If you wish to pursue a career in nursing as a pediatric nurse, this article, here, will attempt to give you an insight into the profession and salaries offered.
Nurse practitioners (NP’s) are registered nurses who have completed master’s level education in nursing and clinical training in a specific healthcare domain like, acute care, oncology, community health, prenatal care, pediatrics or psychiatric health. They are referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). They provide nursing care to patients under a physician’s supervision, however, some states allow nurse practitioners limited prescriptive powers and the use of the honorific ‘Dr’. The health sector is one which hasn’t been extremely hard hit in the recent recession, and continues to offer good employment opportunities and compensation. US News Money ranks registered nurses as the best job in the United States, with a median salary of $64,990. There are over 155,000 registered nurse practitioners in the States. Salary data for the profession, irrespective of specialty, obtained from BLS is as follows.
Nurse Practitioner Salary Data
- The mean annual wage for nurse practitioners in 2011 was $69,110.
- Mean hourly wages were $33.23.
- States with the best salaries: California($90,860) Massachusetts ($86,810) and Hawaii ($83,950).
- States with highest concentration of jobs (per thousand): South Dakota (28.32), Mississippi(27.62) and Massachusetts (27.57).
- Growth in this sector is pegged at a high 39% for the period between 2010-2018.
- Salary increases with experience in this sector and nurse practitioners with 16-20 years of experience earn a mean wage of $106,680.
*2011 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Mean Annual Salaries for Specialties
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest membership organization, created to serve the interests of nurse practitioners all over the country, including pediatric nurses. Here is an overview of employment data obtained from an AANP survey in 2011. It analyzed data received from 6600 nurse practitioners and made various calculations of salary and benefits.
- Acute Care – $105,200
- Adult – $98,160
- Family – $96,910
- Gerontology – $97,990
- Neonatal – $124,540
- Pediatrics – $92,250
- Psych/Mental Health – $111,220
- Women’s Health – $91,730
- Miami, FL – $100,572
- Chicago, IL – $98,379
- Houston, TX – $95,577
- Phoenix, AZ – $95,359
- Dallas, TX – $94,967
- Atlanta, GA – $89,709
- Indianapolis, IN – $89,361
- Orlando, FL – $83,269
- Pediatric nursing is primarily concerned with caring for children, as babies and also teenagers.
- Pediatric nurses are required to talk to children, and understand their problems and prescribe medicine, under the supervision of the physician. They often nurse newborns, and learn to judge body language and child behavior.
- They are authorized to prescribe tests and can diagnose illnesses, which help in formulating treatment procedures.
- Also, pediatric nurses are involved in informing parents on how to care for their children, recommending diets, referring patients to doctors, illness prevention measures and, in cases of children suffering from debilitating illnesses such as hypotonia or diabetes, they can also offer home care solutions to make life easier for both parent and child.
- A full-time pediatric nurse may have to occasionally, take part in organizing school immunization programs and health education seminars on behalf of the hospital.
Working as a pediatric nurse practitioner can be a challenging job that requires responsible individuals to remain dedicated for long periods of time. Yet it is proving to be a rewarding profession as salaries have increased, and growth opportunities in this field are many.