So you believe you might want to become an orthopedic nurse? Patients with musculoskeletal conditions caused by accident, sickness, birth defects, or degeneration are treated by an orthopedic nurse practitioner. These include ligament and tendon injuries or disease, muscles, joints, and backbone, and degenerative disorders such as arthritis. They usually work for many hours and may need to lift, turn, or move patients.
It is necessary to start with the right education to become an orthopedic nurse practitioner. There are several programs that can help to lead you to his/her role. You can obtain a two-year associate's degree, a four-year bachelor's degree, or a two-year diploma program. Most of them train students to have the knowledge in helping patients and perform medical testing.
Education usually requires fundamental medical assessments, basic pharmacology, and pathology. Some have a focus on female health, pediatrics, and behavioral health. Orthopedic nurse practitioners are also active in multiple clinical rotations under supervision. So it is very important to have training in leadership, critical thinking, and working experience outside of a hospital environment.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner. For example, did you know that they make an average of $48.61 an hour? That's $101,112 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 26% and produce 62,000 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Compassion and Detail oriented.
If you're interested in becoming an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 46.3% of Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.9% of Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners have master's degrees. Even though most Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner. When we researched the most common majors for an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner resumes include Master's Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner. In fact, many Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner jobs require experience in a role such as Staff Nurse. Meanwhile, many Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners also have previous career experience in roles such as Registered Nurse or Nurse.