Career Outcomes and Clinical Placements for Nurse Practitioners in Dallas

Every graduating nurse practitioner (NP) makes one particular decision that significantly influences his or her career trajectory — often without realizing its impact. This choice is not of which school to attend or which clinical placements to pursue, but where to live and begin to practice. An NP’s career outcomes are at least partially dependent on geographic location and the state legislation, local economy and cost of living in the area.

A nurse practitioner in Texas can expect to earn an average annual salary of $110,060, ranking the state as the 10th of all states for high NP salaries. In the Dallas area specifically, NPs earn, on average, $107,830, which is over $50,000 more than the average annual salary in the region.

NPs seeking job opportunities in Texas also benefit from high employment levels. Of all states, Texas ranks fourth for NP employment, with 8,890 practicing NPs. A total of 1,830 of these nurse practitioners practice in Dallas and the surrounding community.

A nurse practitioner is recognized as a primary care provider in Texas. However, state practice and licensure law restricts an NP’s scope of practice. This means that as a nurse practitioner in Texas, you will be limited in at least one area of your practice, the full range of which typically includes evaluating and diagnosing patients, ordering diagnostic tests, managing treatment plans, and prescribing medications.

To determine an NP’s practice authority, the nurse practitioner and a supervising physician jointly develop the policies and protocols under which the NP will practice. This agreement should specifically outline the nurse’s prescriptive authority for drugs and devices and must be renewed annually.

Hands-on experience is essential for aspiring health care professionals, particularly for nurses who are often on the front lines of patient and community health. Through the clinical experience component of the curriculum, Nursing@USC enables students to learn in a variety of health care settings while practicing under the supervision of experienced mentors. Students in the Dallas area work with the Nursing@USC clinical placement team to secure placement sites in or near their communities where they can develop their clinical competencies and gain confidence as practitioners.

Are you interested in advancing your career in health care? Learn more about earning your Master of Science in Nursing online with Nursing@USC today.