Nurse practitioners report high job satisfaction

(HealthDay)—Nurse practitioners report high job satisfaction and are positive about the future of their profession, according to an article published Oct. 7 in Medical Economics.

Researchers from Staff Care surveyed 222 nurse practitioners to assess their feelings about their job and the future of their profession.

According to the report, all of those surveyed reported having positive feelings about being a nurse practitioner, and 99 percent reported being positive and optimistic about the future of their profession. Ninety-eight percent rated their professional morale as positive. However, 81 percent of nurse practitioners said they feel overworked and overextended, or reported being at full capacity. Nineteen percent felt they have time for more patients and expanded duties.

"The hope is that nurse practitioners can help address prevailing physician shortages," Margaret Crump, M.P.H., chief operating officer of the American Nurse Practitioner Foundation, said in a press release. "However, there are already signals that nurse practitioners themselves are overextended."