Nurse practitioner practice patterns, compensation, and professional organization participation: western Massachusetts.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) require current information pertinent to their local areas, often not reflected fully in national salary survey data, when they negotiate salary, benefits, and practice responsibilities. Professional NP organizations require membership data for success in planning events, particularly educational programs, that may be sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, an issue that may be uncomfortable for some members. This article describes personal characteristics, practice patterns, salaries and benefits, and organizational membership characteristics from a sample of NPs surveyed in western Massachusetts. Factors affecting salary, such as experience, work setting, geographic location, and certification, were presented. Salary and benefits reflect salaries at or somewhat more than national and regional averages (northeastern United States), with benefit packages varying among type of practice sites and location. The greatest predictor of salary was years in practice. NPs in school health had the heaviest patient and administrative work loads but earned less than NPs in other settings. Part-time NPs often had no benefits, but the hourly salary was about the same as for full-time NPs. Respondents reported a high degree of organizational membership and participation.