Advanced Practice Nurses
Overview
Introduction
Advanced practice nurses (APNs) are a broad category of registered nurses (RNs) who have completed advanced clinical nurses' educational practice requirements beyond the two to four years of basic nursing education required for all RNs. Under the advanced practice nursing designation fall four categories of nursing specialties: clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), nurse practitioners (NPs), nurse-midwives (NMs), and nurse anesthetists (NAs). According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there ...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners earned a median annual salary of $113,930 in May 2018. The lowest 10 percent of nurses in these professions earned less than $80,670, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $182,750.
Nurses employed in private clinics of government facilities as well as those employed in hospital...
Work Environment
Most hospital environments are clean and well lit. Inner-city hospitals may be in less than desirable locations, and safety may be an issue. Nurses work eight-hour shifts. Those in hospitals generally work any of three shifts: 7:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.; 3:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.; or 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M.
...Outlook
The U.S. Department of Labor predicts shortages of advanced practice nurses will continue over the next several years. APNs with the proper credentials and certification should have no trouble finding posts in a wide variety of health care facilities. The Department of Labor predicts much faster than average growth for both advanced practice nurses (28%) and registered nurses overall (12%) thro...