Five Types of Nurses That Make the Most Money
After nurses complete the nursing school portion of their education, it’s time for them to focus upon a specialty. There are several types to choose from, and each requires specific training and passing of exams to become certified in the respective area. There is usually an on-the-job training phase that goes along with it. Each of these nursing specialties offers a different average level of pay. We’ve chosen to top five and ranked them in accordance to the lowest to highest average annual salary, to give you an idea of which types of nurses make the most money.
5. Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse – Annual salary: $81,000
A Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse assists the physician in dealing with medical conditions that affect the endocrine glands of the child. The most common illness dealt with is diabetes. In this role, the nurses focus on management of the disease and educating parents and the children about lifestyle choices and medications needed.
4. Certified Nurse Midwife – Annual salary: $84,000
A certified nurse midwife in the United States is a professional who has passed and exceeded the requirements of the International Confederation of Midwives essential competencies to act as a midwife. These nurses have earned an advanced practice specializing as a registered nurse in addition to their education in midwifery. They assist and monitor pregnant women with prenatal examinations, care, and delivery of the baby, often in the home environment in low-risk pregnancies.
3. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner – Annual salary: $95,000
A psychiatric nurse practitioner is a nurse that has been educated in several cross-disciplinary educational subjects for which they will be responsible for in their practice. Mental health is a subfield within the medical. The responsibilities include making both psychiatric and medical diagnoses, the skills and knowledge to conduct a variety of mental health and physical assessments using the recommended and approved instruments, designing treatment plans that are holistic in nature and prescribing medications that include psychopharmaceutical medications. These nurses also provide psychotherapy and counseling services along with consultation with other professionals in the healthcare field and education of their patients as well as the local community about the best practices for promoting psychological well-being and health. There are a variety of specializations in this field. Some psychiatric nurse practitioners specialize in working with elderly patients, some in working with children and others with general populations. They are charged with providing integrative care that addresses the connection between the mind and the body.
2. Nurse Researcher – Annual salary: $95,000
A nurse researcher is the second highest paid type of nurse with an average annual salary of $95,000. Nurse researchers are nurses who are also scientists who are involved in a variety of different aspects of health, health care, and illness. These versatile professionals undergo education that prepares them for conducting scientific research as they must design and implement scientific studies. Their main goal is to identify new ways to improve health in humans along with health care services along with health care outcomes for patients.
1. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist – Annual salary: $135,000
The highest paid type of nurse is a certified registered nurse anesthetist. This is a nurse that has gone through the required additional education and passed all of the required exams. This nurse administers anesthesia for patients who are undergoing surgery among other types of medical procedures. The level of autonomy that a certified registered nurse anesthetist has depends upon the country that they are practicing in. Some have more authority to make decisions on their own when it comes to the administration of anesthesia than others.
Final thoughts
If you’re considering a career in nursing, it’s worth considering which type of nursing you will specialize in. There are many different types available and we’ve only listed the five top-paying types of nurses. Some nurses make this choice by following a passion for a specific nursing type and others make their decision based upon which will give them the greatest opportunities for earning a high salary in their chosen vocation. Some of the above-listed types of nurses may make less or even more in their annual salaries depending on their geographic location, the number of years that they have been in practice and the specific clinic or hospital in which they are employed.
