As a nurse, you have all sorts of advanced career options open to you as you develop your knowledge and skills. One of the most popular options is to train as a family nurse practitioner. Here are five reasons why it could be the perfect job role for you.
1. It’s a Diverse Role
As a family nurse practitioner, you’ll work with patients of all ages, from different backgrounds, and with a wide range of healthcare conditions. This means that no two days are the same. One moment you might be helping a 50-year-old man manage his diabetes, and the next you’ll be conducting a routine checkup of a five-year-old girl. You can also choose to work in a variety of settings from clinics and hospitals to schools and patients’ own homes, giving you plenty of opportunities to create a career that suits your passions and lifestyle.
2. You’ll Gain Advanced Nursing Knowledge and Clinical Skills
Becoming an FNP involves going back to college and studying for a graduate-level program such as the highly respected TWU online FNP program. As such, you’ll find that you significantly improve your specialist nursing knowledge and your practical clinical skills – ultimately resulting in better care for your patients. Having the chance to immerse yourself in a subject you love as this does wonders for your personal development and can also assist you greatly in your future career.
3. Your Transferable Skills Will Improve
It’s not only your nursing skills and knowledge that will see a boost. As an FNP, you’ll also notice a corresponding improvement in several of your more general transferable skills. These include:
- Communication from dealing with many different patients
- Attention to detail from handling precise dosages of medication and understanding nuanced medical symptoms
- Time management and organization from coping with a busy and diverse caseload
- Leadership from being in a more advanced position that may involve supervising other nurses
- Teamwork from liaising and collaborating with various other healthcare professionals
- Confidence from your increased competence
- Adaptability to dealing with unexpected problems and emergencies
4. It’s a Steady Job
The world will always need nurses, and as such, you can anticipate high levels of employability when working as an FNP. With the US population aging and cases of medical conditions such as cancer and diabetes on the rise, this need is only set to increase. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for nurse practitioners is set to increase by 45% between 2020 and 2030, which is much faster than average. While nothing is ever guaranteed, you will be putting yourself in a strong position by choosing this career path.
5. It’s Rewarding
Perhaps the most persuasive reason to become an FNP is that it is a truly rewarding job role. You get to dedicate yourself to helping others every single workday, providing vital medical care and also the emotional support patients and families require at difficult times in their lives. Many FNPs specifically choose to work in underserved communities, which enables you to make a genuine and noticeable positive impact on your local area. You’ll also enjoy greater levels of autonomy and responsibility as an FNP compared to a registered nurse, which many people find gives them a stronger sense of purpose in their career.
