Members are discussing negotiating salaries as new Nurse Practitioners, the importance of building relationships with physicians, the value of sharing salary information for negotiation, the impact of pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree on earning potential, and the reputation of certain online schools for nurse practitioner programs. Additionally, members are seeking advice on transitioning to a career as an NP, the differences between working in a community clinic versus a hospital, and the potential for career advancement in the field.
My reasons why I question going for a Nurse Practitioner license.
Working with some seasoned nurses in the ER over the last couple of years, they make more than starting NP's do.
Two doctors and a nurse who did recruit and hiring for a couple of years all stated that it was not worth it.
If I don't jump on the bandwagon right away...the rumors of the dreaded 2015 DNP may come true
The Drawbacks:
Increased liability without enough pay
Overworked and underpaid for their work. In our ER, the PA's do most of the work while the physicians kick back
PA's are preferred in hospital settings (which is my major interest...though I'm sure an office setting will be great later in life)
Again...financial. They did not agree that 2.5 years of schooling was worth a mediocre increase in salary (even long term). They collectively felt that working a 4th 12hr shift each week was better than spending another 2.5 years an lots of money for an NP degree.
The Positives:
Increased autonomy
I can do a full time NP program and still work
There are 2 great NP programs near me (TWU and UTA)
I believe I can get in without to much hassle
In state tuition is affordable
Self satisfaction
I understand that financial compensation is not all there is to a job though it is a necessity. Increased autonomy is very important to me and the main reason I would like an advanced practice degree. Med school would be great, but being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and taking 4 years off is not appealing to me.
So to the current NP's...
Would you NOT get your degree if you had to do it again?
Was it worth it more than just personal satisfaction?
I am a late bloomer. I went back to school when I was 40, getting a BSN in 2013. I have always wanted to be an NP, but thought I would be too old to go back plus don't want the debt. It keeps coming back around. I finally decided I think I will go for it. I am 46 years old, will probably be 50 or so by the time I finish, but hope it's worth it.
I guess I want to know, do you think it will be worth it? I know I can do it, but just need to be prepared for the work.
Also, how hard is NP program compared to Nursing School? Is the old saying "three hours of outside time for each credit" accurate?
I'm thinking about pursuing an NP education. Right now, I'm working on RN to BSN. What is the best way to NP? I've worked as a floor nurse for a few months. Can someone give me some advice?
I'm thinking about pursuing an NP education. Right now, I'm working on RN to BSN. What is the best way to NP? I've worked as a floor nurse for a few months. Can someone give me some advice?
Not quite sure what you mean about "best way to NP"? There is only one way: matriculation at a graduate school in an accredited NP program in the speciality of your choosing.
That is a legitimate reason. A few of my ICU NP colleagues suffer from back pain and have spent a lot of time and money on Physical Therapy, acupuncture, etc. from working as an ICU nurse prior to becoming an NP...and these are young individuals (ages are between early 30's to early 40's). Many of them are thankful that we don't have to do bedside care of patients in our role as NP's.
I was at a conference and there was a speaker that is a nurse. He was supporting getting lifts on every bed because a nurse lifts about 1,000LBS in one shift!!!!!!!!!!! (I can see with moving beds, transferring patients, turning patients). He hurt his back on the job and now is unable to practice bedside nursing so he went back to business school and works in the medical equipment business.... (great speaker!!! Eye opening)
Wow so many different salaries and opinions about the field... Currently I am a nursing student just starting out, and my ultimate goal is to be a nurse practitioner and I am confused on what is the difference in pay and difference in education, ARNP, FNP, NP, DNP,
Also I read on here too that people are making 100-150k how is that possible??? Will a practice pay that much? Currently I work for a Rheumatolgoist (Which I love) and I work directly with the Doctor and I love listening to him diagnose patients and helping him ready up injections which is why I want to be a NP one day to do stuff like this, but in the end it is all about money ill be the main bread maker between me and my fiance, so money is a factor because I want to be able to provide for her and my future child/children, so what is the total story? I am currently in Florida, I would love to learn how to make more than 100k a year with being a NP.
NP's make that much because they generate more than that. For example, in a given day I see between 15-20 patients in my primary care office where I work with a physician and another NP. I learned a lot in school about insurance/medicare/medicaid reimbursement, and know what each visit pays (plus our office manager gives us monthly reports on what we generate). Say I see the minimum 15 patients in a day, and plus copay, each patient I see reimburses me $80 (I know it's more but I'm being conservative). At that amount in a single day, I generate $1200 for my practice. In a 5 day work week, that's $6000 of revenue, and in a year that's over $300k. (remember these are conservative estimates and I know exactly what I generate).
This doesn't include the money I generate rounding on 20+ patients at an ortho rehab facility for a couple hours in the evening, where the reimbursement isn't as much, but still scratches close to $1000 a day in revenue. This year for my practice I will generate more than $500k for our practice, and with my profit sharing bonus added to my base pay will likely come in at over $130k in salary. Not bad for me, and not bad for my boss that still will see over $370K gross from my work. If an NP is smart and savvy, and knows how much money they are bringing into a practice, they should and can command the salaries people here are talking about. It's important to know how much money you potentially bring to the table as a provider so when it comes time to talk turkey, you're not left with an $80k a year offer when you're generating 4 or 5 times that much for your practice.
Hm but negotiating is hard isn't it? I would have to basically push Doctor a little bit and if some new grad gets an interview and just says "yes" to everything and accepts 80k (which I am assuming most of them would) this would diminish my earning potentials and being hired. Do NPs do this? Or they start at 80-90k then realize they are making the practice a good amount of money with no complaints, then negotiate?
pinaynurs
4 Posts
Hi! Can you elaborate on what you mean by dnp is another story