Unlike many other states, Maryland presently has a good supply of primary care physicians. However, health experts are still concerned about a potential primary care shortage as the state's population ages. Over 3000 nurse practitioners are currently in practice in Maryland, but experts say there's room for more.
Nurse practitioners in Maryland enjoy a relatively restriction-free practice environment. Physician supervision and collaboration is not required for NPs to legally diagnose and treat patients, or to prescribe medications. Nurse practitioners in Maryland also enjoy a strong degree of institutional support. The University of Maryland Medical Center, for instance, offers a formal orientation program for hospital-based nurse practitioners.
Nurse practitioners in Maryland typically earn about $95,000 annually. The Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland, Inc. is the professional organization for Maryland NPs.
Maryland nurses who want to advance their education and become nurse practitioners can attend an online school, such as Georgetown University, or one of these Maryland institutions:
- Johns Hopkins University. Widely recognized as a leader in healthcare education, Johns Hopkins offers a variety of NP programs, including a joint master's-level NP/master's of public health degree. Other NP programs include adult primary care, adult acute/critical care, family primary care and pediatric primary care.
- University of Maryland. The University of Maryland offers master's-level NP programs including: adult/gerontology nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner and psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner.
- Coppin State University. Located in Baltimore, Coppin State offers a family nurse practitioner program that is dedicated to training primary care providers to provide care to medically underserved populations in urban areas.
Accredited schools with NP programs in Maryland:
