While other states are planning for predicted physician shortages, South Carolina is anticipating an uptick in the number of primary care docs. The number of family physicians and general practitioners in South Carolina is expected to increase by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018; the number of pediatricians is expected to increase by 27 percent.
But that doesn't mean that there's no room for nurse practitioners. South Carolina currently ranks 39th of 50 states for the number of primary care doctors per capita, so there's clearly room for improvement. There's also evidence that nurse practitioners have been providing care to medically underserved populations in South Carolina. Many of South Carolina's 3400 nurse practitioners work in family practice or adult health.
South Carolina NPs work in collaboration with their physician counterparts. A collaborative agreement with a South Carolina physician is required before a NP can practice or prescribe medication in South Carolina.
The average annual salary for a nurse practitioner in South Carolina ranges from $83,000 to $89,000 according to Salary.com.
NP programs for South Carolina nurses include:
- Clemson University. NP students at Clemson gain primary care experience by caring for individuals of all ages during their clinical experiences. Students can ultimately choose to pursue certification as a family nurse practitioner, adult nurse practitioner or gerontology nurse practitioner. Clemson also gives its NP students the opportunity to study healthcare genetics.
- Medical University of South Carolina. MUSC offers a variety of master's-level online NP programs, including family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner and adult-gerontology nurse practitioner. Minimal travel to campus is required to complete the program.
- University of South Carolina. Currently, students can choose from either the MSN-level or DNP-level nurse practitioner programs at the University of South Carolina. The school was the first in South Carolina to offer a DNP program. Students can choose to focus on either acute care or primary care.
Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. also offers an online NP program that is available to South Carolina nurses.
Accredited schools with NP programs in South Carolina:
