Is there a glut of NPs in NJ & NYC?

[seaside81]

Hi guys. I've read elsewhere in the forums that there is an oversupply of nurse practitioners in certain areas of the country, but I haven't found anything specifically about northern and central Jersey or NYC. Reading about NPs working as RNs because they can't find work as NPs definitely makes it seem like a waste to get the masters.

I think i'd probably want to work in primary care or perhaps women's health. Do NPs have difficulty finding jobs in these practice areas in NYC and its metro area?

Thanks!!

[83studentnurse]

I'm not an NP -- someday, hopefully! -- but I've read a lot about the shortage of primary care MDs, which is supposed to get significantly worse over the next decade. Med school costs so much that graduates are increasingly specializing in areas like neurology (average salary over $650,000/year) instead of internal medicine (average salary something like $150,000/year) in order to pay off their loans. The shortage is projected to get so bad, the Obama administration is starting to float ideas for luring doctors back in primary healthcare. The lack of PCPs is no doubt bad for health maintenance, but good for you because NPs and PAs are stepping increasingly into the PCP role. The fewer MDs there are to provide primary care, the more in demand adult or family NPs will be.

So, while I'm not sure about the current job market for NPs in this area, I do think that it's a job that will be quite in demand over the next few decades.