Why Become a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner?
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are indispensable providers in our healthcare delivery system. Increasing demand for primary care services from an aging population, expanded health insurance options, and a heightened focus on preventive care coupled with physician shortages illustrate the pressing need for more nurse practitioners.
Nurse Practitioner as Primary Care Provider
The role of the nurse practitioner was conceived nearly six decades ago to provide patient-centered care to a broad range of populations.
Today, there are 385,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the U.S., with nearly nine in 10 practicing in primary care. Nurse practitioners are vital to our healthcare system; they perform more than one billion patient visits annually.
The nurse practitioner career has come a long way since 1965! U.S. News & World Report ranked nurse practitioner #2 in its 100 Best Jobs report this year because the position is in demand, pays well, offers room for advancement, and provides a satisfying work-life balance.
If you’re deciding whether to become an NP, some schools, such as Felician University in New Jersey, offer online graduate nursing programs so you can continue to work while you earn your degree. Read on to discover if becoming a nurse practitioner is right for you.
The Nurse Practitioner
What is a primary care nurse practitioner? NPs are part of a larger category of healthcare service providers known as advanced practice registered nurses. They are skilled, graduate-level educated, clinically trained, and compassionate healthcare providers.
Nurse practitioners care for the whole patient. They blend the skills of primary care providers, educators, researchers, advocates, and administrators to care for their patients and communities.
Nurse practitioners are naturally collaborative, working alongside physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based, quality care.
Scope of Practice
Nurse practitioners share many of the same duties as physicians and physician associates. Depending on the state, they can practice with full authority without physician supervision. Some states allow reduced or restricted practice with another healthcare provider’s oversight.
NPs must sort through a long list of symptoms and reasons for seeking care to drill down to a short list of diagnoses, but they provide much more than quality care to individuals. Health screenings are an essential component of their role. They are significantly involved with patients and their families to counsel and educate them on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
With such a broad spectrum of skills and diverse patient populations, primary care nurse practitioners can choose to earn additional certifications at any point in their career in popular subspecialties such as cardiac, diabetes, or oncology.
A Day in the Life of a Primary Care NP
No two patients or two days are the same for the dedicated nurse practitioner, but their duties and responsibilities fall into these categories:
- Reviewing patients’ medical histories
- Examining patients
- Ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests
- Health screenings
- Diagnosing patients’ injuries or illnesses
- Providing treatment and treatment management
- Educating and counseling patients and their families about healthy lifestyle choices and disease prevention
- Prescribing medication
- Assessing and recording patients’ progress
Where Primary Care NPs Work
Many primary care nurse practitioners work in private physician offices or have their own practices, while others work in a wide variety of primary care settings, including:
- Clinics
- Healthcare systems
- Health maintenance organizations
- Long-term care facilities
- Military hospitals
- Outpatient centers
- Public health departments
- Retail clinics
- Schools
- Telehealth
- Universities
The Job Market is Teeming with Opportunity
Employment Outlook
Deciding to become an NP is a savvy career move. While many industry sectors are declining and businesses are closing, the growth of the nurse practitioner role is exploding due to increasing demands for primary care. Over the next decade, we can expect a 45% increase in jobs, according to the BLS. Let’s unpack the many factors that have mobilized a tremendous opportunity for the role of nurse practitioner in primary care.
An Aging Population
Our country is aging, and baby boomers are flooding the healthcare system with chronic and acute healthcare needs. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, our older population grew from 2010 to 2020 at the fastest rate since 1880 to 1890.
One in six people was 65 or older, which means 55.8 million people required primary care services and prescription management. And those numbers keep climbing.
Physician Shortages
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of primary care physicians of between 21,400 and 55,200 by 2033. And there is a shocking lack of primary care physicians on the horizon.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a mere 4,000 new family medicine physicians and 1,800 internal medicine physicians joining the workforce through 2032.
Access to Healthcare
With the Affordable Care Act, tens of millions of Americans now have access to affordable, preventive healthcare services. Chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, can be prevented with regular screenings.
Retail Footprints in Healthcare
One of the newest trends is the retail expansion into healthcare. Companies like Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens have entered the healthcare arena by acquiring primary care service providers, such as One Medical, Oak Street Health, and Summit Health, respectively. Walmart is expanding its services to include Walmart Health within its Walmart Supercenters.
Salary Potential
It pays to further your education and become a primary care nurse practitioner. Registered nurses (RNs) earn substantially less than NPs. The BLS reports that nurse practitioners earned a median annual salary of $121,610 in 2022.
New Jersey is one of the top-paying states in the country. NPs earned an average of $143,250 in the Garden State last year. During the same timeframe, RN wages averaged $81,220 nationally and $98,090 in New Jersey.
The Benefits of Being a Nurse Practitioner
A six-figure salary, job security, and independently treating patients are just a few of the many reasons nurses decide to go back to school to become primary care nurse practitioners.
Primary care nurse practitioners enjoy the flexibility of leaving the confining hours and schedules of hospital bedside work. Thus, they often enjoy a better work-life balance.
Job satisfaction is another plus. Treating patients autonomously using your skills and advanced education to the fullest extent is both gratifying and empowering. Being the central point of care, you become very close with your patients and are relied upon as a trusted and respected provider. As such, you can influence and empower them to understand the value of preventive care and the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
How to Become a Nurse Practitioner
It’s a straightforward path to becoming a nurse practitioner, and the benefits of advancing your career are numerous.
First, complete an undergraduate program in nursing and earn your bachelor’s (BSN). With your active nursing license in place, apply to graduate schools.
Next, earn your master of science in nursing (MSN) from an accredited school such as Felician University, which offers part-time, online family and adult-gerontology primary care nursing programs.
After graduating with your degree, which includes coursework credits and clinical hours, you’re ready to apply for national certification from either the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).
Felician University — Fast-Tracking Your Way to Career Advancement
Felician University offers two programs to help you achieve your dream of becoming a primary care nurse practitioner. Its Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP) and its Master of Science in Nursing – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (MSN-AGPCNP) programs can be completed online in a little more than two years with one campus residency. Integrated clinical placement support is included.
Felician’s MSN programs are designed for the modern world with an innovative approach to learning fostered by deep connections among students, faculty, and community. It prepares you to reach your highest potential as a competent, compassionate, and resilient nurse practitioner.
Felician University’s Online MSN program is in its fifth consecutive year of being nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report and was named a 2023 Best Online Program.
*A 20% discount is available to New Jersey students who work in the Hackensack/Meridian and RWJ/Barnabas health systems.