A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who obtained a master's degree in nursing and is certified to practice professionally. These professionals have many of the same responsibilities as primary care physicians and often specialize in a specific area of health care, such as family, neonatal, pediatric, female health and acute care. Payscale reported average wages and benefits based on 1,658 individuals in this occupation in November 2010.
National Average Salary
Nurse practitioners are paid an annual salary and some employers also offer bonuses and profit sharing. The average salary ranged from $68,642 to $$86,934 per year. Average bonuses ranged from $989 to $5,038 per year and average profit sharing ranged from $1,923 to $4,578 per year. The total average compensation ranged from $70,296 to $90,789 per year.
Benefits
Along with salary, nurse practitioners receive benefits. A total of 948 nurse practitioners reported receiving benefits such as paid vacation and sick leave, 401k or 403b savings plans, life insurance, education reimbursement and liability/malpractice insurance. Also, 1,218 nurse practitioners reported receiving from 2.7 to 3.5 weeks of vacation. Eighty percent reported receiving health benefits such as medical, dental and vision care.
Professional Experience
Nurse practitioners can increase their salary and some benefits as they gain professional experience. The majority -- 64 percent -- had one to nine years of experience. Those with one to nine years of experience earned average salaries ranging from $67,398 to $89,154, and 2.7 to three weeks of paid vacation per year. Those with more than 20 years of experience earned average salaries ranging from $72,953 to $98,447 and 3.5 weeks of paid vacation per year.
Types
Nurse practitioners can focus their education and careers in specialty areas. Family nurse practitioners earned average salaries ranging from $65,946 to $85,545 per year, and women's health nurse practitioners earned average salaries ranging from $67,294 to $85,131 per year. Those who received the acute care nurse practitioner certification earned average salaries ranging from $69,662 to $94,907 per year. Those who obtained adult care nurse practitioner certification earned average salaries ranging from $71,325 to $86,775 per year.
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