What Is The Difference Between A Pa And Np

A nurse or healthcare professional choosing to further a career as a nurse practitioner versus a physician assistant should understand the differences between the jobs.

When jobs are advertised for advanced practice providers the posting will often invite pas and nps to apply for the open position. Pa students obtain at least 2 000 hours of clinical contact during training. The average program length of an np program is 15 24 months while pa programs average 27 months. Both nurse practitioners and physician assistants are independently licensed providers.

While nurse practitioner np and physician assistant pa professions both offer autonomy responsibility and competitive salaries there are clear differences between pa vs. It s sometimes difficult to distinguish between a physician s assistant pa a nurse practitioner np and a registered nurse rn since they often play similar roles in examining and treating patients. What s the difference between a nurse practitioner and physician assistant. Nps can specialize in several areas including gerontology geriatrics mental health pediatrics and women s health.

Np programs are specialized restricting the scope of practice and fields of medicine available to that np the adult np would have to complete a family pediatric np program to treat children while pa programs are generalist allowing the pa to see patients of all ages and go into any field of medicine. Professionals who seek challenging and well paying healthcare careers may find themselves torn between two comparable disciplines. Pas undergo a more generalized education but can also specialize in areas like emergency medicine orthopedics and general surgery. Each career path has different educational and certification requirements as well as varying levels of autonomy.

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Np students average 720 clinical hours during training remember that most have patient care experience as a nurse before entering an np program. The most commonly asked question among students interested in pursuing a health care career is what s the difference between a nurse practitioner np and physician assistant pa a career in the health care field can be extremely rewarding but getting there requires several years of classes training and learning. An np attends a nursing school while a pa attends a medical school or center of medicine. Nurse practitioner and physician assistant.

Ultimately the difference in clinical preparation provides pas with more freedom to choose the type of medical practice they wish to join because they already possess a broader based experience while nps are more limited to their chosen specialty.