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Nurse practitioner Salaries

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: December, 10 2010

How much do nurse practitioners earn?

Nurse practitioners in most cases will have some of the highest earning potential of all the nursing degree holders. Because NP's typically have both the most education and the most responsibility, salaries reach greater heights for these professionals.

Salary averages for nurse practitioners across the country are:
Nationally: $97,000
New York: $115,000
San Francisco: $115,000
Atlanta: $101,000
Minneapolis: $81,000

Salaries in these areas are commensurate with the amount of training and education necessary to achieve the certification, and with the complexity of the clinical responsibilities associated with the job. The more specialized and complicated the treatment, the more education necessary to provide it, and the more skill required to be an effective care provider. These jobs are very rewarding, but also very challenging and require an investment of time and dedication. Those interested in becoming a nurse practitioner will find the end result is a challenging, rewarding job that compensates very well.

What other types of compensation accompanies a nurse practitioner's salary?

Compensation in these areas may also be measured in benefits packages. Nurse practitioners are able to work independently, and in some states do not require a collaborative relationship with a primary physician. This means that nurse practitioners may find themselves choosing between independent practice, and employment with a larger medical organization. In a situation where nurse practitioners are working in an independent or consultancy arrangement, they may find themselves without benefit plans and responsible for managing their own taxes. Hourly rates for service are typically higher in these situations, to offset areas of compensation that are not being offered. In a situation where a nurse practitioner is working as an employee for a larger organization – a hospital, an ambulatory surgery center or a clinic – the employer assumes responsibility for payroll taxes and typically offers vacation time, medical and dental benefits, retirement investment opportunities and continuing education funds. In these situations the hourly wage will be lower than an independent contractor's, but is equaled when the cost of the benefits package is included.

What else affects earning potential for a nurse practitioner?

Another factor for the salary of a nurse practitioner is experience. Health care delivery is complex, and the best education available is only a starting place for what then becomes a lifetime of learning. Nurse practitioners who have worked with patients, learned the expectation of the profession, and developed the ability to make quick and effective decisions are of great value to the medical facilities in which they work. The longer nurse practitioners are in the field – keeping their education and skills current – the more they are compensated financially.

Medicine is forever changing and advancing. Each year, researchers find new treatments and new medicines that nurse practitioner schools then incorporate into their programs. Technology makes procedures more successful while being less invasive. Therapies change and evolve to be refined over the course of years. While the formal education of a nurse practitioner ends when he or she earns a degree, learning should never stop. Many states require that NPs engage in regular continuing education in order to renew their licenses to help ensure they are engaged in ongoing education. Employers will find nurse practitioners that have taken specialty courses and earned additional supplemental certification in procedures or disease management are indispensible assets to the organizations for which they work. Professionals who can show current professional knowledge, or those who can add to the services provided by a medical center because of additional certification, can use those credentials as negotiating tools when discussing salary with potential employers.

How do nurse practitioners bill for their services?

Medicare allows nurse practitioners to bill directly for services provided. Some private insurance providers do as well. This means in states where nurse practitioners are allowed to operate independently of a physician, they have the potential to open up their own practice. In larger physician practices and hospitals, billing to insurance is typically coordinated through a billing department, and in some cases the services of a nurse practitioner are bundled with other services. But since the services of an RN or LPN are not considered billable to an insurance agency, but services from an NP are, practices that utilize the skills of a nurse practitioner have the ability to recoup the costs of those services by filing an insurance claim. This is a financial incentive for practices to employ nurse practitioners because ensuring that services provided receive reimbursement allows a medical practice to grow and continue delivering excellent care.