Hi, I just recently graduated from nursing school with my bsn. I am looking to become a family nurse practitioner. Within 1-3 years of working as a rn. I want to know realisticly is the nurse practitioner route worth it? I am looking for more autonomy, a higher level of education, without having go to med school . For those of you who are a nurse practitioner, do you enjoy it, are you happy you made the decision to become a nurse practitioner, and do you feel you are compensated in salary/ hourly fairly for your work?
synaptic 249 Posts Has 5 years experience. Jun 21, 2015 like i tell everybody else, i am glad I made the decision but if i was now in nursing school I would take a different route. Everybody is going back to get their MSN for the same reasons you state, and in a few years the market will probably be as dim for new FNP than it is now for lawyers.
Trauma Columnist traumaRUs, MSN, APRN 165 Articles; 21,214 Posts Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU. Has 31 years experience. Jun 21, 2015 Move to student NPforum
anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP 1 Article; 769 Posts Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care. Has 6 years experience. Jun 21, 2015 I am glad I went back though I only graduated in December. I do feel that I am compensated pretty well and many clinics allow you to earn bonus $$$ depending on your productivity which I think is only fair.As PP mentioned: there are MANY going back right now. I think I JUST beat the huge glut of FNP's coming in upcoming years. Whether it is worth it, how much better the pay is, etc. depends on your area.I love the autonomy. I love calling the shots instead of following the orders. I am still actively learning to better understand how to manage diseases to provide the best outcome. I really really am enjoying it. I'd still probably go back now even if I was just graduating but my area still needs NP's (I am in a semi-rural area).
allnurses Guide BostonFNP, APRN 3 Articles; 5,581 Posts Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine. Has 12 years experience. Jun 21, 2015 Hi, I just recently graduated from nursing school with my bsn. I am looking to become a family nurse practitioner. Within 1-3 years of working as a rn. I want to know realisticly is the nurse practitioner route worth it? I am looking for more autonomy, a higher level of education, without having go to med school . For those of you who are a nurse practitioner, do you enjoy it, are you happy you made the decision to become a nurse practitioner, and do you feel you are compensated in salary/ hourly fairly for your work?Lots of threads on this exact topic, take a look around and you will find a lot of information.Long story short: 1. Only you can decide if it's "worth it".2. If you want to work in a provider role (higher autonomy and education) than you will need to go NP, PA, or MD/DO or find a niche RN role. 3. NP salary averages more than 100k/year now. Whether that is fair is debated. Don't do it for the money.
