One of the most significant benefits of being a nurse practitioner (NP) is the flexibility it offers. You can tailor your business hours to your needs, whether you are looking for more time with your family, pursuing other interests, or working another job. As a part-time nurse practitioner, you may be able to choose to work three days or 24 hours a week instead of Monday through Friday, or you can only work evenings or weekends only, plus many additional benefits. Along with the many advantages of part-time work for NPs, patients can benefit as well.
As a nurse practitioner (NP), you possess a unique skill set that allows you to care for patients in a variety of settings. At this point in your career, you can look into scaling down your demanding schedule and opting for part-time hours. After all, nurses have often been called upon to stay late, or pick up additional shifts. Pursuing part time NP work can give you the best of both worlds – a newfound work/life balance and continuing your successful career.
How a Transition from Full-time to Part-time Roles Benefits Nurse Practitioners
How many hours do nurse practitioners work? When you go part-time, you gain more flexibility! One of the biggest benefits of working a part-time NP job is the ability to achieve a better work-life balance. This allows you to have more time for yourself, your family, or your hobbies. After all the hard hours you have put in as a nurse, the free time you gain to restructure your lifestyle is time well-earned.
1. Reduced Stress
For an advanced practice registered nurse practitioner, part-time work can help reduce your stress levels and improve your wellbeing. It can also help you restore work satisfaction from the invaluable care you provide. A reduced schedule means fewer patients to see, also allowing you to spend more time with each patient – something you hadn’t been able to do before.
Cuts to your work schedule could also yield more time to prepare for each appointment, review medical records, and complete paperwork. Nurses have one of the most stressful jobs, and by transitioning to a reduced schedule, you can finally have some relief.
2. Room for Growth
For NPs who previously cared for patients full-time, working part-time can open the door to more career enrichment opportunities that may lead to an increased NP salary. You can devote more time to pursue additional certifications and education, attend conferences, or network with other healthcare professionals. Nurse practitioners working a flexible schedule also may use the extra free time to start planning for their own independent practice.
3. Increased Autonomy
Many NPs choose independent practice to gain control of their medical practice. In full authority states, this kind of autonomy allows them to create treatment plans and make vital clinical decisions beyond performing physicals without being subject to the influence or direction of a physician.
Many nurse practitioners have a lot of healthcare experience, and they understand the medical field better than most and allowing NPs greater autonomy benefits healthcare across the board. For some nurses, stepping into the role of provider gives them the opportunity to care for patients in a way they always wished they could.
4. Enhanced Patient Relationship
Establishing rapport with patients is a vital component of medical practice. Nurse practitioners in independent practice build strong relationships with patients as they tend to have more time devoted to nurturing patient relationships and generally have more availability. They also tend to be able to provide a personalized approach to prevention, illnesses, and diseases that often leads to better clinical outcomes.
5. Increased Earnings Potential
For those wondering, “How much do part time nurse practitioners make?” The answer is that estimated pay depends on many factors, such as number of hours worked, geographic location, and specialties. According to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics full time nurse practitioners in the U.S. make an average salary of over $120,000.
An autonomous model of compensation can easily lead to more competitive pay. NPs with independent practices usually can earn a higher average annual salary than those with a part-time nurse practitioner salary. They can work as many hours as they want and offer specialized medical services, leading to higher pay, and the potential to build a strong revenue stream over time.
Can You Work Part Time as a Nurse Practitioner and Transition into a Business Owner?
NPs serving all types of nursing specialties are critical to most aspects of the healthcare system. They are relied upon to provide excellent medical care for patients, especially those residing in medically underserved or rural areas. This demand has been shown to drive part-time family nurse practitioners to become full-time entrepreneur business owners, better serving their patients and enjoying the following benefits.
Can You Maintain a Part-time Nurse Practitioner Work Schedule While Building a Practice?
For most NPs, establishing an independent practice is a giant leap of faith. From start-up costs to building a patient panel, NPs have many considerations, such as factoring a part time nurse practitioner salary versus full-time. That’s why many NPs choose to search job alerts and job postings for part-time work to pay the bills as they build a dream. Working part-time can help alleviate financial pressure and support a successful transition.
Financial Security
One of the biggest benefits of working part time while building your own patient panel is financial stability. With costs such as leases, equipment, marketing, and staff to consider, balancing the books is a challenge. Working part time elsewhere will provide you with a steady income while giving you the opportunity to build your own practice.
Building Relationships
During your time working part-time in another practice, you can also build relationships with patients, providers, and staff members. This builds your network as you become known in the community, which is essential to marketing your own practice. As you build your patient panel, you can reach out to your former patients to let them know about your new practice. Patients are more likely to follow a practitioner they are familiar with and trust, which can lead to a solid foundation of loyal patients.
Patient Benefits from Independent NP Practice
Increased autonomy, flexibility, and increased earning potential are all reasons that NPs choose to go into independent practice. However, patients reap benefits from independent NP practices as well. Below are advantages of NP care for patients.
Improved Access to Healthcare
Certain regions – especially rural areas — have a shortage of family care providers, leading to unevenly distributed resources. NP independent practices increase access to healthcare services for those underserved populations. This practice model can address healthcare disparity issues, which affect patients’ quality of life.
Even dense communities – especially ones with a recent surge of population growth – end up with a shortage of providers. When NPs become independent care providers for the area, they can cancel their appointments for far off into the future, and book with an NP instead.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
Studies show that patients are often more satisfied with healthcare services when seen by NPs. This level of satisfaction stems from several factors. Firstly, NPs allow for more time spent on consultations and patient education, which leads to an improved doctor-patient relationship. Secondly, they provide individualized care that caters to patients’ specific needs, including administering medications and educating patients, which has been proven to improve patient outcomes.
Chart Your Own Course with NP Practice Consultants
NPs who work independently provide far-reaching benefits, ranging from improved access to healthcare, more affordable services, and increased patient satisfaction, among other advantages. Becoming an independent nurse practitioner also can be a highly rewarding career move – better pay, balanced lifestyle, and improved job satisfaction. If you are considering a transition to this path, we can help you manage every step of the process. Contact us to learn more.