Bio grad debating on PA or NP

[Tangerine]

Ok so i recently just graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Biology. To be honest i really didn't enjoy it at all, in fact I hated it. Anatomy & Physio and Epidemiology were pretty cool. However Basic Biology and learning the cellular level of things is really boring to me. So i gave up my dream of being a doctor. My goal was to become a healthcare provider, I wanted to provide the bulk of patient care and diagnose. My disappointment in my major sent me researching other careers and I suddenly developed an interest in Nursing approx one yr before i Graduated.

To test out my theory on Nursing, I decided to take a nursing class "Pathophysiology" and I loved it, it was also taught by a male NP. He was very knowledgeable and made the subject very interesting which i thought was incredible coming from a science major. Are exams were NCLEX style and he focused a lot on common occurences/hallmarks of the diseases we were learning, aswell as throwing in his own experiences. Just hearing him mention the word "patient or simply talking about patients was enough for me" I felt like I had finally been given some food lol. I do realize that my lack of interest thus far may be enitrely due to me craving a medical course and finally getting one and also having dreadfully boring instructors :(

Ive been heavily weighing my options since graduation and I often have alot of people telling me "you act more like a doctor or you shouldn't settle for Nursing" just based on my personality. I'm always confident and detailed when working in medical environments and people always say "You always act like you know what your doing". which puzzles me because shouldn't every professional be that way. You should be confident when explaining things and that helps the patient trust you more.

I know that i can accomplish anything i set my mind too but I want to enjoy the learning process this next time around. I like nursing more-so since its holistic and moving to other areas is pretty easy. You can go into a lot of different fields with nursing. Ive already been accepted into an Accelerated Nursing MSN program

So here is my question: Does PA school mainly focus on the cellular level like my bio degree or is it more like the pathophysiology class I took? Im pretty knowledgeable about each role and their limit. My question is mainly about the learning process.

[marktheshark89]

Mostly pathophysiology. Medical students get more of the biochem/cellular level stuff. In our program we touched on it, but thats about it. Anatomy, phys, pathophys, clinical medicine, pharmacology, diagnostic imaging, history and physical exam are the more typical courses you will find in most PA programs.

[Z PA-C]

I was a bio major as well and am almost done with 1st year. Bottom line: You'll be learning medicine in PA school. We only get a year and don't have the time to go into all the nitty gritty cellular/micro level stuff. It's mentioned but I've definitely enjoyed NOT seeing a lot of what I learned in undergrad again. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE KREB'S CYCLE!!

[PAGuy55]

I never considered nursing until I started working as a tech while simultaneously shadowing PAs (some PAs worked hand in hand with the NPs). It came down to the whole nursing model vs medical model style of teaching. My friends in their NP programs didn't like what they were being taught and complained that their PA counterparts were much better prepared especially in patho, pharm and that the PA students just knew more in general. The NPs were doing part time research classes for their DNP while the PA students were fully engaged in their programs. It's a nice back up though (BSN/MSN programs) if PA school just doesn't work out, but it's definitely not the road I want to take. 

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

There is only one question that will lead you to an answer:

 

Do you want to be a nurse?  The kind of care you provide, and the interaction which facilitates that care, is much different as a nurse than as a PA.  Nursing is a career unto itself, with different educational structure/level, separate management, separate unions and lobbying institutions, etc.

[PAGuy55]

There is only one question that will lead you to an answer:

 

Do you want to be a nurse?

 

Hey man, now don't knock the nurses. The nursing team really goes through a lot of crap, literally. I once had a AMS 30 y/o man pull out his iv, (big guy, army boots and all) defecate on the bathroom floor all while using his hand as a tissue to wipe up. He refused to help us clean him and flung poop on the wall behind us. Almost turned in my badge that day. 

[db_pavnp]

There is only one question that will lead you to an answer:

 

Do you want to be a nurse?  The kind of care you provide, and the interaction which facilitates that care, is much different as a nurse than as a PA.  Nursing is a career unto itself, with different educational structure/level, separate management, separate unions and lobbying institutions, etc.

 

Let's be fair, though, a lot of pre-PAs have to ask themselves if they want to be an EMT or Paramedic en route to becoming a PA.  These are also jobs that people make professions out of.  It does not strike me as terribly different.

[EMEDPA]

Let's be fair, though, a lot of pre-PAs have to ask themselves if they want to be an EMT or Paramedic en route to becoming a PA.  These are also jobs that people make professions out of.  It does not strike me as terribly different.

true. Ideally folks have an idea of what philosophy works best for them and what areas of medicine they are interested in from an early stage. this helps a lot with the pa vs np decision.

[Tangerine]

Thanks everyone for your responses. aiviphung You summed up how I feel in a nutshell. I hate the krebs cycle. I just want medical courses from here on out. Im want to do both learning models. Diagnose and Patient Care

[Glorious_Ignoramus]

It seems I have come off in a manner that was unintended.  OP, by asking if you want to be a nurse, I simply mean that one must first become an RN before pursuing NP.  There are programs tailored to put its nursing students into organic NP programs, but still you have to put in a certain amount of time as an RN prior to NP/DNP enrollment.  My follow up point was just to say that nursing is a wholly different occupation within its own universe.  Though they work alongside docs/PAs, treating the same patients, nurses have their own management, unions, etc., and generally treat said patients in a manner that is different enough from docs/PAs that it is its own medical model.

 

I spoke with a respected NP about taking this route, but it did not take me long to decide against it because I have no desire to be a nurse.  I intend no disrespect to nurses or NPs; in fact at my current workplace I take orders from nurses as part of my regular duties.

 

db_pavnp brings up a good rebuttal, although there are a myriad of HCE options available, presumably, outside of EMT or medic.  There are plenty of posts here from applicants claiming to have little or virtually no HCE, and I know of 1 school (Western in Pomona, CA) which explicitly states they prefer applicants who have no HCE at all.