Before you start composing hate mail, let us explain ourselves! We are very much aware that most nurses don't earn this much money. They don't even earn anything close to it. At the start of the article, we said we were going to look at the top 10% of each industry, and the disparity in pay for nurses from the top of the scale to the bottom is enormous. Sitting close to the top are advanced practice registered nurses.
These people are highly qualified and experienced medical care experts with a master's degree in nursing, a specialty within a clinical field and at least three years of experience of working within acute care. Nurses at this level largely work without the supervision of a doctor, and can replace the function of a doctor in numerous scenarios. In short, they're doctors in all but name, and that's why they're paid so much money.