Perinatal Nurse Practitioner: Job Duties, Pay, and Benefits
Career News October 11, 2013Perinatal nurse practitioners are nurses who provide medical care to women who are pregnant, giving birth or gave birth recently. Perinatal nurses support women and their families as they move through this transitional phase of life, helping them deal with both the negative and positive stresses that arise when a child is born.
Perinatal nurses also deal with new mothers’ emotional and physical issues. Jobs in Perinatal nursing are idea for healthcare professionals who enjoy working with expectant mothers, new mothers and their families.
Job Duties
Some Perinatal nurse practitioners work for health care facilities, while others may practice on their own. Nurses who work in health care facilities may work in adult education centers, doctor’s offices, community health centers, birthing centers or hospitals.
Perinatal nurse practitioners are responsible for treating women with high-risk pregnancies, educating women about prenatal health and childbirth techniques, supporting women during labor and childbirth and helping mothers to bond with and care for their babies after delivery.
During a typical day, professionals working as Perinatal nurses may care for women who are pregnant or in the middle of labor and delivery. Perinatal nurse practitioners may also care for women who have delivered recently.
Like most other nurses, Perinatal nurse practitioners must assess the condition of each patient individually and use the information they glean to create or amend the patient’s treatment plan. Perinatal nurse practitioners also provide certain treatments and interventions to their patients, as well as emotional support.
Pay
Perinatal nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who typically possess at least a master’s degree in nursing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses in the United States earned an average annual wage of $64,690 as of 2010.
However, because advanced practice nurses have more training than most registered nurses; Perinatal nurse practitioners may earn a higher-than-average salary. The exact salary a Perinatal nurse practitioner will earn depends on the nurse’s education, experience, location and employer.
The BLS predicts that positions for registered nurses will increase by 26 percent from 2010 to 2020. It is likely that open positions for Perinatal nurse practitioners will increase at a similar rate.
Benefits
If a Perinatal nurse practitioner works for a health care facility, he or she may receive certain benefits of employment. The exact nature of these benefits varies by employer. However, many employers offer membership in a group health insurance plan, which reduces the cost of health care.
Employers may also offer free or discounted child care services, vacation pay, sick pay, overtime pay and bonuses. For nurses who plan to continue their education, some employers may offer educational incentives, such as tuition reimbursement or higher salaries for nurses with more advanced degrees.
