5 Benefits Of Becoming A Family Nurse Practitioner
One of the most respected and diverse careers globally is nursing. The United States is home to more than 2 million registered nurses. These healthcare professionals are an integral part of a robust medical system. Without a nurse’s help, doctors cannot provide optimal care or manage numerous cases a hospital faces every day.
The demand for nurses is still relatively high. The BLS predicts an almost 10% increment in the need for nurses over the next few years. However, your career doesn’t have to be limited to being a registered nurse.
A highly decorated specialty is slowly becoming mainstream in this field called nurse practitioner. When you give yourself the chance to expand your education, upgrade your skills, and become a nurse practitioner, you secure more than a stable profession. This field allows you to become more hands-on with your patients, earn a name for yourself and build a reputation. If you’re intrigued, here are some benefits of you choose to walk down this path:
1. Flexible online degrees
One of the most worrying thoughts you may have as a nurse is advancing your career. Going back to school while working a full-time job is tedious and impossible. However, this is no longer the case. You can easily enroll in an online school and get the necessary degree to push yourself up the professional pedestal. These degrees are affordable and self-paced enough to keep up as you build your professional profile. Family nurse practitioners are by far the most in-demand specialty.
The growing population needs more experts to provide primary health care. Therefore, by enrolling in the best FNP online program, you gain the necessary skills, knowledge, and techniques to become an exceptional family nurse practitioner. There is also no age limit, so you can get your degree when you’re ready without worrying that you’re far too late to advance in your field.
2. Balance out the patient-doctor ratio
The pandemic headlined that there weren’t enough medical practitioners to look after patients. As a result, limited healthcare experts got burned with several cases, making it hard to provide quality care while looking after their well-being. Registered nurses can only do so much. Without a physician present, they cannot work on a diagnosis. Once you become a family nurse practitioner, you can help doctors take care of several cases.
If a doctor is absent, you can step in as a primary healthcare giver. You can tackle numerous cases like a collapsing diabetic patient if you’re trained for emergencies. Adolescents and children with health complications can rely on your specialty. Helping doctors reduces the burden on the healthcare sector and saves lives. This is the very backbone of a successful hospital.
3. Work independently
Autonomy is exhilarating. As a nurse, it can get exhausting to take orders or work under doctors without getting a chance to build a career for yourself. As a family nurse practitioner, you get the right to work with patients directly and not be the middle person. In the US, up to twenty states allow nurse practitioners to work without a physician’s supervision.
So now you’re in control of your patient’s outcome, and they can depend on you for support. This leads to immense job satisfaction. Your role as an FNP allows you to diagnose, test, treat patients and recommend them ahead. So if you crave the freedom of building a prestigious six figured career, this career is your calling.
4. Perform in various settings
As an FNP, you don’t have to confine yourself to a hospital and always be next to a patient to bring change. You are at complete liberty to research and work on improving healthcare, such as studying nurse case management and pinpointing the flaws in the system. Spaces like universities, labs, and community centers can all use your help. You can also assist public health officials by providing primary care to those who need it. As a family nurse practitioner, you can also be the full-time care provider for one patient instead of working at a hospital level. So don’t think you need to stay enclosed behind the four walls of your hospital to make a career.
5. A steady income
You can only extend kindness to others when you’re in a stable position to exert empathy. As much as you enjoy looking after humanity, it is equally crucial you get looked after. Money is one such benefit that gives you the steadiness you need. Therefore, by becoming an FNP, you bump up your pay grade and earn a significant amount of money annually. Depending on your state and the type of cases you handle, a six-figure salary awaits you. These six figures are also pretty high up, making for excellent savings for your retirement. If you’re intrigued about the highest-earning state, try your luck down on the west coast.
Conclusion
Family nurse practitioners are advanced nursing professionals with a deeper and profound understanding of healthcare. Unlike traditional registered nurses, you get to work with your patients one on one trying to treat them using your expertise. Becoming a family nurse practitioner is also much easier now. Online degrees make it possible to become a step closer to your dream without giving up a professional career. You also get to even the playing field, have a choice on where you wish to work, and secure good money for yourself. These factors collectively are reason enough why you should pursue this profession.