NP making six figures?

ruby360 · Jan 27, 2004

This is why I'm so depressed. I feel like I wasted so much money and time going to school. I decided in 1995 to become a Midwife or an FNP. So, I changed my major to nursing, took the two years worth of mandatory prerequisites, and competed with over 200 other applicants for one of the 40 spots in the BSN program at my school. I got into the three-year program and graduated in 2000, planning to get a year or two of experience before going on to graduate school. Those first two years were rather rough but I always thought it was because I was new grad and after the first year I started working as a traveler so I thought it was that. However, I was still excited and challenged by nursing. Only now, do I realize that the truth is I absolutely hate being an RN. It is grueling and I am completely bored with it. Now, I am half way through my masters and I have been in the same RN position for a little over a year. I'm only working 24 hours a week but this is difficult when going to grad school full time. I got my BSN in the first place to become a CNM or NP that's been my goal for almost 10 years now. However, I look back now and feel like a wasted the best years of my life and feel very sad. I am only a year and a half from reaching my goal now but I feel like there is so much over saturation that I will never get a job as an NP. After I graduate there is no way I can continue to work as an RN but if I can't get a job as an NP then I have no option other than leaving the profession altogether. However, because I chose this route, between undergrad and graduate school I am more than $100,000 in debt and I am not qualified to do anything else. Nevertheless, I really don't feel I can continue as an RN much longer. I dread going to work, constantly fight back tears when I'm there, and cry every day when I get home. I just always thought that getting an education and finding a career that I loved would make my life better. Instead, I feel hopeless and trapped and I see a very bleak future in which my husband and I will never be able to afford a house or have children. I love the NP role at least what I know of it from my classes and clinical but, I am also worried that even if I do get a job the pay will be so low, the malpractice insurance so high, and the added responsibility so intense that it is hardly worth it. I just want to quit my job and school both but that will leave me still over 100K in debt and probably evicted from my apartment. I just don't know what to do anymore. I am so sad. :confused:

zenman · Jan 27, 2004

Slap therapy: Do what you love damn it! :cool:

FNP grrl · Jan 28, 2004

ruby-

sheesh! you sound stretched way too thin, girl!

what type of RN jobs have you had that you hate so much? nursing is so diverse--i hated med-surg & would have quit nursing if that's where i had to work (no offense MS nurses- just my hang-up)- but i fell in love w/ the ED--it just felt like i belonged there. maybe you haven't yet found the right RN niche for youself. you mentioned boredom- well, i can say a lot of things about the ER but i could NEVER call it boring.

i wonder how serious your depression is. if it's not being treated, do you think you might need to consider looking at that? serious depression will put a hugely negative spin on EVERYTHING in your life. it sounds like one negative thought is triggering another & another- when that is happening, it is so hard to step back & get a realistic perspective. i am not saying you shouldn't come here & vent- i think it's good that you are venting actually. but i am kinda worried about you. you sound TOO stressed out.

what kind of setting do you see yourself working in as an NP? do you have an idea of your 'dream job'? if you really want to do this, you can probably get your dream job- including the pay you want & need- if you are willing to relocate. what is more important to you? you'll have to prioritize.

the other thing is that NPs do sometimes get jobs by networking. that's how i got mine- networking and pursuing what i wanted very assertively. no, it's really not like opening the classifieds & seeing dozens of RN jobs...sometimes you have to sell yourself as an NP.

i am concerned about your deep antipathy toward nursing, though- because often RN jobs can be a link to NP jobs down the road. if you hate & are so bored by being a nurse, i am wondering if you are missing opportunities to make job connections for later on. you just never know who you'll run into/work with/learn from as an RN. those encounters can turn into NP job leads, believe me. does your current job as an RN relate in any way to the NP setting you are interested in? i think that helps too.

anyhow, good luck. and maybe get your husband to give you a massage, ok?

smk1, LPN · Jan 28, 2004

for ruby if actual hands on nursing is not for you anymore maybe you could be a teacher? there is a serious shotage of nursing instructors and if you are working towards an msn already maybe this is something for you to think about. also maybe school nursing or workers comp claims try to get creative with your degree/education and skills. please also make time to talk to your md or np about your feelings. crying before, after and at work while also being stressed about school and the future sounds like a recipe for disaster. maybe there is something they can do to help. good luck:kiss

homeylu2004 · Jan 28, 2004

I agree, there is a serious shortage of nursing instructors and this will put your msn to use. Don't give up if you've already started, your debt is not going to disappear. You should also consider the military reserve- you'll become an officer with no basic training required, and for just one weekend a month, I hear that they are repaying student loans up to $50,000 for just 3 years commitment. As others have said, you HAVE to be willing to relocate to a market that is not so saturated, don't give up on the profession altogether, your skills are in demand. When I first started nursing, I hated it to, I was always verbally abused by the doctors and dumped on by administrators for being the new kid on the block. I felt that I was blamed for everything that went wrong. So I left the hospital, I worked in, NOT the profession. I love my job now. So there is hope..don't throw in the towel yet.

globalRN · Jan 31, 2004

Take care of yourself first....you do sound depressed.

I think earlier posters are correct in suggesting that you speak with your PCP about this.

Staying in a job you hate is extremely stressful.

Nursing is very diverse and there is a niche for almost all of us.

NP markets are saturated but there seems to be a demand for specialty areas: cardiac, neonatal etc.

I once thought of leaving nursing( I was in acute medical nursing)

because I found shiftwork increasingly difficult, the heavy lifting

exhausting and I will be honest....I do not like changing diapers and giving bedbaths. So I found a job where none of these negatives exist....and loved nursing.

Outline what you love about nursing and what you don't.

Find a job that would satisfy your requirements

If you are living in an apartment(I gather you are renting)

you may find it easier to relocate to where the jobs are.

Once you have 2-3 years of experience under your belt, you will have more options. Yes, most places do look for people with experience and/or a track record of staying in a job for 2-3 years.

For my first NP job, I relocated because quality work experience on your CV is very important in helping you to find that 'dream job' either today or in the near future. Think of it as an investment. I am planning on staying for 2 years minimum in my present position, possibly more if I continue to have good learning experiences. The pay does not compensate for the added responsibility and unpaid overtime(am exempt ) but I look at this as an investment in my career.

I am a FNP but most positions wanted someone with experience.

My first job was willing to hire me because I have ample RN

experience in the specialty...I also love my specialty so that was a pretty easy decision to make after I decided that maybe FNP wasn't necessarily what I had to do. Regrets? No, because I

would have eventually gravitated back to my specialty as a NP.

It is a teaching hospital and the physicians I work with

are busy but willing to teach. Of course, one has

to take responsibility for self-learning since everyone everywhere

is working at max with minimum resouces and staff.

It can be done. I am doing it now

Please take care of your own mental health first.

Leslie MSN · Feb 5, 2004

Along these same lines - what do PA's make? In my experience, they make more than NPs, which fries my feathers.

Too, how about MSNs? In my opinion, NPs and MSNs should be in the same pay grade - both are advanced degreed/advanced practice nurses. They have parallel levels of education (Master's degrees), but simply have a different focus. In my area, NPs tend to receive higher pay grades than MSNs. Employer's tend to view MSNs "as just another RN!" Now we're down to frying my fat!!

Anyone have any thoughts or research to support my opinion? Or to counter it?

Thanks!

Leslie:angryfire

lalaxton · Feb 9, 2004

Hi Leslie,

I agree that MSN/CNS's should receive the same level of pay but life's not fair! I think NP's probably make more because they are able to bill directly and contribute to the organization's bottom line whereas CNS's cannot.

EastCoast · Feb 10, 2004

I think it depends on your responsibility. If an MSN is involved in the nursing department as an educator she is not carrying the level of responsibilty of one that practices as an advanced practice and is diagnosing and treating. I don't think it has to do with 'degree'. To me it comes down to what you do for a living. my 2 cents.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Feb 22, 2004

from advance for np's:

gliding higher - np salaries ascend at a steady pace

by jolynn tumolo and jill rollet

lately, news from the salary front seems to have gone from bad to worse-but not for nurse practitioners. the 2003 national salary survey of nurse practitioners shows that np salaries continued to rise over the past 2 years. the average salary in 2003 was $69,203 for full-time nurse practitioners, up 9.55% from the $63,172 average in 2001 (table1), according to our data. the average part-time wage rose less dramatically, but it did increase from $32.53 per hour in 2001 to $33.89 in 2003 (table 2).

http://www.advancefornp.com/common/editorial/editorial.aspx?cc=27756

bobcat62 · Apr 10, 2004

I know of 1 np who makes 120,000 a year he works for a busy cv surgeon. I know of another np who last year made 100,000 who also works for a busy cv surgeon. I have a friend who is a pa and makes around 95,000. These are all exeptions to the rule however and when you take the hours they work it doesnt come out to much more than a staff nurse with a few years of experience makes. These guys are putting in 60-70 hrs a week easy. Most np's around here are making 55,000 to 75,000 depending on who you work for and what kind of hours you are willing to work.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Apr 14, 2004

I live in Louisiana, and NPs make an avg of 70,000. The higher paid ones, around 100,000, work with CV surgeons or cardiologists and work hard! They make rounds on pts in the hospital, write orders, discharge, etc. They also take lots of call. I work night shift in SICU, when I need to call the MD for a problem, I am always connected to the NP, she will give me orders. The only time I get to talk to the surgeon is if he needs to bring the pt back to OR. The NPs in these position had been ICU nurses for a long time prior to becoming an NP. The MDs they work for already new them and respected them, I think this is probably why he gives them the responsibility. Also, I used to dread calling the MD in the middle of the night, they were always so rude! Now when I have a problem with a pt, I get to call and speak to one of my friends that I worked with for yrs., I love it!
Nurses working in MD office, not taking call or rounding in the hospitals, make about 60,000 in Louisiana.
Hope this helps.

This is an aside to this, but still relevant. In my neck of the woods, the cardiac doctors and cardiovascular surgeons are using ADN-RN's to do the above (NOT NP's). They make rounds for the doctors on the floor, fill in the progress note (the doctor signs it once they complete it), write orders (as "VO"), and these "nurse clinicians" (as they are called) are the ones the nurses call for orders or any changes in the patients (NOT the doctors). Scary, huh? :uhoh21: