Become a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner

A women's health
nurse helps promote
the health of women
of all ages.

Women's health nurse practitioners provide comprehensive woman-focused health care, with an emphasis on reproductive and gynecological health. Their work includes health promotion and disease prevention, as well as management of acute and chronic health conditions affecting women. Women's health nursing is a broad specialty, offering many opportunities to touch the lives of women from adolescence through menopause and beyond.

Read below to get more in-depth information about women's health nursing to discover whether it's the right nursing career choice for you.

Women's Health Nurse Career Overview

Women's health nurses work primarily in outpatient care facilities, including primary care clinics, physician offices, community health centers and college health clinics. They may also practice in long-term care facilities, hospitals, or virtually anywhere that women seek health care.

Women's health nurses work under the direction of a doctor or nurse practitioner to provide a wide range of care to women, including some of the following responsibilities:

• Family planning services
• Well-woman care and disease prevention
• Management of sexually transmitted diseases
• Prenatal and postpartum care
• Care during perimenopause and menopause
• Care for women with cancer, HIV/AIDS and disabilities
• Care for women with substance abuse problems
• Care for women who are suffering from abuse
• Assessment, health education and counseling

Women's health nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses (APNs), qualified to provide diagnosis and treatment for all of the health concerns listed above. They are also trained to apply nursing theory and research to clinical practice, and may function as researchers, administrators, consultants and educators in the field.

Women's Health Nurse Education

Women's health nurses are registered nurses (RNs). You can become an RN with a 2-year associate's degree or a 2- to 3-year hospital diploma program. However, you will have greater employment and advancement opportunities if you earn a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.

To become a women's health nurse practitioner, you will also need to complete a specific Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, typically obtained through a 2-year program of graduate study. You can then seek recognition by your state board of nursing as an APN. Alternatively, if you already have a master's degree, you can pursue a 1- or 2-year post-master's certificate program consisting of specialty coursework.

Certification is only required for practice as a women's health nurse practitioner in about half the states, but it can definitely increase your income and job opportunities in any state. Certification is available through the National Certification Corporation (NCC).

Women's Health Nurse Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Services, the median annual salary of a registered nurse was $57,280 in May 2006. According to PayScale.com, a women's health nurse practitioner can earn between $64,000 and $76,000 per year, depending on experience. As with any nursing specialty, your income will vary depending on your training, certifications, location and years of experience.

Women's Health Nurse Career Outlook

As with all nursing careers, the demand for women's health nurses is expected to increase significantly over the next 10 years (see information about the current nursing shortage). In fact, 587,000 new registered nurse jobs are expected through 2016, in addition to hundreds of thousands of jobs resulting from experienced nurses retiring or leaving the profession. Outpatient care centers and physician's offices, the settings for most women's health nursing jobs, will have faster employment growth rates than hospitals because new technology enables more sophisticated care on an outpatient basis.

Job demand positively affects salaries, schedules, job openings, and the availability of training institutions and government grants for education. Since the health care industry is currently booming, there are many financial and educational incentives available women's health nurses. One of these is the nursing loan forgiveness program, which helps students pay back their nursing college loans as they work in a nursing setting. Learn more about this type of financial aid that allows you to gain valuable women's health nursing experience while getting reimbursed for your nursing school education.

Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009.
Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow, 2009.