Future PA in need of advice

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Smurf

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I plan to attend MWU in AZ next year to become a PA. My cousin plans to attend U of A to become a NP. We constantly argue about which profession is the best. She tells me that PAs are not as educated, and don't have any confidence in their abilities because they have to be supervised. She is currently a medical assistant, and therefore thinks she knows more than I do. I have done research on the two professions for the past 2 years. Every counselor, advisor, and article I have read has supported the PA profession.

I cannot seem to make her understand. I know the differences and similarities very well. I like the PA profession b/c of the medical aspect versus the nursing aspect.

Usually I ignore her comments, but lately, she has my mom and other family questioning my decision. Am I missing something here!! Please help.

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remind her that the avg np program has less than 700 hrs of clinical rotations and the avg pa program has greater than 2000. also see the thread called question on this forum about pa/np educational programs. pa programs are more like medical school(the 2nd year of pa school is identical to the 3rd year of med school) while np programs focus more on preventitive medicine and primary care. pa "supervision" usually only involves chart review and most pa's patients are never presented to the md.
good luck to both of you.
 
I refered you to the wrong thread. the obvious actual thread is "difference between pa and np"-sorry-e
 
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I've worked with both PAs and NPs and although I've met good and bad apples in both professions, I must say that I would ALWAYS choose a PA over a NP. Why? PAs tend to think more like physicians, while NPs usually still think like nurses. Also, when it comes to confidence in their ability, I've found that new NPs are often more confident than new PAs, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Initially, new PAs do tend to be less confident, but only because their training enables them to see that things are sometimes more complex than they appear. Just like physicians, PAs grow and gain confidence as they gain experience. NPs tend to see only the algorithm they've been taught and often do not grow and learn to think outside the box. Before anyone slams me, let me reiterate that these are just my opinions, so take them for what they're worth.

Neurogirl DO, MPH
 
Thank you for your responses. I feel this is the way for me to go!
 
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