Nurse Practitioners

Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Complex Problem Solving
Writing
Speaking
Active Learning
Monitoring

Key knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry
English Language
Biology
Psychology
Customer and Personal Service
Therapy and Counseling
Education and Training
Sociology and Anthropology

What the work involves

Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances.
Schedule follow-up visits to monitor patients or evaluate health or illness care.
Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies.
Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).
Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Master's Degree (65.2% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (34.8%)
On-the-job training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (26.1%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Nurse Practitioners is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Very high	Higher on contact with others than 80% of occupations compared	74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 82% of occupations compared	65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Very high	Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared	80% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very high	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 91% of occupations compared	83% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	High	Higher on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	High	Higher on conflict situations than 78% of occupations compared	39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very high	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 83% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Consequence of error	Very high	Higher on consequence of error than 95% of occupations compared	70% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: high
Conflict situations: high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
Consequence of error: very high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions