I was going to go into physical therapy then decided to go for a physicians assistant masters and decided nursing and becoming a NP was a safer route. I've been reading all I can and I honestly havent gotten many clear answers. First off realistically what is a nurse practitioner going to make, can anyone give me some examples not from a salary website? According to them a NP gets paid more but the average salary for a rn is like 45k and I know of a few people as an RN that make 35 an hour and I have read some forums people making 50. Of course this isnt the standard however there is obviously some great fluxuation in salaries. Salary isnt my only driving force however I dont want to go from being able to well over 100k with over time to 80k by getting 4 more years of schooling.
I tried looking at job listings but few offer a salary, so what can I expect to make 5-10 years down the road as a adult NP? Also what kinda of grades does it take to get in to a well known school. I assumed I would get my NP from university of pittsburgh. Again I have seen generic answers like you much have a 3.0 yadda yadda. Thats how Physical therapy was and people got turned down with a 3.6 and club memberships and all that.
It would really be helpful for someone to lend some insight thats been there done that, talked to people that got in or went through the experience theirselves.
i am a new acute care np working for a cardiology practice... my base salary is $75k, but after being there 6 months, productivity is factored into my pay. after one year, i would expect, after seeing other mid-level's numbers in the corporation... that my pay will be close to or exceed 6 figures. after recently talking to some other nps and pas, i have come to realize that the corporation i work for is very pro-np and pro-pa. therefore, they compensate accordingly.
so i gather the 6 month period is the the training/orientation period? i really don't like the productivity issues but even i understand business principles. so how is the practice office / hospital??
yes, the 6 month period is time for me to become productive, yet i am still tracking my charges during this time to assess how i am doing.
actually, you would want some productivity factored into it. it's a way to be rewarded for the hard work that you do. granted, i don't think i would want to be productivity only, but having a decent salary on top of quarterly productivity bonuses, will be nice.
when you say "how is the practice office/hospital," what do you mean?
yes, the 6 month period is time for me to become productive, yet i am still tracking my charges during this time to assess how i am doing.
actually, you would want some productivity factored into it. it's a way to be rewarded for the hard work that you do. granted, i don't think i would want to be productivity only, but having a decent salary on top of quarterly productivity bonuses, will be nice.
good points!
when you say "how is the practice office/hospital," what do you mean?
do you work only in the office or do you get to make rounds?
do you work only in the office or do you get to make rounds?
heya,
yea... i work both. my schedule is m-th 7:30-10 in the hospital supervising inpatient/outpt stress testing, then clinic from 10-2ish. sometimes i go back to the hospital to help my supervising doc with consults/rounds if he is post-call. and if he is on call, i am generally just in the hospital helping him with the consults and determining whether or not the patients need immediate caths of if they can wait. on fridays, i go to the hospital for stress testing from 7:30-10, then help whoever is on call with consults. i personally like the variety of being able to do both in- and outpatient.
yea... i work both. my schedule is m-th 7:30-10 in the hospital supervising inpatient/outpt stress testing, then clinic from 10-2ish. sometimes i go back to the hospital to help my supervising doc with consults/rounds if he is post-call. and if he is on call, i am generally just in the hospital helping him with the consults and determining whether or not the patients need immediate caths of if they can wait. on fridays, i go to the hospital for stress testing from 7:30-10, then help whoever is on call with consults. i personally like the variety of being able to do both in- and outpatient.
I hate to say it but you are looking at just the $$$ of being a nurse. Are you an RN yet? In nursing school? Nursing is tough.
I think that as a nurse you have the ability to make a comfortable living, and being a career in demand you have the opportunity to increase your income by working overtime or per diem in other facilities. But more important (to me, anyway) is the working environment and doing what you enjoy. If you are going to be spending a major portion of your days working, let it be in an area where you are happy.
Im not in nursing school yet, I just applied. I don't expect it to be especially easy, nor do I expect it to be the hardest thing I have ever done. I already have 90 some credits in college. I have no doubt in my mind that im capeable of getting through an RN program.
I should be able to get through the BSN pretty quick becuase I should only have to take nursing classes. Money is important. I didn't decide nursing because of the money alone. I feel it leaves me with good options towards graduate school. I could have graduated with an exercise science degree with 7 more classes, but I was discurraged with stories of people not getting into graduate school. I didn't really want to work in that field. I really enjoyed my biology classes. Im sure ill probably change my mind sometimes through. I don't think any program with intentions to get into grad school is easy. You see the kinda people in college a lot dont go to class and have like 2.3 averages. It becomes a lot more challanging if you want to throw in grad school. Im about to turn 23 I really want to have a plan set so i can get throgh everything as fast as possible.
It's all about supply and demand and reimbursement. Usually FNP's are a dime a dozen, so they're going to get the lowest wages. If you're a specialist, such as an Acute Care NP, Neonatal NP or CRNA, then you can expect the big bucks! A FNP is only trained to work in primary care and that has the lowest reimbursement, so those docs just can't afford to pay more. Of course, if the FNP works in the ER fast track, then they can expect to make more money, since the reimbursement is higher.
i know this is an old post but i am interested to hear what your decision was nicaru??i am in the EXACT same position as you and am going back and fourth between PT, PA and nursing...curious to hear your decision!!
:yeah:
JDCitizen
708 Posts
so i gather the 6 month period is the the training/orientation period? i really don't like the productivity issues but even i understand business principles. so how is the practice office / hospital??