NP's

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whitethunder10

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Hello,

I am currently a phlebotomist who is looking to take either the PT,PA, or NP route.

I am pretty clear about what an PT does, but now I am trying to compare the jobs of NPs with the jobs of PAs. I think it might be more interesting to work a little more invasively than what a PT gets to do.

Can any NP's or PA's tell me about the differences? (ie hours worked, what the work is like, the culture of the workplace..)

I have hear some things about the PA profession, but don't know what the advantages or disadvantages of being either are...

Thanks for your time!

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Hello,

I am currently a phlebotomist who is looking to take either the PT,PA, or NP route.

I am pretty clear about what an PT does, but now I am trying to compare the jobs of NPs with the jobs of PAs. I think it might be more interesting to work a little more invasively than what a PT gets to do.

Can any NP's or PA's tell me about the differences? (ie hours worked, what the work is like, the culture of the workplace..)

I have hear some things about the PA profession, but don't know what the advantages or disadvantages of being either are...

Thanks for your time!

Here is a link for a quick comparison of the professions (usual caveats: it was written by PAs, its a little dated, and is somewhat specific to Washington) but generally goes over the differences.
http://www.wapa.org/pdfs/np-pa_chart.pdf
You can probably get more information at:
http://allnurses.com/forums/f34/
http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/

Hint use the search function since this has been debated to death.

David Carpenter, PA-C
 
I agree with David - probably check out the links.

I work at the VA Hospital's outpatient clinic, and PAs/NPs essentially do the same thing, although PAs are allowed to practice medicine and NPs are not. I like being an NP, but if I had it to do all over again, I'd be a PA. I think their training is better, and my training focused too much on performing many revisions of a thesis that I'll never use again.

Good luck!
 
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Actually it depend on what state you are in. It varies from state to state anywhere from glorified nurse with regulated oversight to complete autonomy to practice medicine privately.
 
Actually it depend on what state you are in. It varies from state to state anywhere from glorified nurse with regulated oversight to complete autonomy to practice medicine privately.

22 states allow for independent np practice. 12 of these states allow for this practice to include rx writing rights without a collaborating md (the true sign of independence).
 
22 states allow for independent np practice. 12 of these states allow for this practice to include rx writing rights without a collaborating md (the true sign of independence).

It's actually 13 states and the Colorado legislature recently passed revisions of their Nurse Practice Act during Sunset Review that will allow Colorado NP's full independence after 2 years of collaborative practice.

http://webnp.net/downloads/pearson_report09/pearson09_tables_maps.pdf
 
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