What Does a Nurse Practitioner Do?
One clinic morning might bring a child's ear infection, an older patient's blood pressure check and a new diabetes diagnosis, all handled by the same nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners diagnose, treat and prescribe in clinics, physician offices, hospitals and campus health centers, and many states let them practice without a physician's supervision.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner), Adult Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), ARNP Specialist (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Specialist), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Family Practice Certified Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, Gastroenterology Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Practitioner (NP).
Nurse Practitioner Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a nurse practitioner include:
- Take health histories and perform physical exams for new and returning patients.
- Diagnose acute illnesses and chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension.
- Order and interpret lab tests, X-rays and other diagnostic studies.
- Prescribe medications and adjust doses, following state prescribing rules.
- Create treatment plans and set follow-up schedules with patients and families.
- Counsel patients on diet, exercise, smoking, sexual health and preventive screenings.
- Refer patients to specialists and coordinate care with physicians and therapists.
- Document visits and billing codes accurately in the electronic health record.
- Perform minor procedures such as wound closure, joint injections or skin biopsies within scope.
- Consult with a collaborating physician on complex cases where state law requires it.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a nurse practitioner, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Registered nurse license plus state APRN licensure
- National NP board certification (AANP or ANCC)
- DEA registration for prescribing controlled substances
- Clinical reasoning and differential diagnosis
- Electronic health records such as Epic
- Clear explanations for patients with low health literacy
- Composure with heavy patient loads and urgent cases
- Commitment to continuing education and license renewal
Education and Training
Once you have earned an RN license and finished a master's or doctoral NP program you will need to pass a national certification exam in your specialty before a state will license you as an NP. A growing number of programs award the DNP. With experience, some NPs open their own practices in states that allow full practice.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $117,990 - $156,700 per year, with a median of $132,300.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Nurse Practitioners.
BLS projects employment of nurse practitioners to grow about 41 percent from 2025 to 2035. That is a steep climb. It works out to roughly 29,400 openings a year, driven by an aging population, a shortage of primary care doctors and wider practice authority in many states. New NPs with a few years of RN experience should have little trouble finding work, especially in rural and underserved areas.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Nurse practitioners.
Nurse Practitioner Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $101,340 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $117,990 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $132,300 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $156,700 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $174,420 |
Highest-Paying States for Nurse Practitioners
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are California ($168,520), New Jersey ($159,310), Washington ($156,100), Oregon ($155,680), Alaska ($155,170). Pay is lowest in Kentucky ($122,870), Tennessee ($117,590), Alabama ($105,750).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $105,750 |
| Alaska | $155,170 |
| Arizona | $134,420 |
| Arkansas | $125,660 |
| California | $168,520 |
| Colorado | $132,930 |
| Connecticut | $138,470 |
| Delaware | $131,040 |
| District of Columbia | $135,880 |
| Florida | $129,510 |
| Georgia | $129,430 |
| Hawaii | $135,570 |
| Idaho | $132,540 |
| Illinois | $130,680 |
| Indiana | $128,830 |
| Iowa | $130,160 |
| Kansas | $126,650 |
| Kentucky | $122,870 |
| Louisiana | $125,600 |
| Maine | $130,260 |
| Maryland | $131,110 |
| Massachusetts | $142,440 |
| Michigan | $131,450 |
| Minnesota | $133,260 |
| Mississippi | $124,730 |
| Missouri | $129,930 |
| Montana | $137,210 |
| Nebraska | $132,130 |
| Nevada | $140,670 |
| New Hampshire | $137,550 |
| New Jersey | $159,310 |
| New Mexico | $137,520 |
| New York | $153,510 |
| North Carolina | $128,990 |
| North Dakota | $130,070 |
| Ohio | $124,870 |
| Oklahoma | $133,390 |
| Oregon | $155,680 |
| Pennsylvania | $130,140 |
| Rhode Island | $135,970 |
| South Carolina | $123,290 |
| South Dakota | $128,840 |
| Tennessee | $117,590 |
| Texas | $131,670 |
| Utah | $130,920 |
| Vermont | $134,740 |
| Virginia | $127,810 |
| Washington | $156,100 |
| West Virginia | $127,320 |
| Wisconsin | $131,980 |
| Wyoming | $132,200 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as nurse practitioners about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 100% are on the phone every day
- 96% use email every day
- 95% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 87% are exposed to disease or infection every day
- 87% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 83% have a lot of freedom to make decisions
- 74% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Master's degree | 65% |
| Doctoral degree | 26% |
Tools and Software Nurse Practitioners Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy analyzing problems and working with ideas as well as helping, teaching or caring for people.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Writing, Speaking.
Knowledge areas used most: Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Biology, Psychology, Customer and Personal Service.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 5 of 5, which means extensive preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Nurse Practitioner Job
- Nursing cover letter sample
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- How to describe your work experience
- Job interview tips
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 29-1171.00 (Nurse Practitioners). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.