Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Practitioner Schools, Training, Jobs, and Careers

What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Nurse practitioners work with doctors and provide nursing as well as health care services to patients. They may specialize in several different areas which include geriatric, family and pediatric nursing. You must go on to pursue a master's degree in order to work as a nurse practitioner. There are a wide variety of duties that fall to them. Specific duties include:

1. Diagnosing and treating a large number of acute and chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure along with other different types of injuries

2. Counsel patients

3. Interpret lab results

4. Develop treatment plans

5. Health with medications

6. Obtain medical histories as well as conduct physical examinations

7. Prescribe physical therapy and other sources of rehabilitation treatments

8. Provide well-child care which includes screenings and immunizations

9. Ordering, performing and interpreting a variety of diagnostic studies which include x-rays, lab tests and EKGs

10. Provide prenatal care as well as family planning services

11. Provide health maintenance care for adults which includes annual physicals

How to Become a Nurse Practitioner:
Most students who wish to be nurses would rather dive right into nursing school in order to earn their bachelor's degree. For some people, that may not be a viable option. So they may have to get an associate's degree to begin with and then go on to pursue their BSN. In nursing school, besides the regular subjects of anatomy and physiology, microbiology, etc., students will also learn about the following:

a. Health assessments
b. Mental health issues
c. Individual care
d. Child care
e. Psychiatric nursing
f. Community health
g. Clinical rounds in different sections of a hospital

After you have obtained your bachelor's or associate degree, every state requires that before a nurse can practice, she must take and pass the test often referred to as the NCLEX-RN or the National Council Licensure Examination.

A Master of Science degree in Nursing is designed to prepare the nurse to become a nurse practitioner. It usually takes about two years to earn your Master's degree. After you have obtained your Master's degree, you must be able to sit for and pass either one of two examinations for certification: American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Nurse practitioners are able to practice independently or they may choose to work in long-term care facilities, hospitals, doctors' offices, health departments, home health care agencies, hospice centers, private offices, school and college clinics, walk-in clinics, health maintenance organizations(HMOs), hospital clinics, nurse practitioner offices, nursing schools, Veteran Administration facilities and urgent care centers.

Most nurse practitioners choose to specialize in a certain medical field such as pediatrics, obstetrics, geriatrics, etc. There are just as many nurse practitioners as there are different medical specialties.

Nurse Practitioner Salary:
Nurse practitioners make mucho money. The national average pay is $96,000 per year. We know of these nurses that make as much as $123,000 per year. Of course, this kind of money will come with additional responsibilities.

Nurse Practitioner School:
You need a masters degree to become a nurse practitioner. In this case, we recommend you to one school. The school is University of Phoenix. It has online and campus master’s program in nursing. It is considered a leader when it comes to innovation in online learning. Just follow this link to request for their free information.

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