Neonatal is one of the least pursued specializations in the nurse practitioner NP field, but one of its highest-paying. Indeed, of 3, respondents to a questionnaire from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners AANP for its national compensation survey , just 1.

At the same time, these nurse practitioners reported receiving the highest base salary among eight specialty NP areas. But what do NNPs do?

NNPs help provide care and treatment for infants in critical care intensive care units ICUs , and also take on leadership roles due to their advanced graduate-level education.

PayScale - Neonatal Nurse Salary - Average Job Salaries

Their expertise might be put to use in Level II or Level III neonatal intensive care unit NICU , which are for infants born prematurely or with moderate or severe illnesses. NPs go into this specialty area for a variety of reasons beyond just pay. The majority of nurse practitioners have an average of 10 years of experience in nursing before deciding to pursue the education to become a nurse practitioner.

In fact, 67 percent of respondents to the aforementioned survey published in the Journal for Nurse Practitioners indicated they made the decision to work as an advanced practice registered nurse in neonatology while actually practicing as a registered nurse. In financial terms, this compares favorably to every other specialty NP area.

Indeed, the only base salary and income total to come close to those for NNPs were those for NPs working in psychiatric and mental health. Overall nurse practitioner salary can vary based on time of the job and past experience, although the AANP notes that new NPs are receiving competitive salaries. Of course, this is not specific to NNPs but all NPs in general. Given that NNPs have higher base salaries than average and higher total income than average, it might be assumed that their mean hourly wage is also higher than the average.

Unfortunately, the AANP survey does not break down NP pay by past experience for specialty area. Providing another source, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the highest mean wages vary by state with these five having the highest NP pay: Nurses interested in a NNP career can also look up median salary by state, and then look at any number of cities listed within that state for further information on pay in metropolitan areas. NNP median wages, listed by salary.

How Much Does a Neonatal Nurse Make?

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Neonatal Nurse | How to Become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

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Starting Salary for Nurse Practitioners. Average Salary and Beyond for Neonatal Nurse Practitioners. Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Salary by State.