Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Are Satisfied Over the Past Year

St. Louis, MO, July 18, 2018- Nurse practitioners and physician assistants report that they earned more and remained generally satisfied with their healthcare careers in the past year, according to the second annual survey of advanced practice clinicians recently released by PracticeMatch, which provides healthcare employers and job seekers with a wide variety of career- and employment-related resources including physician/candidate database, job boards, career fairs, and career guidance.

As demand soars for advanced practice clinicians, NPs and PAs reported job satisfaction levels comparable to the previous year. Only five percent of this year’s respondents described themselves as unsatisfied in their careers as PAs and NPs, compared to six percent the previous year. The survey of nearly 1,100 NPs and PAs was conducted in March of 2018 via M3 Global Research.

NPs reported an average salary of $113,900, an increase of 6.6% over last year’s average reported the salary of $106,000. PAs reported an average salary of $117,000, up 4.9% from the previous year’s reported average of $111,500. Additionally, 8% of PAs and 5% of NPs reported earning more than $150,000 in 2017. These competitive, growing income levels equate to high levels of job satisfaction, and 86% of PAs and NPs reported being satisfied to some degree with their income level as well.

“Advanced practice clinicians such as NPs and PAs continue to be in extremely high demand among healthcare employers, especially in light of ongoing physician shortages,” states Mike York, chief operations officer of PracticeMatch. “Our annual survey shows that they are enjoying increased salary levels and job satisfaction rates that confirm how highly valued their clinical services are in a variety of medical settings, including hospitals and private groups across the country.”

As competition continues to intensify for advanced practice clinicians, signing bonuses remain an increasingly popular resource utilized by healthcare employers to attract top talent. Twelve percent of respondents reported receiving a sign-on bonus for their current role, up from 11% the previous year. Respondents who are newer to the workforce were more likely to have received a signing bonus than more tenured NPs and PAs, since signing bonuses have more recently become common for these practitioners. Fifteen percent of newer PAs and NPs (those with less than ten years of experience) were paid a signing bonus, compared to 8% of PAs and NPs with more than 20 years of experience. Among those who received a signing bonus, the average bonus paid was $7,200.

“The results of our annual PA and NP salary survey provide valuable insight into the advanced practice workforce,” York adds. “Knowledge of current recruiting and compensation trends can help healthcare employers optimize their recruiting strategies to attract and retain top talent among advanced practice clinicians.”

Respondents were geographically and experientially diverse. Seven percent of all respondents have a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or DNP). Additionally, survey respondents have worked in their profession as an NP or PA for an average of 13 years, and in their current role for seven years, on average.

About the Survey: The survey was conducted by M3 Global Research in March 2018, on behalf of PracticeMatch. The sample size was 1,089 respondents among Nurse Practitioner (514) and Physician Assistant (575) members of the MDLinx panel. M3 Global research maintains the largest physician and healthcare professional panel with over 3 million members across more than 50 countries. Research respondents did not receive honoraria for their participation.

About PracticeMatch: PracticeMatch provides a variety of valuable resources to match pre-screened clinicians directly with employers nationwide. Founded more than 25 years ago, PracticeMatch is one of the most established companies serving the recruitment side of the healthcare industry, and its Pinpoint physician database includes more than 350,000 interviewed physicians. Additional products and services include APMatch.com, a database and job board for NPs and PAs and their employers, as well as 25-30 live and virtual career fairs hosted annually for physicians and advanced practice clinicians nationwide.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Andrea Clement, Media Relations at 404.990.3614 or email at [email protected].