treejay Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi all - I have till Friday to decide if I'm entering PA school or a direct entry FNP program. I've been accepted to great programs in each path. I currently live in Washington state and will be going out of state to school. But I plan on returning to Washington. So my question is: what are the laws governing PA and NP practice in Washington. I am almost sure that NP's can have an independent, private practice without physician collaboration. What are the laws for PA's in this state? Do their charts have to be signed by a physician? Can they bill insurance directly? Do they both have the same prescriptive powers? How about other aspects of insurance billing. In essence, what is the difference between these two professions in this state? I also might want to live in California so info about that state would be helpful to me too. And finally, which of these two professions should I choose? I ask that jokingly, knowing full well that is my decision, but it's a tough one. I am interested in working in the ER but also family practice. My hunch is PA's might be more marketable in the ER and NP's might be more marketable in family practice. What are your experiences for job opportunities for these two professions in Washington? Salaries? Any comparing and contrasting is helpful. Thank you so much for you help and input ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi all - I have till Friday to decide if I'm entering PA school or a direct entry FNP program. I've been accepted to great programs in each path. I currently live in Washington state and will be going out of state to school. But I plan on returning to Washington. So my question is: what are the laws governing PA and NP practice in Washington. I am almost sure that NP's can have an independent, private practice without physician collaboration. What are the laws for PA's in this state? Do their charts have to be signed by a physician? Can they bill insurance directly? Do they both have the same prescriptive powers? How about other aspects of insurance billing. In essence, what is the difference between these two professions in this state? I also might want to live in California so info about that state would be helpful to me too. And finally, which of these two professions should I choose? I ask that jokingly, knowing full well that is my decision, but it's a tough one. I am interested in working in the ER but also family practice. My hunch is PA's might be more marketable in the ER and NP's might be more marketable in family practice. What are your experiences for job opportunities for these two professions in Washington? Thank you so much for you help and input ! I think you are correct on most of your assumptions. NPs can work independently. No chart sign for PA=C. Insurance billing the same. As far as salaries, in Seattle, from what I understand, NPs fare better, especially among the major medical centers where there is a powerful nursing presence. More PAs in ER. In my neck of the woods about a equal number of PAs and NPs in FP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbellin Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 While I would agree with the former post there is more the story. I work in rural Washington in both a critical access hospital and a rural health clinic. Rural health clinics require a NP or PA to be present 50% of the time the doors are open and they both require physician oversight/chart review. This doesn’t mean cosigning just assurance of proper chart documentation through regular chart reviews. In the hospital again NP’s and PA’s are equal. They both require physician supervision and cosigning of admit and d/c notes plus consulting them in any major intervention/change in a patient. The bottom line is what and where do you want to be when you come back to Washington? From what I’ve experienced and witnessed PA’s are more versatile providers in a rural area; I’d vote for the PA course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 17, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 17, 2011 pa>np for em in wa. my group has 15 pa's and 1 np and ther np is only allowed to work in low acuity areas. we used to have more np's( we inherited them when our group took over a facility) but every time one quit we replaced teem with a pa. when the last np retires in a few yrs we will be an all pa group. we don't even look at cv's from np's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treejay Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 EMPEDPA - What's your location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crieman Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I think that you'd be happier with PA education. I've talked with a few NP students and they've consistently said that the education is not what they'd hoped for. Much less clinical time as an NP. For this reason I think that PA's come out of school much more prepared than NP's, but after a few years of experience I think that it all becomes equal. We hired an new grad NP to work pulm/critical care and I think the docs are pretty disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 18, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 18, 2011 EMPEDPA - What's your location? south of seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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