What are the BEST and WORST States to practice as an NP?

I am speaking primarily from two perspectives here:

1. The degree to which NP's are accepted, recognized, and utilized in that area/state.

2. The degree to which state law recognizes NP's, and grants them autonomy, and privledges such as the ability to write prescriptions.

How is Illinois given the AMA presence...just curious.

Specializes in ER, HH, CTICU, corrections, cardiology, hospice.

NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANY PHYSICIAN INVOLVEMENT:

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, Maine (after the first 2 years of practice)

PRESCRIBING ASPECT OF NP PRACTICE

ABSOLUTELY NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANY PHYSICIAN INVOLVEMENT:

Alaska, Arizona, District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Maine (after the first 2 years of practice)

I just applied for my NM NP license, (what a mess that BON is) I had to tell them my medical director and to get prescriptive privileges I had to submit a formulary from the MD. So the above is not strictly accurate for NM, much to my consternation and surprise.

Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.

That is not correct. I am in New Mexico and I do not have any physician involvement as we have completely independent practice. I am in a practice that is NP owned. The formula I sent the BON is my formulary. I do not have a medical director.

You are not required to have any physician supervision at all.:smokin:

That is not correct. I am in New Mexico and I do not have any physician involvement as we have completely independent practice. I am in a practice that is NP owned. The formula I sent the BON is my formulary. I do not have a medical director.

You are not required to have any physician supervision at all.:smokin:

I am SO jealous! I grew up in New Mexico and my family is still there, but I live in MD dominant TEXAS! NP's didn't score ONE POINT during the legislative session this year, if anything, our practice is more restrictive. We were hoping to gain independence, but we didn't even come close. One of the doctors who spoke before the legislature stated that NP's were a "threat to the safety of the citizens of Texas!" He also stated that they had made a mistake in the past by allowing us too much independence. He said, "We've let the cows out of the barn and now it's time to bring them back in!" If that isn't a sexist comment, then tell me what is! I can't BELIEVE that didn't get major press coverage!

As of September 1st, we have to let the Texas Medical Board know who our "collaborative" physician is, just like the PA's do. I just drool when I hear all about my home state having full independent practice for NP's! I'm so sick of this crap I just wanna scream! :scrm:

NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANY PHYSICIAN INVOLVEMENT:

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, Maine (after the first 2 years of practice)

PRESCRIBING ASPECT OF NP PRACTICE

ABSOLUTELY NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANY PHYSICIAN INVOLVEMENT:

Alaska, Arizona, District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Maine (after the first 2 years of practice)

I just applied for my NM NP license, (what a mess that BON is) I had to tell them my medical director and to get prescriptive privileges I had to submit a formulary from the MD. So the above is not strictly accurate for NM, much to my consternation and surprise.

What do you mean by "I had to submit a formulary from the MD"? I don't understand this, New Mexico doesn't require MD involvement to practice.

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

OKLAHOMA NP???

I am an RN and live here in Oklahoma City. Ive been thinking about going back to school for NP or PA. All I see around here working in the clinics is PA-C. I know there are some NPs that Ive run into who work at the health department and my OBGYN office.

I have a few friends who were in NP school here at OU yet ended up moving down to Texas after they graduated, maybe just because the pay is better elsewhere (new grad RN only start about $19/hr).

So what is better here in OK? NP or PA? I do not want to waste my time or money going through a program to not be able to find a job or have no respect from MD/DOs. I'm very confused which path to take.

Thanks for any input. Im also going to post this as its own topic in this forum, remove if needed.

As of September 1st, we have to let the Texas Medical Board know who our "collaborative" physician is, just like the PA's do.

The thought of independent practice given to people who aren't physicians is very scary to me. I am a new grad FNP and honestly I don't care if an NP has 15 years of experience under their belt. We are NOT Dr's. Heck, I'll bet a good majority of us would even admit that PAs have a better clinical education than we do. Why the big fuss to be registered with the TMB? It is a piece of paper.

Specializes in FNP.

I don't think the piece of paper is relevant, but the principle is. I can see a BOM requiring a physician to let them know in instances that they collaborate with NPs, but why would it ever be appropriate for a NP to be accountable to a board of Medicine?

I don't think the piece of paper is relevant, but the principle is. I can see a BOM requiring a physician to let them know in instances that they collaborate with NPs, but why would it ever be appropriate for a NP to be accountable to a board of Medicine?

I think the public has every right to be able to log on to the website, look up their physician and see if they have delegated Rx authority to mid-level providers. It is required of both PAs and NPs.

Specializes in Emergency, Med/Surg, Vascular Access.

Hey guys! I don't believe this link has been proffered yet (my apologies if it has!), but here's the best ranking of the states I've found:

http://www.acnpweb.org/files/public/Ranking_of_states_07.pdf

According to this ranking, TN is better off than AR? The other link, someone provided, however (http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/scope/scope3-5.htm#4), has AR better off than TN...any anecdotal information??

Thanks!

OKLAHOMA NP???

I am an
RN
and live here in Oklahoma City. Ive been thinking about going back to school for NP or PA. All I see around here working in the clinics is PA-C. I know there are some NPs that Ive run into who work at the health department and my OBGYN office.

I have a few friends who were in NP school here at OU yet ended up moving down to Texas after they graduated, maybe just because the pay is better elsewhere (new grad
RN
only start about $19/hr).

So what is better here in OK? NP or PA? I do not want to waste my time or money going through a program to not be able to find a job or have no respect from MD/DOs. I'm very confused which path to take.

Thanks for any input. Im also going to post this as its own topic in this forum, remove if needed.

HI I am in NP school and I live in Norman, OK. I have not experienced any of what some of the other people have posted. I think there are in general the same amount of NP jobs here as in surrounding states like Kansas, Missouri, Texas etc. Also the post that said NPs in OK make 35K is total crap, and not true at ALL. I made more than that as a new grad RN! There are definitely better states as far as prescriptive authority esp of narcs, but on the whole I'd say OK is doing well other wise, with NPs practicing independently from MDs as far as everything else goes.

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

OKLAHOMA NP???

I am an
RN
and live here in Oklahoma City. Ive been thinking about going back to school for NP or PA. All I see around here working in the clinics is PA-C. I know there are some NPs that Ive run into who work at the health department and my OBGYN office.

I have a few friends who were in NP school here at OU yet ended up moving down to Texas after they graduated, maybe just because the pay is better elsewhere (new grad
RN
only start about $19/hr).

So what is better here in OK? NP or PA? I do not want to waste my time or money going through a program to not be able to find a job or have no respect from MD/DOs. I'm very confused which path to take.

Thanks for any input. Im also going to post this as its own topic in this forum, remove if needed.

HI I am in NP school and I live in Norman, OK. I have not experienced any of what some of the other people have posted. I think there are in general the same amount of NP jobs here as in surrounding states like Kansas, Missouri, Texas etc. Also the post that said NPs in OK make 35K is total crap, and not true at ALL. I made more than that as a new grad RN! There are definitely better states as far as prescriptive authority esp of narcs, but on the whole I'd say OK is doing well other wise, with NPs practicing independently from MDs as far as everything else goes.

Thanks for your feedback :) Its hard to get info about oklahoma NP if you dont know any (I work with mainly PAs). I just dont want to go through NP school and have trouble finding a job. Do you know if there are any problems with FNP job saturation? Have most of your classmates who have graduated been able to find jobs within a reasonable time frame?

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