The Employment Outlook for Pediatric NPs and PAs
If you’re a nurse practitioner or physician assistant who wants to work in pediatrics, you've found a good time to pursue that dream.
First of all, you have options: you can pursue certification in primary care or acute care. Secondly, demand for these advanced practitioners continues to climb, and the salaries for pediatric NP jobs and pediatric PA jobs are up, too.
In fact, pediatric nurse practitioners, or PNPs, who are certified in primary care, earn an average base salary of $108,500, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners’ most recent National Sample Survey in 2020. PNPs who are certified in acute care earn about $120,000.
Plus, pediatrics can be an incredibly meaningful career.
“As a PNP in the primary care office, you have the rewarding opportunity to watch a family bring their newborn home from the office and watch that same patient get ready for college years later,” said Cindy Trent, CPNP-C, a pediatric nurse practitioner and faculty member for Walden University’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.
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The rapid growth of the NP and PA workforces
Opportunities for pediatric NPs and PAs continue to open up, thanks to the overall growth of the NP and PA workforces. In general, the number of nurse practitioners and physician assistants has been rising to meet the growing need for healthcare.
In the 2022 US News Best Jobs Report, NPs ranked #1 in healthcare jobs and #2 in overall jobs. As of 2022, there are 234,690 NPs in the workforce, and the BLS has predicted a 52.2 percent employment growth for NPs from 2020-2030.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is also forecasting significant growth in the demand for PAs. As the demand for PAs to provide care grows, opportunities for pediatric PA job seekers will increase, too. As of 2022, there were 139,100 PAs in the workforce, and the BLS has predicted a 28 percent employment growth for PAs from 2020-2030.
The compensation for physician assistant jobs is also on the rise. The BLS noted that salaries for PAs continue to increase steadily, reporting that the median base salary for PAs reached $121,530 in 2021.
Demand increases for pediatric expertise
This could be the right time to have that pediatric specialization on your resume.
For instance, nurse practitioners seeking certification as primary care PNP can apply to the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) for initial certification as CPNP-PC. Credentials can also be obtained in acute care, namely CPNP-AC.
Pediatric physician assistants can also become certified and earn a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Pediatrics from the National Commission on Certification for Physician Assistants (NCCPA) to show their advanced expertise in the specialty.
According to a white paper published in the May/June 2019 Journal of Pediatric Health Care issue, a growing number of healthcare organizations understand the value of pediatric expertise.
“Health care systems are increasingly recognizing the importance of hiring providers with pediatric expertise for the care of children,” wrote Kristin Hittle Gigli, Ph.D., RN, CPNP-AC, CCRN, et al. “Providers without pediatric education and certification require longer orientation, resulting in loss of provider productivity and reimbursement for postgraduate pediatric education.”
The authors also warn of a “forecasted critical shortage of PNPs over the next decade.”
The areas where pediatric expertise may be in the most demand are underserved and rural areas, which are already struggling with provider shortages.
But the scope of practice barriers remains in place in many states, which could make providers who want to practice independently think hard about the best long-term location for them.
Pediatric NPs and PAs who want to try out new locations can work with a locum tenens agency to find short-term assignments and get assistance with state licensing, credentialing, and housing.
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