[jeepgirl]

I know a PA whose only medical work experience before graduating was a year that she had to do to get into the program. her medical profession of choice? nurse aid.

oh, and she worked at micky d's before that.

this girl is a great PA who works in KC now... she's sooo smart. but i just wanted to debunk the myth that these people had extensive experience before going into their prospective programs.

[Kabin]

AZ also allows NP's to practice independently, i.e. without physician supervision. Unforunately, the same is not true for PA's. I know of one NP, working in the mental health field, that rents an office space and bills to insurance companies.

[oncnurse26]

CAPNA (www.capna.com)...a group of NP's joining together to form a practice NP's make medical diagnoses, as RN's before becoming an NP we made nursing diagnoses.
Being called a "nurse" is a compliment. I don't know one nurse who "gets offended" by being called a "nurse".
Signed,
Proud to be a nurse

[CoryRN]

Just a quick note... never posted before. I am an FNP and many of my friends and colleagues are PAs. In fact some of my preceptors in school were PAs. I believe it is what you make of it. I good provider is just that, a good health care provider, no matter what the title (MD, DO, PA, NP).

That being said, NPs do run their own practices in many states. I live in one of them. The law specifically allows us to hang our own shingle without "physician supervision". Any responisble NP or PA will consult a physician prn. Unfortunately, PAs do not have the legal luxury of hanging their own shingle without "physician supervision", but many of them do so functionally anyway and employ physicians to look over some charts here and there and answer a few questions by phone.

We compete for the same jobs, work side by side in many institutions, and are constantly mistaken for one another often. Because I am male, I am confused for both a PA and a physician on a daily basis. Doesn't bother me when I am confused for a PA!! We are more alike than different and we need to figure out a way to improve our relations so we can be a force together on a national level.

[TMPaul]

Originally Posted by CoryRN

Just a quick note... never posted before. I am an FNP and many of my friends and colleagues are PAs. In fact some of my preceptors in school were PAs. I believe it is what you make of it. I good provider is just that, a good health care provider, no matter what the title (MD, DO, PA, NP).

That being said, NPs do run their own practices in many states. I live in one of them. The law specifically allows us to hang our own shingle without "physician supervision". Any responisble NP or PA will consult a physician prn. Unfortunately, PAs do not have the legal luxury of hanging their own shingle without "physician supervision", but many of them do so functionally anyway and employ physicians to look over some charts here and there and answer a few questions by phone.

We compete for the same jobs, work side by side in many institutions, and are constantly mistaken for one another often. Because I am male, I am confused for both a PA and a physician on a daily basis. Doesn't bother me when I am confused for a PA!! We are more alike than different and we need to figure out a way to improve our relations so we can be a force together on a national level.

Very well said Cory. I'd be pleased to work along side of you any time.
Tina, APRN-BC

[MrBob]

Hi...I am new here actually administrate on a PA forum at a different site...can I say that I am impressed with this forum and appreciate the attitudes of the NP's who feel that we are "partners". I too feel that way and impress on my students the importance of our collaboration. I hope that you folks don't mine my participating here occasionally and will NOT be a part of flame wars regarding one being better than the other. Neither do I intend to come here to "start anything" . I am intersted in both of our views and look forward to sharing ideas and comments.

To the poster worried about getting into PA school without experience, while a few PA schools do not require it, in those you may not be competitive (the rest of the applicants may have it) so yoiu may want to try to get some contact. You can, however get in without it if that is the only thing you lack in soem programs. My best students oftne have no experience...no bad habits to break (LOL)

Bob

[TMPaul]

Originally Posted by MrBob

Hi...I am new here actually administrate on a PA forum at a different site...can I say that I am impressed with this forum and appreciate the attitudes of the NP's who feel that we are "partners". I too feel that way and impress on my students the importance of our collaboration. I hope that you folks don't mine my participating here occasionally and will NOT be a part of flame wars regarding one being better than the other. Neither do I intend to come here to "start anything" . I am intersted in both of our views and look forward to sharing ideas and comments.

To the poster worried about getting into PA school without experience, while a few PA schools do not require it, in those you may not be competitive (the rest of the applicants may have it) so yoiu may want to try to get some contact. You can, however get in without it if that is the only thing you lack in soem programs. My best students oftne have no experience...no bad habits to break (LOL)

Bob

Hi All,
Having worked (and still working) with some awesome PA's and being a NP myself, I ask what (really big) difference it makes to compare and contrast the roles of PA and NP? Isn't our goal to work for the care of our patients??
I believe it's time to start supporting and collaborating with one another. We each have a lot to contribute to the profession.
Tina
Nurse Practitioner

[patnshan]

Originally Posted by CoryRN

We compete for the same jobs, work side by side in many institutions, and are constantly mistaken for one another often. Because I am male, I am confused for both a PA and a physician on a daily basis. Doesn't bother me when I am confused for a PA!! We are more alike than different and we need to figure out a way to improve our relations so we can be a force together on a national level.

Hello,
I am a PA who is still actually an RN. I researched MD, PA, and NP, obviously choosing PA for my own reasons. I would be glad to discuss those reasons with anyone who would like. By the way, I most certainly made the right choice for me. I have been a PA for about five years.
I agree with Cory that we do compete for the same jobs in many cases. At my academic institution, this is certainly true. The training and philosophy behind the training is different, but once out of school, we become quite similar.
NP's do practice medicine, despite many arguements against that fact. Also, in most cases, collaboration = supervision. It is different from state to state, as is supervision for PA's.
I truly believe that most NP's do not actually seek to be independent, they just seek a certain, significant level of autonomy. That is what most PA's seek as well.
The "powers that be", or the nursing lobby seem to be the one's pushing for independence. It is for that reason that NP's and PA's will never fully be able to work together for a common good, and why the NP profession is "shooting itself in the foot". Remember, "I fought the law and the law one"? The AMA is the law. You will never win fighting it. PA's realize this, most NP's realize this. I doubt national nursing leadership realizes this.
I work with many great NP's, all of whom believe that NP's function best in a collaboration, supervision type model with a physician. These are just my humble opinions.

Thanks,

Pat, RN, BSN, PA-C, MPAS

[PA-C in Texas]

NP's and PA's are hostage to the nursing vs. medicine feud. I wish to understand that a little better. I haven't met any PA's who regret the necessary relationship with a physician, but I see a lot of NP's who constantly scream "independent practice!". Why is that? I honestly want to know.

Every should join the American College of Clinicians. Perhaps we can start to think of ourselves commonly as practitioners instead of falling victim to the NP vs. PA aka Medicine vs. Nursing circle jerk. We might actually get some things done that benefit both sides of the profession.

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by PA-C in Texas

NP's and PA's are hostage to the nursing vs. medicine feud. I wish to understand that a little better. I haven't met any PA's who regret the necessary relationship with a physician, but I see a lot of NP's who constantly scream "independent practice!". Why is that? I honestly want to know.

Every should join the American College of Clinicians. Perhaps we can start to think of ourselves commonly as practitioners instead of falling victim to the NP vs. PA aka Medicine vs. Nursing circle jerk. We might actually get some things done that benefit both sides of the profession.

I agree with you on most points, Tex. In our state ( and as you know they are all different and the huge mistake we both as PA's and NP's make is to generalize the whole of both professions from the point of view of our local colleagues and state regulations) we really don't see such bantering. In our state we BOTH are able to work independent of the physician and do so in a collaborative arrangement rather than a "supervisory " arrangemet (take a look at the new PA regulaltions for North Carolina). So my disagreement is in the NP only wanting to be independent. anyway...we all need to be a part of an organization that encourages an understanding of our differences and common goals. We need to stop this "us and them" business that is so prevalent on both of our forums ( I am an administrator on the Physician Associate forum at www.physicianassociate.com). It is a hot topic there too, and disturbs me, but we are all entitled to our opinions on both forums.

I would like to say that I did not post that website to advertise but to promote and understanding from our professional point of view for those intrested in joining conversation on our site. Several of you already do.
I find this site informative and really not near as "PA unfriendly" as I was led to blieve it was. In fact I have found it to be quite receptive to a PA joining in.

Bob