Career Outlook for Nurse Practitioners in Philadelphia
Nurse practitioners (NPs) in Pennsylvania experience some of the highest employment levels of NPs across the United States. More than 5,000 NPs (5,070) actively practice in Pennsylvania, which ranks as eighth in the nation for highest NP employment. Around 1,030 of these NPs are employed in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania NPs earn an annual mean wage of $94,540, while NPs in Philadelphia specifically earn slightly more, at $98,150. Although Pennsylvania NP salaries are significantly higher than the overall average salary across the state, NPs make, on average, about $10,000 less than the national average salary for nurse practitioners.
Scope of Practice in Philadelphia
NPs in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania operate under reduced practice. This status is determined by state practice and licensure law and limits NPs in at least one area of their practice. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), Pennsylvania state law “requires a regulated collaborative agreement with an outside health discipline in order for the NP to provide patient care or limits the setting or scope of one or more elements of NP practice.”
Philadelphia NPs, therefore, are only partially independent. While a fully independent NP can assess, diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication for a patient without involving a physician, a partially independent NP is not legally able to conduct at least one of these activities.
In an effort to standardize NP state practice laws, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing created the Campaign for Consensus. The campaign aims to promote full practice abilities for NPs in all states. Even more broadly, the initiative was designed to help both consumers and the overall health care community better understand and respect the autonomy of an NP.
Are you interested in learning more about becoming a nurse practitioner in Philadelphia? Learn more about Nursing@Georgetown’s online master’s programs by requesting information below.
Sources:
https://www.bls.gov/oes/2016/may/oes291171.htm (2016)
https://www.nursepractitionerschools.com/blog/np-scope-of-practice (2016)