This paper explores two career paths open to nurses working in hospitals, that of the nurse practitioner and that of the unit director.
The paper begins with a brief overview of the careers of a unit director and a nurse practitioner by explaining their activities and responsibilities. It then lists the formal educational requirements to become a unit director or a nurse practitioner and explains the ways in which they are trained. The paper then describes the salaries and benefits earned by the two professions and the number of hours that they are expected to work. The paper concludes by explaining the job satisfaction experienced by the two types of nurses.
“Certified nurse practitioners overall receive what most people would consider to be a good salary and as well as better-than-average benefits. We can see this documented in a recent posting by the state of Oregon for nurse practitioners. These nurse practitioners, who were wanted to work in a wide variety of settings, could receive a salary of up to $5,129 per month depending on their own training and experience.”