Most *Popular/Highest Paid* NP Specialty??

[CDianeH88]

Okay, I'm currently a Nursing major at my local community college and I plan on becoming a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) I do tons of reseach on WHNP and this specialty seems very unpopular and almost unexisting in the New Jersey area. Someone please educate me on which NP specialty I should look for, that pays well and finding a job won't be a headache. Thanks a bunch!

CDianeH88

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Hello, CDianeH88 and welcome to allnurses.com

The WHNP is a very very narrow career choice. Many (I included) decide to secure another specialty area. I am OB/GYN NP and FNP. The latter has served me well.

You need to do research in your area (if this is where you want to stay) and see what the market bears. The FNP has the whole range of ages birth through death. You will need to determine after you have your RN and gained some experience just what interests you. Then decide which specialty you might consider.

Good luck.

[KimHFNP]

I also preferred Women's Health, and ended up becoming an FNP instead. You can still get a job in Women's health as an FNP (I just got one), you don't even have to have the dual major. You get a women's health component in your FNP program. Another thing that you might consider, is that there are some FNP programs that are a combined FNP/midwife programs, which are kind of neat, because then you can really do ANYTHING, even deliver babies. From what I know of these programs, they are usually at universities that serve or are near rural areas because the idea is that the NP might be out in the wilderness somewhere and they (the NP) are the only game in town as far as healthcare goes. I think the Frontier Nursing School at the University of Kentucky has a program like this. I know about it bc I am from TN and it is close. I am sure that there are other similar programs closer to your home state of NJ.

Also, where are you looking for women's health jobs? There are a couple of places to look for jobs nationally to see where there is a need for WHNPs. One is www.npjobs.com. Another is the national health service- http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov. It might give you an idea what cities are using WHNPs. Maybe when the time comes you might be willing to relocate. Hope this helps!