FNP Oversaturation

Specialties NP

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I am in school for FNP. I keep hearing that it will be hard to find a job because of how many people are doing FNP. This has got me thinking I should maybe switch specialites. Is this gonna be a real problem? I live in a rural area and don't mind working here.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Well what is the market like in your rural area? You will hear that psych is still prime for the pickins, mostly from FNPs, but that is no longer accurate.

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Specializes in Assistant Professor, Nephrology, Internal Medicine.

Agreed with Jules, definitely depends on the market. You may not have a problem with rural areas, but the only way to be sure is to research.

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I live in a very rural area. The saturation is even starting to depress wages here. It was only a matter of time and the time is now.

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Over half of the nurses I work with are enrolled in a FNP or ACGNP program. This is the case at many hospitals wherever you go.

Barrier to entry is low. Many flock to the profession, and the resultant wages are dropping and this will likely continue.

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Just curious, do people believe all NP specialties are over saturated or just FNP?

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
terfernay said:
Just curious, do people believe all NP specialties are over saturated or just FNP?

I do not believe that AGACNP specialties are anywhere near oversaturated. In fact I think their peak is just beginning, mainly due to the fact that there are significantly less AGACNP programs and they take far fewer students because most are required to have 1 to 2 years acute (preferably ICU) experience to be considered eligible for admission. In my school they only admit 15 AGACNP students a year, compared to over 50 FNPs. Now that the consensus is starting to enforce hospitals to hire only AGACNPs as inpatient providers I think we will start to see the demand for them go up.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

The FNP job market varies widely by location. I started my new grad NP job search in Nov and there were boatloads of FNP jobs going begging in the Western US, especially in rural areas. I now work in a rural FQHC and we are always looking for NPs and MDs who are willing to live and work here. The cost of living is low and the pay is excellent - the same or more than in the big cities (I live in California). I had offers from all over the San Joaquin Valley, mountains of California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Montana, etc. Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, also have many opportunities and a shortage of all primary care providers. If you are willing to work in a rural area, you should have no trouble finding a good job in the Western U.S. I can't speak for the rest of the US

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

I live in Houston and I am a new FNP. We are very oversaturated here - it is very difficult for us to find jobs. A handful of my classmates were lucky, but many of us are struggling. I have seen quite a few ACNP, PMHNP, and even some PNP positions. FNP is scarce, especially ER positions. And of course, everyone wants experience.

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You are correct there are jobs out West in rural areas. Unfortunately the glut of new graduates has pushed salaries down. Five years ago working in rural California you could easily make close to $200k. These days the salaries are $70,000 to $80,000 less. Its all about supply and demand. There are plenty of clinics willing to pay you a low salary and they always will be around looking for fresh meat. Seasoned NPs are the ones who are taking it in the orifice salary wise.

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This is one reason I'm doing CRNA instead.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
ICUman said:
This is one reason I'm doing CRNA instead.

Looking back I'm thinking that's the route I should have gone, but my experience is all ER and not ICU

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