A psychiatric nurse practitioner or (PMH-NP) is a trained nurse who provides expert mental care for adult and child patients in a primary health care setting or in outpatient settings. The PMH-NP can carry out a range of duties without the supervision of a doctor. Psychiatric nurse practitioners can diagnose mental conditions of adults and children, conduct therapy, and prescribe medications for their patients. They can diagnose and treat a range of medical conditions like psychiatric disorders, medical mental conditions, substance abuse disorders, learning disorders etc. The PMH-NP can also provide emergency psychiatric care for patients followed by crisis intervention and counseling.

Contents:

• Government Data Released on a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary
• Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary and Location
• Factors Affecting the Salary of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
• Bureau of Labor Statistics about a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary
• Average Beginning Salary of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
• Registered and Unregistered Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salaries

Government Data Released on a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary

According to government data released in September 2010, the median nurse practitioner salary in the United States was about $87,618 a year. If you add in the other benefits and bonuses, a practitioner can earn as much as $120,000 a year. These benefits and bonuses may consist of healthcare plans such as a 401k at $6,100, and 403b at $3,335. Practitioners that specialize in areas vary in the salary they can receive also. A neonatal nurse salary, for instance, is around $65,000 to $95,000 a year. Psychiatric nurses, on the other hand, get paid around $40,000 to $50,000, but this figure can increase significantly once you’ve gained enough experience and have received the additional training that is necessary. Generally, the Pediatric nurse salary is in the range of $75,000 to $100,000 a year. There can be a wide salary gap just between nurse practitioner specialties simply because of factors like geographical location, years of experience, and additional training and education acquired.

Now even though this is what the government says, there are a ton of benefits and bonuses that a practitioner receives during their career, so if you take into account all of that then a practitioner’s salary be up to $120,000 every year which is awesome. With this paycheck comes a health care plan such as the 401K starting at $6,100 and the 403b which begins at $3,335.

Salary increase as you gain experience throughout the years obviously. For each and every practitioner who specializes in something, there can still be a salary gap just because of the factors like geographical location, how many years you’ve worked, how much experience you’ve gained, and the training and education you achieved. All these factors are taken into account when determining salary, bonuses, benefits, etc.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary and Location

Your salary varies based on the location you are working as larger cities pay more while smaller locations pay less as seen above. There are about 67% of all nurses that will work in either a hospital or an outpatient facility. Salaries for these facilities are about $38,792 – $44,869. The other 32% of nurses find work in doctor offices and other medical clinics or temporary assignments.

There are now travel positions that require you to travel to various parts of the country, and some even require you to travel internationally.

The salary of a psychiatric nurse varies greatly. There is really no base salary but a fluctuation across the board. The reasoning for this is a varied as the salaries in nursing. The base pay of a psychiatric nurse is determined by many different factors. The first of these factors are the years of experience that the psychiatric nurse brings to the table.

A GN or graduate degree psychiatric nurse will start out at the lowest salary of psychiatric nurse pay. They will remain at this level until they pass their board exam or NCLEX. Upon passing their boards they will receive a small increase in pay anywhere from $2.50 per hour to $5.00 per hour.

The most important factor in this scenario is to keep in mind that if the graduate psychiatric nurse does not successfully pass the board exam, the hospital can terminate their employment or extend to them a grace period in which they have the opportunity to pass the boards a second time. In the past years, it was not unusual for a graduate psychiatric nurse to stay on as a hospital employee for years before finally passing or taking their boards.

This practice is no longer widely accepted. Also, the graduate psychiatric nurse is not allowed to pass any medications until they have their licensure. The question remains, what is the typical base salary for a graduate psychiatric nurse.

It is safe to say that the salary ranges in the low to mid forty thousand dollars per year. This discrepancy of several thousand dollars has much to do with the location of the hospital. For instance, in rural communities where much of the hospital funding comes from the government, the pay rate may be higher or lower than a privately funded institution.

The mitigating factor is how successful the grant writers are at tapping into government funds, and how much private endowment money are bestowed to the hospital. Even with these two factors in place comes the process of dissemination of the funds. This is dependent on how the board of directors sees fit to use the funds. These funds could be put to the construction of a new hospital wing, or to the purchase of new diagnostic equipment.

Factors Affecting the Salary of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Whether or not the psychiatric nurses are unionized is also another factor in entry level psychiatric nurse pay. Unions can either work for or against nursing wages. Sometimes non-unionized hospitals pay more.

Shift premiums are also a factor. The top shift premium is paid for the midnight shift. Midnight shift premiums range anywhere from $2.50 per hour to $4.50 per hour. Since most shifts in hospitals are now twelve-hour shifts, midnights start around 7:30 p.m. and end around 7:30 a.m. These are attractive hours for many psychiatric nurses since they get four days off during a week and are still considered full-time at thirty-six hours per week. Health benefits including dental and optical are included in the total package and begin anywhere from one week after hiring up to ninety days.

The area of the hospital that the psychiatric nurse will work in is also a factor in pay. For instance, those psychiatric nurses that are trained for specialty care areas such as intensive care units (I.C.U.), the operating room, recovery room, or in the cardiac care facility will get paid an extra premium upon completion of their training in the hospital.

Different areas of the United States have been known to differ in psychiatric nurse pay scales according to the cost of living and population densities.

In the final analysis, the following factors are involved in determining the salary of an entry level psychiatric nurse; a) their years of experience in patient care, b) the shift they will be working, c) the hospitals location, either rural or metropolitan, d) whether or not the nurses are unionized, e) the population density and per-capita income of the residents in the hospitals region, f) the area of specialty the nurse will work in, such as I.C.U., C.C.U, etc., g) successful completion of licensing boards. h) whether or not to accept a benefit package or keep extra dollars per hour and opt not to take the benefit package, i) whether the hospital is government or privately funded.

The salary for a psychiatric nurse is about $35,000-$40,000 as entry level. Advanced practice psychiatric nurses can earn $60,000 or more. Nurse executives or nurses in administrative positions can earn $100,000 or more. The pay scale depends on several factors including, the level of education, years of experience, the size of the facility and geographic location.

Bureau of Labor Statistics about a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salary

In 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the official salary information for the nursing profession. While these numbers represent the entire nursing profession, the salaries of psychiatric nurses most likely resemble these closely. For the entire nursing profession, the lowest average salary came in at $44,190, whereas the highest average salary was over $95,000. Your salary as a psychiatric nurse will largely depend on your academic credentials and the region in which you work. The type of medical institution you work in will also determine how high your salary is as a psychiatric nurse.

The minimum requirements for being a psychiatric nurse practitioner include a valid registered nurse (RN) license and a bachelor’s degree in nursing. In addition, most psychiatric nurse practitioner programs will not accept applicants who have less than one year of experience as an RN in a psychiatric intensive care unit. Psychiatric nurse practitioner programs include two or more years of additional study with coursework in advanced assessment, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and clinical hours with a preceptor. After graduating from an approved psychiatric nurse practitioner program, candidates can sit for the psychiatric nurse practitioner licensure exam and obtain a license to practice as an advanced nurse.

Average Beginning Salary of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

A typical salary for a psychiatric nurse is dependent on the area of the country one is practicing in. However, an average beginning salary for an entry-level psychiatric nurse can range from $30,000 to close to $50,000 a year. The salary can rise depending on the amount of experience the nurse has. A psychiatric nurse practitioner can make an average of $80,000 a year. Research indicates that the need for psychiatric nurses is expected to increase in the next decade, in part due to the changing technology allowing more severely ill or premature babies to survive the psychiatric period.

The salary range for a psychiatric nurse falls between $30,000 to $40,000 a year. There are several factors that affect salary level. One of those factors is education. A psychiatric nurse with a bachelor of science in nursing degree may earn more than a nurse with an associate’s degree.

Experience is another factor that helps determine psychiatric nurse salary. A nurse who has been working in a NICU for ten years will likely make a higher psychiatric nurse salary than someone who has worked there just five years. A knowledgeable, experienced psychiatric nurse is a valuable asset for a hospital. Psychiatric Nurse Salary by State

Registered and Unregistered Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Salaries

Usually, a registered nurse earns on an average at least $66, 530 per year. However, those who specialize in other areas such as trauma, transport, critical care, hospice, radiology, home health care and so forth will generally receive much more depending on their skills, qualifications, years of experience as well as the training they received throughout the years. Furthermore, nurses have a lot of career diversity and have a lot of avenues to grow with thus giving more chance to earn a better salary in return. Furthermore, there are even some areas in the United States wherein there are in need of more nurses but such needs exceed the applicants for the position. However, different states have different salary levels as well. Therefore, those working and living in big and progressive cities will generally receive higher salaries than those living and working is a small town. Furthermore, those working in big hospitals will generally receive more than those working in small clinics or nursing homes.

The psychiatric nurse has to bear in mind the following fundamental things or beliefs before taking the responsibility of providing nursing assistance to a patient challenged by some sort of a mental disorder.

1. The primary objective of the psychiatric nurse should always be the well-being of the patient and not just the cure for the disease or temporary relief. In other words, the nurse should ensure that the patient, suffering from mental disorders, should transform himself or herself to a normal person capable of independently leading his or her own life outside of the hospital atmosphere.

2. The responsibility of a psychiatric nurse is slightly different from that of other registered nurses. The nurse should view the patient as a person having a set of beliefs, customs, practices, strengths and unique qualities, and not just concentrate on the illness of disease.

3. The nurse should extend assistance to a mental illness patient only when the patient is unable to meet the need by himself or herself. In other words, the nurse should come to picture only when the patient finds difficulty or could not perform his or her own normal routine duties.

4. Another important point every psychiatric nurse should bear in mind is that the patient is only responsible for his or her own feelings, actions as well as thoughts, and no other third person can influence the feelings of the patient. It is true that the thought process might have been affected by the disorder, but the patient is only responsible for the feelings, thoughts, and/or actions.

5. The psychiatric nurse should know that the patient being treated is a human being and not just a toy for administering treatment for the disease. The patient should be involved in the treatment process and without the active co-operation and better relationship between the patient and the nurse, the disease cannot be cured in its entirety.

6. The psychiatric nurse will be concentrating more on the emotional problems of a patient than other forms of the disease that affect the body alone. For a better emotional state of mind, the patient needs to cease his or her dependence on chemical components such as tobacco, caffeine, and such other things. The nurse should lay more emphasis during treatment in achieving a better emotional health in addition to physical health because a right balance between the emotional health and the physical health is essential for a person to have a better quality life, free from mental disorders.

The above-mentioned are some of the fundamental aspects that a psychiatric nurse should always bear in mind while interacting with a patient suffering from mental disorders.

If you are interested in a challenging career in nursing, PRN may be worth your try. It is a Latin term standing for Pro re nata loosely translated into English as “whenever demand arises”. But if you have never heard of this area, you should not be worried for here is all that you should know.

Contents:

• Who is a PRN Nurse?
• What Is Entailed In PRN Nursing?
• PRN Work Schedule
• Working Conditions of PRN Nurses
• Requirements to PRN Nurses
• PRN Nursing Jobs
• PRN Nurse Operandi Mode
• PRN Nursing Salary
• PRN Nursing: In-Depth Analysis
• Area of Specialization of PRN Nurses
• Benefits of PRN Career 
• Drawbacks of PRN Career
• Where to Work as a PRN Nurse?
• PRN Job Outlook

Who is a PRN Nurse?

PRN nurse takes a shot at an accessible if the need arises, makeshift premise, filling in for attendants on leave or giving extra help when admission rates rise. Some work for attendant staffing organizations and might fill in at an alternate clinic every day, while others work for a doctor’s facility or social insurance framework, drifting between offices or departments as required.

What Is Entailed In PRN Nursing?

• It is about being a medical caretaker in a family run, free administration supplier.
• Their point is to help individuals live as autonomously as could be expected under the circumstances in their own particular homes, empowering them to make the most of their way of life to its maximum capacity.
• They give an extensive variety of home care after individuals with an assortment of various needs including household errands, shopping, general help at home or fellowship for get-togethers or human services visits.
• PRN Nursing gives a bespoke consideration administration to grown-ups of all ages living at home or in the neighborhood group. They give a wide assortment of services going from household help to complex care needs, whether short or long haul.
• One of the ways PRN accomplish this point is to receive a multi-disciplinary way to deal with group cooperation by working cooperatively with GPs, District Nurses, Community Psychiatric Nurses and Hospice Nurses. By taking this course, the desires of the client stay of central significance.
• Notwithstanding this, PRNs know it is not only the individual client who needs support. They perceive that close relations of the client may require further backing, whether passionate or down to earth, and plan to be available to give this backing as and when it might be important.

PRN Work Schedule

Assignments for PRN medical caretakers may last just a day or up to a few weeks, contingent upon why they’ve been brought in. In the event that they’re filling in for an attendant on maternity leave, the task could most last for a few weeks, yet in the event that they’re rounding in for somebody who’s out wiped out, they may just work a day or two.

They can regularly pick the sort of work routine that works best for them, settling for one day only or two days a week or just tackling short-or long haul assignments enduring a few weeks. On account of the adaptability and the appeal for their administrations, they can frequently set their own timetables, picking assignments that work around their kids’ needs, for instance.

Working Conditions of PRN Nurses

PRN medical caretakers may work at various offices or in various units consistently and must have the capacity to rapidly change in accordance with new obligations, strategies, and associates. Attendants who work for an office may have assignments at healing centers in different geographic areas, offer various administrations and work under fundamentally distinctive strategies.

Medical attendants can likewise sign on with a clinic’s pool of outlay attendants, so while they may work in various divisions and have distinctive obligations every day, they profit by recognizable situations in which they know the strategies, hones and perhaps huge numbers of their colleagues.

Requirements to PRN Nurses

Most organizations and doctor’s facilities require PRN medical caretakers to have RN licenses, and staffing offices have strict necessities, including phenomenal references and qualifications and one year of basic consideration experience, as per Nursevillage.com. They likewise regularly require drug testing and current vaccinations. Offices may likewise regulate competency tests to figure out whether medical attendants have the learning and experience to rapidly adjust to new circumstances.

PRN Nursing Jobs

PRN programs offer positions for representatives to deal with an “as-required premise.” These positions are provisional job so you normally get no advantages. Numerous projects are set up to permit attendants and other restorative experts, for example, word related specialists, drug store professionals, clinical dietitians and phlebotomists who work routine set of expenses to pick how long they need to function every month.

Routine set of expenses representatives who are available to come back to work frequently are reached finally to fill in. Not all PRN assignments are available to come back to work. Now and then you can get short- or long-haul interim assignments obliging you to work low maintenance or full-time hours.

PRN Nurse Operandi Mode

Healing facilities frequently depend on routine set of expenses representatives when the ordinary staff can’t meet the present workload because of a startling or sudden lack of staff. Albeit a few healing facilities contract routine set of expenses workers straightforwardly, others experience staffing offices. PRN positions offer work to representatives who need adaptable timetables that permit them to pick their own hours. Different people use routine set of expenses work as an approach to pick up experience while they hunt down a changeless position. Some individuals work routine set of expenses occupations notwithstanding standard all day job to acquire extra pay.

PRN Nursing Salary

Normal PRN pay rates for employment postings across the nation are 19% higher than normal pay rates for all occupation posts.

PRN employments frequently pay more than full-time nursing positions, It offers flexibility and financial rewards. Offices ordinarily offer higher rates than healing centers. Numerous organizations offer advantage bundles including medical coverage to retirement anticipate attendants who acknowledge a base number of movements every week, and some compensation PRN nurture quickly taking after every movement they work. A few clinics likewise offer advantages bundles for PRN nurture that focus on working a specific number of movements every week in the office’s routine set of expenses nursing pool.

PRN staffing positions pay more since occupation assignments are variable. You may get higher pay to remunerate you for not getting advantages. Be that as it may, in the event that you are utilized by a staffing organization and work a specific number of hours every month, you may get advantages.

Outlay medical attendants who work through medical caretaker staffing offices can gain $30-$40 every hour. Medical caretakers who work overnight move or in a claim to fame field may procure more. Nurses who work in clinics ordinarily acquire more than the individuals who work in nursing homes, home wellbeing administrations or doctor workplaces.

PRN Nursing: In-Depth Analysis

You are presently aware of the information about what a PRN nurse does. You additionally recognize what it takes to wind up one. What remain are the specialization and what the future has in store for you on the off chance that you pick this vocation way. For one thing, this is a decent profession decision as you will find in all the data gave here.

More so if you want to work as you will and when job arises this is the chance for you. There are benefits as well as challenges once you choose this as your choice as a nurse. But it would be important that you get as much information as possible to ensure that you are making the right decision.

It’s difficult to arrange your life or your financial plan around PRN work, unless you’re the person who chooses when and how regularly to function, yet there are additional advantages to working PRN.

Area of Specialization of PRN Nurses

There are zones of specialization in which a PRN Nurse can be their particular range of information. This doesn’t imply that you can’t perform the general obligations that may come your direction, however, it implies this is the region where you have profound information. The most prominent ranges of specialization incorporate:

• Give proficient nursing consideration to occupants, taking after set up office strategies and methodology.
• Help chiefs in consideration and administration of the unit and giving quality consideration.
• Help with actualizing inhabitant care arrangements and strategies.
• Guarantee correspondence with family in case of a patient exchange to healing center or post intense office.
• Guarantee fitting documentation of pharmaceutical errors.
• Diagram Compliance Reviews.
• Check rooms routinely to protect occupants are being given the consideration asked.
• Delegate obligation as expected to nurse faculty.
• Oversee direct inhabitant care work force in the unit.
• Guarantee that the individual nursing care arrangement is taken after.
• Guarantee that a duplicate of the medicinal record or a theoretical of it is sent to the exchange of inhabitant.
• Guarantee that medications secured by the Controlled Substances Act are evident by stock.
• Guarantee fitting demolition of drugs.

Benefits of PRN Career

To the extent exacting banquet, for example, paid time off or wiped out time, you most likely can’t expect either when you work PRN. There are special cases; a few organizations will give you get-away time after you work a specific number of hours every year for them.

In any case, one advantage of working PRN is that you likewise don’t need to ask and argue for a considerable length of time off; you simply don’t answer the telephone when you perceive the healing facility’s telephone number on your guest ID.

Another advantage of PRN is that you, as a rule, gain more for every hour than you would be working a staff position, and if the healing facility is frantic to fill an opening, you may win time-and-a-half or even twofold time for coming in.

There are a few things to consider when choosing your next job opportunity.

Being in the opportune spot at the perfect time can help you land a healing center position. On the off chance that you deal with a unit in a PRN employment, you’re as of now a well-known face. Your hard working attitude – ideally a decent one – is now known.

When it’s an ideal opportunity to contract somebody for low maintenance or full-time position, your name may come up as an applicant. Since you’re as of now a clinic representative, you may likewise have entry to employment postings first.

Drawbacks of PRN Career

The downside to PRN is triple: the absence of a predictable compensation, the likelihood of working moves nobody else needs, for example, night shift and the absence of advantages. In the event that you are let go from a PRN employment or should be off work for an expanded time, you likewise aren’t typically qualified for unemployment or incapacity pay.

It’s additionally troublesome now and again not to be a piece of the standard staff, despite the fact that in the event that you take a shot at one unit much of the time and become more acquainted with everybody; you may feel extremely good working PRN. In case you’re always tossed into new units, it can be uncomfortable – and you’re liable to get the assignments nobody else needs.

Where to Work as a PRN Nurse?

In case you’re searching for an all-day work in the doctor’s facility and can’t discover one, a PRN employment can help you get your foot in the entryway. If your employment is PRN, it implies you just work when they require you.

As a PRN worker, you may work entirely “accessible if the need arises,” to be accessible as required when there is a staff lack or a crisis. On the other hand, you can contract with an office to work a specific number of hours consistently or month, despite the fact that not generally that days or hours.

PRN Job Outlook

• There are upsides and downsides to each occupation. While there are some weaknesses to filling in as a routine set of expenses medical caretaker, the employment is perfect for some individuals. More seasoned attendants who need to stay utilized, however, can no more work an entire day, for instance, or a youthful mother with youngsters may discover there are numerous points of interest of working PRN.
• Work of PRN medical caretakers is anticipated to grow 19% soon, speedier than the normal for all occupations. Development will happen for various reasons, including an expanded accentuation on precaution care; developing rates of perpetual conditions, for example, diabetes and corpulence; and interest for social insurance administrations from the person born after WW2 populace, as they live more and more dynamic lives.
• Additionally, there is more monetary weight on doctor’s facilities to turn out patients when they can. This will build the quantities of individuals who should be sent to long haul care offices and outpatient care focuses. So it is intelligent that there will be solid employment development for medical attendants in those associations.

Whenever it comes to choosing careers, a pediatric nurse would be such a great choice. After all, many people find the nursing career attractive. But before you make the decision, you should be privy to what you are walking into. Information is power and this article will empower you with all that you may wish to know about pediatrics starting from the known to unknown for easy comprehension.

Contents:

• Who is a pediatric nurse?
• Training in the United States
• Eligibility
• Optional certifications
• Roles of a pediatric nurse
• Areas of specialization for pediatric nurses
• Common child diseases you need to be aware of
• Where will you work?
• Salary expectation
• Pediatric affiliated organizations
• Crucial sources of information

Who is a pediatric nurse?

A pediatric nurse provides health care to children right from the time they are born to the level of becoming young teenagers. It is a diversified field and you may have to specialize in one or 2 areas. A newborn would require special care which is different from what an adult would need. A child is just beginning to develop and it will need maximum attention to growing and developing without any life-threatening conditions. Their needs and anatomies are different thus they face a variety of health issues which would need instant attention for them to become strong adults.

It is not just everyone who would become a nurse in the field of pediatrics because there are prerequisites on a personal and general level. These attributes include:

• A good communicator. You will require excellent communicational skills to understand a newborn and a parent who may be in pain.
• Patience. You require patience to give a few-months-old baby what he may need.
• Genuine love for children. Since you will be dealing with them all of your time, you must be loving them.
• Deep understanding of health issues that affect young children. It would be in vain if you do not have well-founded information and knowledge on healthy problems and needs of the young ones.
• Friendliness and cheerfulness. Children are easily scared and if you are ever serious and unwelcoming this may not be your thing.

Training in the United States

Your childhood passion is not enough to make you a nurse working with children; you need 4 or so years of intensive training to start your path towards that goal. Besides your registered nurse (RN) license, you also need to sit and pass the Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN) exam which is a true reflection of your expertise and knowledge. To get the RN licensure; you may be a holder of diploma, a degree or higher degree, BSN or MSN and each of them should be accompanied by a minimum of 1800 hours as a pediatric practitioner. In the U.S. slightly above 20,000 nurses have the CPN certification. It is compulsory that you take further training in child care which forms the basis to the daily work for you.

The training is composed of formal education and clinical practice garnered during school and afterwards. For the undergraduate, there are 2 options towards becoming a pediatric practitioner:

• Bachelors of science (shortened as BSN); this course takes 4 years and thus prepares students for their RN exams. The topics are offered on a broad basis in the pediatric nursing field and the supporting areas such as ethics and good communication. Most of the students here already hold their RN qualification on their way to CPN registration and practice.
• Associate of science (ASN) is a 2-year program that is the initial preparation to a career in nursing. It is a foundation course to the nursing field and covers areas such as diseases, human anatomy, and the spread of disease from hosts to real victims. Some other areas covered include oral communication and psychology.

Eligibility

Even after training, you will not count yourself as fully qualified to become a pediatric practitioner. That is why we began by saying that it is a career for the passionate ones. There is a legibility criterion that must be met and here is the breakdown:

1. Active and current RN license within a state or a territory of the U.S.
2. For the international pediatric practitioners, you will require a legally recognized document in the country you choose for your practice.
3. Have practiced for 2 years as a registered nurse and it should be full time.
4. For the last 3 years, you should have at least 2,000 hours in a pediatric nursing field.
5. For the last 3 years, you should have had 30 hours of continued nursing education within a pediatric nursing field.

With all these requirements met, you are eligible to become a pediatric practitioner and enjoy the career you have always dreamt about since your childhood.

Optional certifications

To be super qualified, which is something you may need to be competitive, you should take additional certifications which are not compulsory. Here are 2 such certifications for your consideration;

• Pediatric Nurse Credential
• Pediatric Nurse CE’s

Roles of a pediatric nurse

So now you are qualified to be a pediatric practitioner in whatever specialization you have chosen. Your next question will be what roles are you expected to do. Here are some of the chief duties which may come your way in your place of work;

• Child immunizations. Children have to be kept safe from early development diseases and conditions. It is your duty to give them these immunizations at the right time. It is detrimental if they are not given during the appropriate time and right dosage.
• Medicine prescription. Once in a while, children get common ailments just like the rest of us. They will need medication for such diseases. Their dosage is not what would be appropriate for an adult. This is a tricky balance and your expertise comes to test during such procedures.
• Screening and diagnosis. Before any treatment is given to a child, screening and diagnosis should be done thoroughly. This is the first step before you can prescribe any medication.
• Conducting physicals. Sometimes you will be required to make a physical examination and tell whether there is a problem with a child. It requires a keen eye and knowledge to make such an examination without the help of any test tools.
• Guidance and counseling. As much as you are trained to deal with child cases, their parents are also under your docket. You will be required to give them professional guidance on how to give the optimum care to their child. That is why in the general nursing course you studied psychology and oral communication that come in handy at such matters as this.

Areas of specialization for pediatric nurses

The work of a pediatric practitioner is not in any way a one-dimensional task; it is composed of parts and parcels and you definitely will not be a master of all of them. That is why you will have to choose an area of specialization. It has to be a choice that you feel competent and passionate about. For your review, here are areas you can choose:

• Pediatric oncology nurse
• Early care pediatrics
• Acute care pediatric nurse
• General care pediatric practitioner
• Maternity pediatric nurse

Common child diseases you need to be aware of

As stated earlier on, knowledge on child health issues is very crucial. The diseases you may come across every now and then include:

• Measles
• Tetanus
• Smallpox
• Diphtheria
• Influenza
• Hepatitis
• Chickenpox
• Mumps

Where will you work?

It is a common question to ask about the places where you expect to get a job once you are an eligible pediatric nursing practitioner. Generally, you will get a job in health facilities that offer medical care to babies, children, and young teens. Public hospitals, private clinics, nursing homes, and social service agencies are places you may consider beginning your career.

Salary expectation

Well, nobody would want to work for peanuts and that is why you may be interested in what you are to expect as a qualified pediatric practitioner. Your salary may not be cut-dry in whichever institution you may find work since there are differences in remuneration in each one of them. In annual average, the median salary for a practicing pediatric is $ 660, 640 for those with RN qualification and $102, 670 for those with NP qualification.

Pediatric affiliated organizations

Many professionals have affiliated organizations which support and ensure standards are maintained. The Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) is the overall quality and standardization body but it is supported by other organizations which include:

• Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• National Association of Pediatric Nursing Practitioner (NAPNAP)
• Association of Faculties of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (AFPNP)
• Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON)
• Institute of Pediatric Nursing (IPN)
• North Pediatric Cardiology Nurses Association (NPCNA)

Crucial sources of information

You may be a certified pediatric practitioner which is the major hurdle to cross. But to be abreast with new trends with your areas of specialization you will need to inject new information from time to time. Where can you get credible information on pediatric nursing?

• Pediatric nursing journal
• Journal of pediatric nursing

Both of these journals contain authoritative information in this field and a copy would be adequate to keep you informed and bolster your efficiency and effectiveness.

It is a general phenomenon that the need for nurses will keep ballooning. Projections show that in the next decade, the need for pediatric nurses will almost double. Your training and experience will get you the job you want. Are you ready now to become a pediatric nurse? You have all that you need to know and it is a good preparation for what you may find ahead. Even for those who are already practicing, they may need a review of what they are expected to do. Good luck with pursuing your dream career.

Personal care assistants, also known as personal care attendants, or caregivers (individually known as a PCA), are persons who are employed to aid those who are disabled, chronically ill, mentally ill and those with additional health care needs. They also assist the elderly people to complete the tasks of basic living such as dressing them in the morning and preparing their meals. They are, therefore, an important part of the home healthcare team. Over the past few decades, the career of a PCA nurse has gained popularity because, without the assistance of a personal care attendant, many of these disabled and mentally ill people would not manage to go about their daily tasks.

For anyone who wants to know what is a personal care aide and if they can actually benefit from their services need to clearly understand the necessary certifications and license the PCA’s should have, the responsibilities required skill level and training the caregivers should have. So if you are thinking of pursuing the career path of a PCA which is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling career paths, keep reading to find out what the career entails and has to offer.

Contents:

• Who Can Make a Good PCA?
• Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Career Overview
• Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Career Options
• How Much Do Personal Care Assistants Make? — A PCA Salary
• Average PCA Salary vs. Other Best Nursing Jobs
• How to Become a PCA?
• PCA Educational Requirements
• PCA Training
• PCA Certification/Licensure
• Completion
• Important Qualities to Becoming a PCA
• What Are the Benefits of Becoming a PCA?
• What Are Some of the Challenges a PCA Faces?
• Career Prospects of a PCA

Who Can Make a Good PCA?

However, this career is not just for anyone. You need to have compassion, ability to be very understanding and patient and have a strong interest in caring for others if you want to pursue this career. This is because the job can be both physically and emotionally demanding. For instance, sometimes a personal care attendant must move and lift patients or even work with patients suffering from communicable diseases. Additionally, personal care aides are sometimes hired to care for patients suffering from mental health impairments and may become quite violent with them.

Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Career Overview

Personal care aides can work in a variety of settings where their services are required due to an aging and/or a disabled population. Some work in patient homes, large-scale care communities, small residential facilities or group homes to help patients with common tasks such as grooming and using toilet facilities, cooking, bathing as well as dressing. They provide care to people of any age, from children with disabilities to the elderly.

Their other duties include helping the clients make and keep appointments with physicians, checking the patient’s vital signs, providing or arranging transportation, serving as a companion for their patients and ensuring they take their medicine. Basic housekeeping is also important in order to provide a clean and safe environment.

In addition, these professional caregivers also help with tasks related to ADLs and can also complete other basic nursing tasks but only under the supervision of a registered or licensed nurse. However, most personal care attendants work for private clients, agencies or home health providers that offer services to senior citizens and the disabled.

In day-to-day activities, a PCA will normally work alone but will have to report to a registered nurse. They typically work in shifts of eight or twelve hours, including weekend shifts and overnight shifts. According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most personal care attendants worked full-time in 2014, but two out of five worked part time.

Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Career Options

Career advancements for personal care aides are limited. An experienced personal care assistant may choose to work as a self-employed PCA with no supervisory instruction, or his or her own care agency. In such a case, a PCA may find his or her own clients, arrange the working schedules and set their own fees. Additionally, one can also choose to advance their career by entering into training in order to become a registered nurse or a nursing aide.

On the other hand, there are different types of personal care aides which include:

• Home health aides
• Nursing aide
• Medical assistant
• Physical therapist assistants

How Much Do Personal Care Assistants Make? — A PCA Salary

According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, personal care aides in the year 2010 made a median income of $20,170 per year or $9.70 per hour. Fortunately, the median salary increased to $20,440 in 2014 which was approximately $9.83 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The best-paid PCA, however, made around $27,910 and the lowest $16,580 that same year. In the year 2015, there was also an increase in the median annual salary for personal care attendants.

In May 2015, the median annual salary was $20,980 with the lowest paid making less than $16,910 and the highest making more than $28,620. In the same year, the median annual salaries for personal care assistants in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

• Home health care services — made around $19,130
• Developmental and residential intellectual disability, substance abuse and mental health facilities — made around $22,150
• Persons with disabilities and services for the elderly — made around $21,070

Geographic location is the biggest factor affecting PCA salary followed by years of experience. However, state governments usually tend to compensate personal caregivers the best. The highest earning in the personal care assistant industry work in the metropolitan areas which include some places like:

• Bismarck, North Dakota — Average salary is $28,820
• Anchorage, Alaska – Average salary is $30,510
• Barnstable Town, Massachusetts – Average salary is $28,400
• Kingston, New York — Average salary is $28,010
• Fairbanks, Alaska — Average salary is $27,900

Additionally, personal care attendants with less than five years of experience earn a median pay of around $21,000. Those with five to ten years of experience, on the other hand, can expect to take home around $22,000 on average while those with ten years plus of experience also earn an average salary of around $22,000. However, seasoned personal care assistants with more than two decades of relevant experience can expect to enjoy a median pay of about $23,000.

Average PCA Salary vs. Other Best Nursing Jobs

With an average salary of around $20, 440 in 2014, a PCA earned a comparable salary to home health aides who at $22,400 made about $1960 more. However, personal care attendants don’t make as much money as most other health care and nursing jobs in the industry. For instance, medical assistants made around $31,220, nursing aides took home $26,250 while physical therapist assistants made around $54,330.

How to Become a PCA?

If you are thinking of joining this career field and want to learn how to become a personal care aide, there are several requirements you need to meet in order to do so. Having completed these requirements, you open yourself up to extensive job listings and the ability to work just about anywhere in the country. These requirements include:

PCA Educational Requirements

For starters, PCAs are not subject to specific educational requirements. You don’t need a high school diploma or even a formal education to become a PCA. However, having at least a high school diploma or equivalent (GED) can give you an advantage over other personal care assistants who do not.

PCA Training

Although there is no actual educational requirements and federal training requirements, there are some specific training practices required in order to become a personal care aide. Training is generally important for PCAs interested in using the career as s springboard to a more advanced position like a registered nurse or a home health aide. However, these training programs depend on the state where you work and since state laws vary widely, for specific state requirements, always ensure you consult with the state’s health board. When it comes to training, you train directly under an RN, supervisors, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or experienced caregivers so you can provide the very best service possible. An employer may also train PCAs to perform jobs in a specific way and to undergo a competency evaluation. In addition, for states requiring more standardized training, you can receive the formal training through:

• Vocational schools
• Home health care agencies
• Local community colleges
• Eldercare programs

For starters, you need to enroll into a training program through an organization like the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. This organization offers a voluntary certification program for personal care attendants. Most certification programs require around 40 to 75 hours of formal training.

During the 40 to 75 hours of formal training, there are various courses and topics you have to cover. These topics include:

• Fundamental coursework in anatomy
• Sensitivity training
• Death and Dying
• Gerontology
• Personal care equipment
• Physical developmental disabilities
• Medical terminology
• Dementia

The skill sets offered through this training on the other hand include:

• Ability to take blood pressure of an individual
• Emergency medical response
• Ability to take and monitor pulse rate and temperature of an individual
• Infection management
• Communicable disease control
• Basic first aid and CPR
• Medication administration

There are also some client based topics one needs to master and they include sanitary housekeeping, assisting in grooming and cooking foods for specific diets.

PCA Certification/Licensure

The National Association for Home Care and Hospice offers national certification for personal care assistants. Certification or licensure is not required by state or employers although some employers require a PCA to have certification especially in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid. This is because the employers see certification as a voluntary demonstration that the personal care aide has met industry standards. To obtain certification, you need to complete at least a 75-hour training program, 16 hours of supervised training, pass a written exam and provide proof of competency. Certification could meet state requirements for an employer who receives federal government compensation from health programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Completion

Having gone over the entire course material and finished your entire PCA training, the next step is to be appraised by the RN. However, the appraisal is only possible if the registered nurse passes you in the 17 skill sets. And if this happens you’re able to start your job as a PCA. However, in case you fail or there are some specific areas in which you need to work on, no need to start all the educational training program all over again. You just need to focus on those specific areas the registered nurse found you to be lacking in to be able to complete the training.

Important Qualities to Becoming a PCA

• Interpersonal skills — In most cases, you will find that the patients/clients are in so much distress or pain. In these cases, PCAs are required to be extra sensitive to their emotions. They must also show compassion to the clients and enjoy helping those in need.
• Detail oriented — PCAs need to follow certain rules and even protocols to help take care of the patients. They also need to pay so much attention to a client’s medical condition so they can be able to quickly notice any changes that may require medical assistance.
• Physical stamina — this is important because a PCA often has to lift or even turn clients with disability. They should, therefore, be comfortable performing physical tasks.
• Integrity — Personal care assistants should be trustworthy and dependable so that patients and their families are able to rely on them. In addition, they must be able to make clients feel comfortable, especially when they are tending to their personal activities like assisting the client to take a bath.

What Are the Benefits of Becoming a PCA?

For the right person, a career as a personal care aide is very rewarding in so many ways. First, you can be sure to get internal satisfaction from knowing you have made a big difference in the quality of someone’s life. Other benefits you can expect as a personal care aide include high job prospects, possibilities for advancement in the medical field as a registered nurse, flexibility, and few requirements to enter the personal care attendant field. Additionally, you can find a job in a variety of settings including large care communities, agencies providing in-home services or even small group homes.

What Are Some of the Challenges a PCA Faces?

The career of a PCA is very demanding both physically and emotionally hence; challenges are an unavoidable part of being an aide. These challenges present a real danger for the client and the PCAs as they work to offer quality home-care. Some of the most common challenges they face are a lack of PCA training, time constraints, and low pay. The best way to overcome these challenges is by embracing them through learning as much as they can and preparing for the problems at hand instead of shying away from them.

Career Prospects of a PCA

The job outlook for personal care assistants looks very good. The aging population is gradually increasing and statistics show that the baby-boomers need more personalized care. Another factor that affects employment prospects is the trend to transfer patients as soon as possible out of critical care facilities to familiar surroundings of home.

Generally, the number of aging people and age cohort that is challenged by health complications to an extent of requiring prompt assistant with day to day activities is growing (and is expected to increase in the long run). Besides that, the number of people suffering from mental and physical disabilities is also rising.

The job openings created by this increase in demand for specialized care workers coupled with the fact that replacements are needed once in a while means that the future of a PCA is bright. Besides that, the relatively low skill level requirements and high emotional demands mean joining this career offers a double-edged sword. The low-level skill demand means anyone can join in but the high emotional demands mean only few can actually manage to stay on the job long enough.

In the state of California, the population of PCAs is projected to grow much faster than the average growth rate for all other related job positions. It is expected that demand for people with this skill set will grow by 51.8% by 2022. Specifically, in Ventura County, the number of care aides is predicted to grow exponentially at a rate of 33.9% between 2012 and 2022.

As a PCA it is worth noting that your working hours will vary depending on your job. This may sometimes include weekends, evening or split shifts. If you get an opportunity to serve at a residential location, you may be expected to sometimes stay overnight on a rota basis. In some situations, you might even be required to move in with the person who needs care. Part-time opportunities are also readily available particularly if you work with the community and are willing to travel between client’s homes.

To increase your career prospects, you may be encouraged to work towards further qualifications, such as the level 2 or 3 Diploma in Social Care and Health. This will, in turn, give you an opportunity to become a senior care worker. As your career progresses, you may want to advance on to higher qualifications, such as obtaining a degree in social work. You could progress to become a senior caregiver of even shift supervisor provided you are willing to amass more experience and qualifications to support your resume.

SOURCES:

money.usnews.com

learn.org

study.com