Nurse practitioner jobs

An NP (Nurse Practitioner) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who assesses, diagnoses, and treats patients, prescribes medications including controlled substances, and manages care across the lifespan. They hold a master's or doctoral degree in nursing and are nationally board certified in a population focus such as family, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, or women's health.

The median annual wage for NPs is $132,300 (BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), median annual wage, May 2025). Pay moves with state, practice setting, specialty and employment structure, so treat the national median as a starting point rather than a benchmark for one offer. For a specific role, the salary on the posting is the best evidence, and the NP Hiring salary guide publishes a state median from live postings once enough employers disclose pay.

The NP job outlook is strong: BLS Employment Projections, Nurse Practitioners (2025 to 2035) projects 41% employment growth for nurse practitioners through 2035, which is much faster than average. 100 million+ Americans live in federally designated primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce, Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary (primary care), September 2026), a designation that marks a shortage of primary care providers.

Becoming an NP takes a BSN and an active RN license, then an accredited MSN or DNP program with NP specialization, then a national NP certification exam (ANCC or AANPCB). Some programs ask for RN experience before admission, and BSN-to-DNP programs combine the graduate steps into one program. Total time depends on the degree you choose and on full-time or part-time study, so compare each program's published length.

Yes, NPs can prescribe medications including controlled substances in all 50 states, but each state sets the conditions. The AANP State Practice Environment classifies 27 states + DC as having full practice authority (2026), where state law lets NPs prescribe medications and controlled substances under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing, although several of those states limit prescribing or require a transition period for newer NPs. In most reduced and restricted practice states, prescribing depends on a collaborative agreement, supervision or delegation, and some of those states offer a route out of it after a set amount of experience. The medications NPs prescribe follow their specialty, from antibiotics and antihypertensives to insulin, ADHD medications, and controlled pain medications.

NPs hold a master's or doctoral degree in nursing, while physicians complete medical school plus a residency. Both can diagnose conditions and prescribe medications. Whether an NP needs a collaborating or supervising clinician depends on the state, and some states require one for newly licensed NPs even where experienced NPs practice independently. The median annual wage for NPs is $132,300 (BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), median annual wage, May 2025), and because a graduate NP program is shorter than medical school plus residency, NPs can begin practicing sooner.

An NP workday can include seeing patients for scheduled evaluations and follow-ups, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions, prescribing and adjusting medications, ordering and reviewing labs and imaging, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, and documenting in EHR systems. Inpatient roles add rounding on hospitalized patients. Patient volume depends on the setting and the employer's scheduling template, so ask how many patients a day a role expects before you accept it.

Yes. Remote NP roles include telehealth patient care, medication management via video, utilization review, and clinical documentation. For patient care, you need an APRN license in each state where your patients are located, so the states you are licensed in decide which remote clinical roles you can take.

What a practice of your own requires depends on your state's rules, and the practice tier alone does not settle it. The AANP State Practice Environment classifies 27 states + DC as having Full Practice Authority (2026), where state law lets NPs evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and initiate and manage treatments, including prescribing, under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing, but several of those states first require a transition period of collaborative or supervised practice. Most reduced and restricted practice states require a collaborative agreement, supervision or delegation involving a physician or another health provider, and several of them offer a route out of it after a set amount of experience. Check your state's entry in the Full Practice Authority guide before you plan a practice. An owner's income depends on patient volume, payer mix and overhead rather than a set salary, and the owner also carries business operations and insurance credentialing.

Based on live listings on NP Hiring, the states with the most open NP positions right now are California (102 openings), Pennsylvania (51 openings), Illinois (48 openings), New York (46 openings), Texas (46 openings). Counts change daily as new roles are posted.

Employers post NP roles in family, adult-gerontology and pediatric primary care, women's health, acute care (AGACNP), emergency care (ENP), geriatrics and long-term care, correctional health, aesthetics and dermatology, and telehealth chronic-care management. Which of these is in demand depends on the region and the setting, so filter current NP Hiring listings by specialty and state rather than relying on a national ranking. A second certification, such as an acute-care credential alongside an FNP, widens the roles you can apply for.

Yes, NPs working in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) may qualify for HRSA's National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment, which publishes its current award amounts and service terms at nhsc.hrsa.gov. VA NPs may qualify for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP). Through the NHSC State Loan Repayment Program, HRSA also funds loan repayment programs that participating states and territories run for clinicians in HPSAs, and NPs are among the disciplines those programs can accept. Each state sets its own eligible disciplines, sites and terms, so check your state's program through its primary care office or HRSA's State Loan Repayment Program contacts page on nhsc.hrsa.gov.