Pain Management Nursing - Income?

[Josh L.Ac.]

The time is coming in my short, abbreviated BSN program to pick what I want to do for capstone. Since capstone tends to be a internship - meaning if you like the place and they like you, you get offered a job - I need to make a good decision. After mucho rambling about different paths, I decided to look into Pain Management Nursing.

My immediate goal would be to find a facility where I can learn the nursing aspect of pain management and hopefully have the opportunity to integrate my acupuncture training. In the long-term, I would like to get my FNP and focus on pain management, which would basically allow me to assess, diagnose, refer, and treat with acupuncture + point injections + whatever else in the FNP scope.

But I am facing a large amount of debt from my master's degree in acupuncture program, so I need to make sure that working as a RN in pain management would pay enough in relation to my other options - ER, PACU, or ICU. The average income in KC for these three areas is in the high 50's, so I'm wondering if I would be able to make something comparable as a pain management RN.

Anybody want to disclose an estimate of what they make or how it compares to the other three areas I'm looking at?

[jer_sd]

Often in out patient clinics the salary will be lower than hospital nursing, but better hours. With your intrest in pain management you can always work in a pain management center and suppliment with evening or weekend ER (will be a huge help to have ER experience for FNP school in my opinion). Even if you have to take a pay cut for a few years the long term pay for a NP in pain management can easily exceed that of a RN.

Jeremy

[Josh L.Ac.]

Often in out patient clinics the salary will be lower than hospital nursing, but better hours. With your intrest in pain management you can always work in a pain management center and suppliment with evening or weekend ER (will be a huge help to have ER experience for FNP school in my opinion). Even if you have to take a pay cut for a few years the long term pay for a NP in pain management can easily exceed that of a RN.

Jeremy

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping to do my capstone at a hospital that has both in- and out-patient pain management. Just in case, I'm also going to do extra shifts in the ER so that I might work in both departments PT when I graduate.

It is hard to get information of reimbursements since there are so few FNP's that work in pain management. From what I've heard from the pain docs, the money is in procedures [which is why some become "block jocks"] so hopefully there will be some procedures I can do - with proper training and within my scope of practice, of course. I

am hoping that I will be able to use my master's degree in acupuncture in addition to pain management nursing.

[jer_sd]

trigger point injection are definatly in the scope of practice for NPs. Depending on law you can possibly learn nerve blocks and other more invasive procedures. Medication management can pay decent if you have level 3 or 4 E and M codes it can provide decent revenue for a NP in clinical practice. Plus you can learn nerve conduction studies and other diagnostic procedures. Keep in mind if you can keep a physician in a procedure room you increase the group income even if your collections are limited you contribution to the practice can be hidden but huge $$$

[Josh L.Ac.]

trigger point injection are definatly in the scope of practice for NPs. Depending on law you can possibly learn nerve blocks and other more invasive procedures. Medication management can pay decent if you have level 3 or 4 E and M codes it can provide decent revenue for a NP in clinical practice. Plus you can learn nerve conduction studies and other diagnostic procedures. Keep in mind if you can keep a physician in a procedure room you increase the group income even if your collections are limited you contribution to the practice can be hidden but huge $$$

Great information. If it eventually comes to the point where I would be doing more invasive procedures, I'll probably need to get into a cadaver anatomy class somewhere.

So does anybody have any information on how much to expect starting out as a pain management RN? Is there any bonus or increase in pay with getting the ASPMN certification (plan on doing it regardless, once I'm eligible)?