the career path for someone who just wants to make it rich.

Most MDs don't make that much? Maybe not in primary care, but otherwise this is definitely not true! My community mental health center in Austin, with a low cost of living, STARTS brand new NPs at 120k a year.

[apocatastasis]

And, I for one, am pushing for equal pay for equal work.

[myelin]

Hey apocatastasis, I tried to send you a private message but your inbox is full. Do you have any advice for future psych NPs? What regions of the area are promising?

[NPAlby]

The southwest is good for PsychNP's. I moved to Az solely for that reason. Well that and I was tired of snow and gray skies.

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

Most MDs don't make that much? Maybe not in primary care, but otherwise this is definitely not true! My community mental health center in Austin, with a low cost of living, STARTS brand new NPs at 120k a year.

I did not say $120, I said $200-500k, which some NP's say they're making. While this may be true for some, they are outliers. And many MD's are not making over $200k. It's the reality.

[apocatastasis]

Yeah, I saw that, sorry, I finally cleared out my inbox! Is there anything in particular you want to know?

I have licenses in Washington State and Texas. Had no trouble getting a job in either state. There is high demand for psych NPs nationwide from what I can tell, especially if you want to do child/adolescent (I get ten million e-mails per day from recruiters... never give them your real e-mail address!).

[apocatastasis]

This is true generally. HOWEVER, in urban areas, in specialties, I do not believe this is the case.

[TraumaRN21]

apocatastasis, I am a RN with five years experience in detox/substance abuse, Neuro/Trauma ICU and child/ adolescent psych. I'm considering becoming a psych NP. What is a normal work day for you. Is your job primarily medication management or is 50/50 with counseling. Do you do acute admissions such as Baker Act patients or is your case load primarily stable long term patients? Who makes more money a medical NP or psych NP. Just trying to decide what is next.

[apocatastasis]

I work primarily outpatient in community psychiatry, though I have also worked at a crisis facility and do some inpatient rounding PRN. There are a number of specialties in psych which are quite different from the kind of work I do (e.g. substance abuse, working with TBI or HIV patients, crisis work, mobile outreach or ACT teams, eating disorders, liaison work in hospitals [which is very interesting if inpatient and medical comorbidities are your thing]). Psych has much broader applications than most people realize, though you must always be mindful of your scope of practice.

I currently work 8-5, M-F. I'm on call 4 days out of every 3 months unless I want to pick up more, and I am compensated well for it ($300 a night for F/Sat/Sun call and $125 a night for weekday).

I do not do any counseling, but I DO do psychoeducation, try to throw in some basics of CBT, talk about engaging with group therapy, etc. Unfortunately, employer does not want me doing therapy, as that can be farmed out to the LPCs and LCSWs. I have a caseload of over 1,000 patients and have only 20 minute appointments, so I feel like a conveyer belt towards a prescription pad at times. However, you can still make a big difference even given 20 minutes... meds aren't miracles for most people, but I've seen some amazing changes which make the work seem very much worth it.

As far as what I see patient-wise, it depends. I've worked at a few different facilities; at my current position, I have mostly stable patients... however, I am occasionally floated to cover for other prescribers, and the NPs who work at our crisis facility and on mobile crisis team frequently have medically and psychiatrically ill patients. When I was in Seattle, I worked with forensic and supportive housing clients who were about as medically and psychiatrically ill as they come. All this business about NPs don't take sick patients, the MDs take those-- very much NOT true in psych. If anything, I had patients who were quite a bit more ill than what most of the MD colleagues had.

As for the money, a lot of it is how shrewd a businessperson you are. I can't speak for other specialties, but I personally would not take a job as a psych NP in a major market for less than $90k a year. You have to negotiate with employers and insurance companies. A lot of nurses and NPs are not good at this, which is probably part of the reason our wages are generally lower than they should be.

[HumptyDumpty]

I was hired as a new grad to an urgent care with a base of $95k and production bonus. Most of the midlevels at this practice easily clear $130k+ a year. The topper is we only work 12 days a month. If you want it, you can get it.

[Sachy]

I was hired as a new grad to an urgent care with a base of $95k and production bonus. Most of the midlevels at this practice easily clear $130k+ a year. The topper is we only work 12 days a month. If you want it, you can get it.

Hi Humpty .. Are you Medical or Psych NP? Do you have to work any nights?

Thanks