Nurse practitioner's, with a MS in their particular field, command the
salaries you speak of and are able to prescribe some drugs and treatments much
like a PA does.

A close friend just became a nurse practitioner after being a well paid RN for
7 years. Her salary bump was tiny. She's barely making 100K. I asked her about
and she said she could earn far more if she left the city hosp. She loves it
there and money just isn't the main issue (it shouldn't be) in the field. As an
RN, she turned down chances for critical care home nursing positions that would
have paid her highly. Again, this is a white woman in a field that seems to be
populated by people of color, heavy accents and poor language skills. Where
Suzanne is working now, NO nurse ever touches a bedpan.

RB

\No, it's not depressing taking care of the elderly. What's depressing is the
fact that when you're to that point, people

Katy, my good friend (she just became a nurse practitioner) has been to many of
her patients funerals, invited by the patient or family. Certainly this is NOT
the norm. She's a warm, engaging person, who cares about people and it comes
across. I don't think there's anything she'd rather do. Suzanne is bent in the
same direction. On her first day, she and two other first time CCPs had to deal
with a patient who was bleeding badly. They had to leave the room. Suzanne
handled it, and put the patient at ease. Whenever he saw her after that, he'd
say "please smile for me, you're the only sunlight in this place." She was very
touched by that.
Last night she had her first bout of post mortem care. Rough night for her, but
she is determined to be great in her new career. Like most things in life,
following the averages is not reccomended.

RB