Five Essential Steps To Become a Nurse Practitioner

In United States, all the nurse practitioners are licensed nurses with advanced degree qualifications (generally master degrees or doctoral degrees). In general, these professionals provide a broad range of health care services to patients at all ages.

Totally different from normal nurses, nurse practitioners possess higher academic qualifications and they are required to have more rigorous licensing requirements and more stringent continuing education requirements.

This profession has become one of the most prospective careers in the year of 2009 (and many years to come). If you have great interest to get involved in medical industry, you should give yourself a try to become one of the candidates.

Here are 5 key steps you need to follow in order to become a successful nurse practitioner:

Step 1:

The path starts with completing a four year degree program, i.e. Bachelors of Science in nursing. After the completion of the degree, you are then required to gain practical experience in an acute care settling for at least 1-2 years as a registered nurse.

However, there are some exceptional cases where there are some special programs in the market which are provided to non nurses to complete all levels of education in one multi-year curriculum.

Step 2:

At the point where you have gained sufficient hands-on experience, you should start thinking which specialty area you would like to pursue. For instance, you may choose to specialize in acute care, pediatric critical care, neonatology, women’s health, psychiatry and mental health, adult health, emergency medicine, occupational health and so on.

Step 3:

Once you have determined which area you would like to focus, you can then submit your application to a graduate school to pursue your master degree in nursing. If you are not very sure which school you would like to enroll, you may consult the National Student Nurses Association to get detailed information about the reputable institutions in your state.

It is important for you to look for top schools so that you can really gain benefits from studying. In common, the duration of this master degree is about 2 years.

Step 4:

Stick to your study plan and complete the required coursework. Make sure you obtain all the necessary knowledge during the program. Some institutions may require their students to complete some post master work.

This typical work is usually supervised by a physician to ensure that the students are well equipped with the necessary skills.

Step 5:

After you have completed your formal study, you are required to sit for licensure examination. Generally the examination consists of one of the components of the NCLEX test.

Bear in mind that the licensing rules may vary from one state to another. You can get the detailed requirements from the National Association of State Boards of Nursing.

Lastly, obtain your certification and equip yourself with the necessary competencies. Then get ready to start your job search in the health care industry. At the initial stage, you can start your career as an independent nurse practitioner under the supervision of a physician.

Other Nurse Practitioner Career Guides and Tips:

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