Big differences in levels of nursing
If you’ve ever gotten a shot in the arm or had your blood pressure taken by a nurse, you may be surprised to learn the term “nurse” has little meaning by itself — and the roles of the various types of nurses, and their pay, can vary widely.
On one end of the spectrum are licensed practical nurses, who earn the least and have the least amount of responsibility and independence. At the other end of the spectrum are advanced practice registered nurses, who can often help patients in many of the ways medical doctors can, with the exception of providing surgery. In the middle are registered nurses.
One of the key advantages to becoming a licensed practical nurse is that there’s little investment in education, and the only requirement is obtaining a state license. This means the field is accessible to people unwilling or unable to attend years of college or graduate school.
“It’s sort of the most basic level of nursing,” said Maureen Cahill, an advanced practice registered nurse and senior policy adviser at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
The typical entry-level requirement is after-high school training in a stateapproved program that usually takes about a year to complete. The median yearly salary for the job is $43,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unlike higher-level nurses, LPNs usually have limited responsibilities that may include simple medical checks and care, including taking blood pressure, changing bandages and
keeping records. In addition, Cahill pointed out that becoming an LPN doesn’t typically reduce the educational requirements of becoming a registered nurse and beyond.
But the career is fast-growing, with the hiring of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses expected to grow 16 percent nationwide by 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The next step up from LPN is the registered nurse. These nurses must undergo far more training, and typically earn at least a bachelor’s degree to enter the field. These nurses — probably what most people think of when they hear the word nurse — are required to complete courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition and psychology, and have to fulfill supervised clinical training.
But the higher education comes with higher pay, more independence and greater responsibility. They are expected to provide more advanced care to patients, and for that they earn more — the median annual salary nationwide for the nurses is nearly $67,500, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Demand for the nurses is also high nationally.
The next level of nursing is advanced practice registered nursing. This is considered the highest level of nursing, and includes nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists and clinical specialty nurses. The training for an APRN usually takes about six years and requires more rigorous academic and clinical work than other types of nursing.
An advanced practice registered nurse must also be a registered nurse, generally, so one can advance from an RN career to an APRN career.
The pay and demand for APRNs is dramatically higher than for other types of nurses. Hiring for advanced practice nurses is expected to grow by more than 30 percent by 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and their median yearly salary is more than $100,000. The job also comes with many responsibilities that overlap with those of a physician.