joannav Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Could someone explain the difference between a Physician Assistant and a Nurse Practitioner? I'm still a bit confused as to what sets these two professions apart. Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 6, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 6, 2014 at a basic level all NPs are also nurses. some earn their rn along with their np while some are rns before they start an np program. some states(18 or so) allow NPs to have "independent practice". PAs as opposed to NPs come from many different clinical backgrounds(medics, military, resp. therapists, rns, etc). PA programs typically have more science courses and more clinical hours than NP programs. at the current time all PAs must be associated with a physician. PAs for the most part own the inpt market(surgery, em, hospitalist, ortho, etc ) while NPs own the outpt market(psych, peds, fp, women;s health, etc). there are regional differences. many jobs advertise for both, treat the same and pay them the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 NP practices nursing, a PA practices medicine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amina Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Ok I would like to add a question for the experienced PAs on here. I understand the fundamental differences between the 2 professions but what about in actual day to day practice? I know that NPs are touted as the more "holistic" provider who looks at the "whole" person however, from what I've observed, PAs can be holistic and suggests alternatives to pharmaceutical interventions. I haven't observed any NPs but I would assume that in the same clinical setting, they would use the same techniques to diagnose and prescribe an equal amount of drugs as PAs. Am I wrong in my assumptions? Are NPs truly more holistic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 6, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 6, 2014 Are NPs truly more holistic? nope. in day to day practice a pa and an np working side by side do basically the same things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HM2PA Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Phew... I'm glad someone FINALLY posted this question!! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 NP practices nursing, a PA practices medicine Not totally accurate. I get what you're saying and I've seen this response a lot. Reality is, though, that in a lot of workplaces (disclaimer: mine included) we all practice medicine. My NP colleagues quite literally do the same thing on the job I do - when they go into a room with a patient they don't have a different approach. They don't go in there to do some sort of advanced RN work, they go in to provide medical care to the patient. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latina PA Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Well from what I understand education is the difference. But after a PA and an NP are both licensed and are practicing they pretty much do the same thing. I have friends that have gone the NP route and their chemistry and microbiology classes during undergrad are at a lower level than the ones required for PA school. Also I have heard that an RN that wants to be an NP can do it while working, they can do it part-time and might be able to take some online classes while PA programs are full time for 27 or so months straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 7, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 7, 2014 there are a few(?7-8) part time pa programs out there in which the first yr is split into 2 years and the nl 2nd yr is a full time 3rd yr. this allows part time work yr 1 and 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Not totally accurate. I get what you're saying and I've seen this response a lot. Reality is, though, that in a lot of workplaces (disclaimer: mine included) we all practice medicine. My NP colleagues quite literally do the same thing on the job I do - when they go into a room with a patient they don't have a different approach. They don't go in there to do some sort of advanced RN work, they go in to provide medical care to the patient. YMMV. the medical assistants also "go in there and practice medicine" so i guess it doesnt matter what type of training one has. Fact is they hold a nursing license and have a nursing degree, they are not permitted by law to practice medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 ...Fact is they hold a nursing license and have a nursing degree, they are not permitted by law to practice medicine. Oops, don't tell all the PCP NPs about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 LOL, the op wanted to know the difference so there it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted January 8, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2014 Well from what I understand education is the difference. But after a PA and an NP are both licensed and are practicing they pretty much do the same thing. I have friends that have gone the NP route and their chemistry and microbiology classes during undergrad are at a lower level than the ones required for PA school. Also I have heard that an RN that wants to be an NP can do it while working, they can do it part-time and might be able to take some online classes while PA programs are full time for 27 or so months straight. The micro is the same. Chemistry is lower level though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 The micro is the same. Chemistry is lower level though. I teach in a community college where a lot of my students are direct entry MSN/NP students. They are not currently RNs, have no or nearly no nursing/medical experience, and are doing the pre-reqs for a 3 year program. The students have brought me the pre-req lists for their various schools and I have been able to write up a comprehensive summary of pre-reqs based upon the programs they are interested in, either NP or PA. I have noticed that the chemistries they have to take are the first year survey chemistries. PA school, however, has higher chemistry requirements (general and organic, one semester of each in most cases). Some PA programs require biochemistry in which both general and the first semester of orgo are definitely required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted January 8, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2014 I teach in a community college where a lot of my students are direct entry MSN/NP students. They are not currently RNs, have no or nearly no nursing/medical experience, and are doing the pre-reqs for a 3 year program. The students have brought me the pre-req lists for their various schools and I have been able to write up a comprehensive summary of pre-reqs based upon the programs they are interested in, either NP or PA. I have noticed that the chemistries they have to take are the first year survey chemistries. PA school, however, has higher chemistry requirements (general and organic, one semester of each in most cases). Some PA programs require biochemistry in which both general and the first semester of orgo are definitely required. Yes, for nursing school I only need chemistry for health science majors, which is the equivalent of a survey course. Had to take higher level gen chem 1&2 for the schools I applied to. However, I don't think gen chem and orgo are even remotely helpful for medical practice. Biochem is helpful to a degree, but the gen chem was of no more use than the survey course in biochem and I never had orgo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Yes, for nursing school I only need chemistry for health science majors, which is the equivalent of a survey course. Had to take higher level gen chem 1&2 for the schools I applied to. However, I don't think gen chem and orgo are even remotely helpful for medical practice. Biochem is helpful to a degree, but the gen chem was of no more use than the survey course in biochem and I never had orgo. I agree that gen chem and orgo are not useful for daily medical practice, but they are useful for deeply thinking about mechanisms or action for both diseases and medications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted January 8, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2014 I agree that gen chem and orgo are not useful for daily medical practice, but they are useful for deeply thinking about mechanisms or action for both diseases and medications. Agree to disagree. Biochem is the only useful class in that respect, IMO, and a survey gem chem and survey orgo course is all that is needed to perform well in that class, IME. Perhaps if you're thinking REALLY deep, researcher level, perhaps they are more helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 8, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2014 agree with Oneal. I think I have forgotten the majority of the chem course info I was ever exposed to within a week of being tested on it. filling orbital shells? give me a break. I remember a lot more physics than chem because it was more interesting to learn and more relevant to life in general. A+P/most bio courses are another story entirely.this is critical information and stuff I still review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z PA-C Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Is it really true that NP training uses the "nursing model" and PAs use the "medical model"? What is the difference? If PAs and NPs have many of the same duties shouldn't they be taught the same thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 ^^^^^ yes, a nursing model, but NPs get training in Evidence Based Medicine, and they have to have a bunch of nursing theory classes. PAs don't take any nursing theory classes in PA school. PAs have classes like radiology and I've heard of (and known NPs) who do not get that in school. They need to learn how to interpret radiology tests on the job, plus they don't go through classes like how to suture, casting or splinting, joint injections, or much of lab science. At least in my neck of the woods that has been the case. They learn it on the job. PAs have classes or workshops on all of that stuff in school. This may vary depending on the program an NP attends. Some schools are better than others and some brick and mortar schools may actually offer the classes I listed for NPs in their programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 There is a significant difference in clinical training from what I've seen. Unlike the 2000+ clinical hours we had in PA school, NPs in our local schools seem to have about 600 hours, with the bulk of that at one site. Most of the NPs I have met are family or adult NPs and the bulk of their training is in a primary care setting, with maybe 200 of the 600 hours at other sites. I have worked with some great NPs and have come to the conclusion that the best of them draw heavily on extensive nursing careers before NP school. A nurse who has worked charge in a cardiac ICU, for example, can jump into a cardiology practice and, after a while, do well. A new PA -- trained as a generalist but without specific cardiology experience -- requires a little more time. NPs without cardiac experience as an RN -- and without clinicals in the area -- seem to take a lot more on the job training before they are ready for prime time. Both are good careers and are good people. We just have different routes. Each of us is the product of of our experiences, our ability to learn more, and work with patients and each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Agree to disagree. Biochem is the only useful class in that respect, IMO, and a survey gem chem and survey orgo course is all that is needed to perform well in that class, IME. Perhaps if you're thinking REALLY deep, researcher level, perhaps they are more helpful That's likely true. Survey of orgo or the first semester of orgo, which teaches a person how two molecules interact. The survey of orgo class that I tutor for doesn't go into lone pairs or antibonds, which is where the magic happens, so provided this is part of the survey then it's comprehensive enough to allow one to do well in biochem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.