Two common locum tenens positions are nurse practitioners and physician assistants. In both of these jobs, you’ll be tasked with working closely with physicians. Often, you’ll have more responsibility by overseeing nurses and other members of the care team. Because these two careers do have many similarities and differences, many people confuse the two and wonder what the difference between them is. Below we’ll compare PA vs NP so you can find out which profession is best for you!
PA vs NP
Three Major Differences | PA vs NP
Before we jump into the differences between physician assistants and nurse practitioners, let’s first look into some similarities that these careers share. First and foremost, they are not doctors. However, they take on some roles traditionally taken on by doctors, including diagnosing patients and prescribing medication to them. Although they take on similar roles, they still need to work with a physician in most situations. They are valuable partly because of their role within an increasingly expensive medical system; their services are more cost-effective than those of physicians. Another similarity is the amount of schooling. Both require extensive schooling and those pursuing the career should be prepared to spend at least two more years pursuing the appropriate degrees and licensure. Now, let’s take a look at some PA vs NP differences.
1. The Type of Schooling to Complete
When looking at the difference between nurse practitioner vs physician assistant, one of the biggest discrepancies is the type of schooling they’ll be doing. A nurse practitioner will simply continue their education at a nursing school. They need to complete their bachelor’s or doctorate and then complete the subsequent exam to become a nurse practitioner. When it comes to physician assistants, they need to complete their degree at a medical school. They need to complete a master’s degree and be certified by passing the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE). For nurse practitioners, they need to re-certify every five years and for physician assistants, they need to re-certify every 10 years.
2. Type of Knowledge They Specialize In
There are also major differences in the type of knowledge you’ll get and the type of care you’ll be providing as a PA vs NP. Nurse practitioners follow a patient-centered model when dealing with patients. This means that they’ll work closely with patients and focus on disease prevention, health education, and handle assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. They’ll be very hands-on and, in many cases, become the eyes and ears for the main physician. They also have the ability to specialize in their education and career. Nurse practitioners can choose specializations like mental health, geriatrics, and pediatrics. Physician assistants follow a disease-centered model which focuses more on the actual diagnosis of the patient. They focus on the biological components of health and will often assist physicians during the exam process. Physician assistant education is much more generalized than a nurse practitioner.
3. Training Requirements
Another look at a PA vs NP will show differences when it comes to the training requirements. A person training as a physician assistant can expect 2,000 hours of clinical training as part of his or her educational program. They will visit a wide variety of units for rotations which will give them a well-rounded education. Nurse practitioners will do university-supervised clinical work. The number of hours will usually depend on your current license and experience. If you’re already a licensed RN, you’ll only need to do about 600 hours of additional clinical experience. Also, as a nurse practitioner is looking to change specialties, they will be required to do more clinical training. Physician assistants, on the other hand, can transition to different specialties with little to no extra training.
Now that you understand the differences between PA vs NP, you can start your search for a travel PA or NP position! Check out the thousands we have available today!
