The world of healthcare is very abundant in professionals and specializations. While the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about healthcare is a doctor and a nurse, there are so many other professionals who are vital in the healthcare industry, such as a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner.
These two professionals are members of a healthcare team and are charged with delivering quality healthcare to patients. In recent years, the industry has begun to recognize the vitality of these two professionals in a collaborative healthcare team. Because of that, both nurse practitioners and physician assistants have become recognized as independent healthcare professionals who carry unique and important responsibilities in their workplace.
While there’s a tendency for them to be categorized as one and the same, there are key differences between these unique professions. Let’s take a look at the different requirements, roles, and responsibilities of a nurse practitioner vis-a-vis that of a physician assistant.
Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant Differences
The nurse practitioner profession is a world different from that of a physician assistant or an MD. From educational requirements to roles and responsibilities in the medical field, there are several differences.
Patient Care Approach: Medical vs. Nursing Model
Both nurse practitioners and physician assistants are members of a medical team. While they work collaboratively to deliver quality healthcare, their approach to this is rather different. This difference in patient care approach can be classified as either a medical model or a nursing model.
Medical Model of Physician Assistants
Physician assistants can be considered as the more technical professionals between the two because they follow the medical model, which is more disease-centered instead of patient-centered. Their focus is curing the patient and takes on responsibilities that include:
Examining patient anatomy
Observing physiological systems
Determining the disease and finding the cure
Following the medical model, physician assistants focus on the problem and the factors that cause it in order to find the perfect cure. This is compared to the nursing model that looks at everything as a whole and focuses on the overall well-being of a patient.
Nursing Model of Nurse Practitioners
Nurse practitioners take on the nursing model when it comes to patient care. They are trained to put the patient first, unlike PAs who focus on the disease, its causes, and treatments. Nurse practitioners adopt a more holistic approach to healthcare, dabbling on the patients themselves and their physical, mental, and emotional needs.
Education
Because of the difference in terms of patient care approach, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are educated and trained differently. There are also different application requirements that medical schools expect from aspiring NPs and PAs, considering that the professions have different focuses.
Physician Assistant Education
In order to become a licensed physician assistant, you need to complete an accredited physician assistant program. The accreditation should be from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. Upon graduation, you will also need to take and pass a licensure exam to practice the profession.
But before everything else, the first hurdle is getting into PA school in the first place. To be accepted to a PA program, applicants need a bachelor’s degree. Having units on related courses, like anatomy, behavioral science, and biochemistry, is a bonus. Depending on the school, other requirements may be asked, including:
Work experience in related fields.
Transcript of records
CV or resume
Average to above-average GRE score
Recommendation letters
There are also schools that require the applicant to go through a series of interviews before admission. These are meant to help the school get to know the applicant better and test their characteristics, qualifications, and willingness to be admitted to the program.
Once admitted, the student will take courses that will train them in the disease-centered model of PAs, these classes include:
Aging and Rehabilitation Medicine
Anatomy
Biology
Chemistry
Clinical Ethics
Clinical Neurology
Gynecology and Obstetrics
Healthcare Delivery
Microbiology
Pediatrics
Pharmacology
Physical diagnosis
Physiology
Principles of Surgery
Research
Statistics, among others.
A typical physician assistant program takes about 27 months to finish. These professionals finish school faster than NPs who don’t have a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Nurse Practitioner Education
On the other hand, if you’re more inclined to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner instead of a PA, you need to obtain a nursing degree. Most healthcare institutes require applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing before they can be admitted to a graduate program.
Do your research on the different requirements of the nursing school of your choice. If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, you can also consider enrolling in accelerated and bridge programs.
Aside from the requirement of a bachelor’s degree in some schools, others also give the upper hand to applicants who have medical backgrounds or work experience in the field. Below are some of the requirements that you may need to apply to a nursing program:
CV or resume
Transcript of records
RN credentials
Clinical experience records
Average or above-average GRE scores
Recommendation letters
Similar to the process of application in a PA program, nursing programs may also require applicants to attend and participate in interviews.
Once admitted, the student will take the following courses to train them for a nurse practitioner career:
Clinical Pharmacology
Emergency Care and Safety
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Nursing Ethics
Nursing Research
Nursing Roles
Pathophysiology
Statistics
Without a bachelor’s degree in nursing, it can take a student 6 to 8 years of education before they can become a nursing practitioner. However, one who has a nursing degree and is already a registered nurse can complete the program in 24 to 48 months.
It’s worth noting that different schools may offer unique programs and specializations. Whether you want to become a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, it’s important that you do your research about the profession and study the requirements, programs, and courses that your chosen institutions offer.
Is PA School Harder Than NP School?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of which between the PA and NP program is harder. It would depend on the skill sets, interests, and background of a student. However, it can be said that PA school is more technical compared to NP studies because of its focus on the medical model.
Nursing school, on the other hand, trains students holistically for a more patient-centered approach. There are also different levels of specialization in the nurse practitioner profession, which get more difficult as the student progresses.
Specializations
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may embark on different specializations that suit their interests, as well as their educational background. Based on recent data, these are the most common specializations for each profession.
Physician Assistant Specializations
In stark contrast to nurse practitioners who embark on specializations like pediatrics or dermatology, physical assistants go on to find a medical concentration. You’ll find physician assistants in areas of medicine such as:
General Practice
Family Medicine
Surgery
Emergency Medicine
Internal Medicine
Nurse Practitioner Specializations
On the other hand, nurse practitioners tend to pursue the following specialty areas:
Primary Care
Pediatrics
Women’s Health
Geriatrics
Mental Health
ICU
Trauma Care
Pediatric Endocrinology
Pediatric Urology
Cardiac Care
Pulmonary
Job Responsibilities
The job responsibilities of both professions may tend to overlap in some areas, but there are still distinguishable roles that each one plays.
Physician Assistant Job Responsibilities
A physician assistant works on more technical matters involving the disease and illness. Their primary role is to diagnose the problem and conduct the required treatment. Physician assistants conduct the following roles day in and day out:
Conducting medical examinations
Creating treatment plans
Issuing prescriptions
Ordering lab tests and x-rays
Interpreting test results
While from the name “physician assistants” it can be implied that PAs only assist supervising physicians, they actually have very independent status in a healthcare team and have the authority to request or oversee several medical procedures.
Nurse Practitioner Job Responsibilities
A nurse practitioner’s job responsibilities encapsulate everything related to overall patient care. In contrast to PAs who focus on diagnosis and treatment, nurse practitioners are more concerned about preventive care and promotion. However, they can also conduct the necessary measures to treat medical conditions.
Some of their roles and responsibilities include:
Conducting patient examinations
Observing a patient and their response to treatments
Recording the patient’s medical information
Administering medicine and treatments
Training the patient on health promotion and disease prevention
Practice Settings
Both physician assistants and nurse practitioners work in the same medical settings, such as hospitals, nursing facilities, clinics, medical offices, research institutions, and even schools. You’ll often find them working hand in hand in healthcare teams.
Job Outlook
After all the healthcare issues and phenomena that took place in recent years, industries are beginning to realize the crucial importance of comprehensive healthcare. Hence, the steady rise in demand for healthcare providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
The job outlook for both professions is bright, with the healthcare industry consistently looking for NPs and PAs to meet medical demands. In fact, 100,000 positions open for PAs and NPs every year.
There is, however, more demand for physician assistants compared to nurse practitioners, with projected job growth of 31% in a span of 10 years (2018 - 2028). Nurse practitioners foresee a project job growth of 26%.
Salary
Both physician assistants and nurse practitioners earn a hefty salary. In fact, their median annual salaries are almost three times higher compared to other professionals in the medical field.
Physician assistants earn around $104,000 annually, while nurse practitioners make $103,000. The rates can also change depending on the institution, specialty, and State where you will practice your profession. If you want a more accurate estimate of potential salaries, you should do your research on the median annual wage of your chosen specialization in your area.
Make An Informed Decision
Both physician assistant and nurse practitioner careers are currently budding and are forecasted to grow in the next years. If you are weighing your pros and cons and determining which one you should pursue, remember to take your time and do your research. Being informed can help you make wiser decisions about your future career.
Some things that come into play when making your decision would include your interests, passion, skills, goals, and priorities. Determine how these characteristics can fit well into either a nursing practitioner career or a physician assistant profession. What matters the most is what you want to do and what is in line with your goals.
Regardless of which one you choose, know that you are in a very noble profession that makes a big impact in society. Although there are key differences between a PA and NP profession, they share the similarity of improving comprehensive health care and helping patients live better, higher-quality lives — the only real difference is how they do it.
