Any RN'S that did PA?

Eru IlÃºvatar · Jan 20, 2015

The PA program is aligned with the medical model which is what physicians learn and use.

The RN program is aligned with the nursing model, which is more holistic in approach to the patient.

They greatly differ, from what I have heard the PA program is more intensive and harder for most people. This does not means one is better than the other, they are just 2 different scopes of practice.

elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 20, 2015

You'll hear that a lot and you won't understand the what people mean unless you've actually gone through one or the other but nurses "treat the patient" as previously mentioned. They are more in tuned with the person as a whole which takes into account a number of nonverbal, symptomatic factors that come into play when assessing a persons overall well being.

A pa studies a medical model surrounding the idea of "treat the symptom". Its more straightforward in a sense that, if patient is exhibiting a b c, treat with x y z.

You can find nursing programs as short as 2 years (usually 3 with prereqs) ranging up to a doctoral level-- though a bachelors is slowly becoming the norm and even the minimum requirement at a lot of hospitals.

A pa program requires at least a bachelors to apply for, before you can even really get a taste of what the medical field would be like. Generally your undergrad major is pre med, however most universities are moving away from that mentality and are accepting students with a wide range of majors from English to business as long as you have the corresponding prereq science classes that are common to premed majors. It helps show that you're well rounded. Pa programs tend to be about 2-3 years long.

I can't speak on the intensity of each, to be honest they're 2 very different fields. I can say the road to being a pa is longer, and is on the same track as med school just really condensed. The pay is higher, however the caveat is if you fail out of or drop out of pa school--you have no safety net. Whereas pursuing an RN degree prior will allow you to at least revert back to an RN job. Additionally so, of you're pursuing a bsn or a graduate degree equivalent to the level of a PA like ANP, you can fall back on your RN degree if things go south.

Hope this information was relevant enough

thenightnurse456 · Jan 21, 2015

As far as I am aware my country doesn't have PA's (yet).

But from reading a lot of "RN vs PA" threads on this forum it seems the general consensus is that an RN and PA are apples and oranges. Nursing vs medical. Completely different education models.

The threads often turn aggressive with the comparing of the two just like the infamous RN vs LPN threads.

The jobs are completely different.

roxystarfire · Jan 21, 2015

Thank you...this makes a lot of sense. :)

roxystarfire · Jan 21, 2015

Down in South Florida area....the nursing school is brutal and the PA program a little less brutal. It could be different for everyone or depending the experience students get in the college. I just know from the comments I've received from the RN and PA students.

I have the passion to do patient care and treatment but can't stand the way RN'S get treated over here with no respect. It makes me feel bad for them and wished there was more respect for them since they study so hard.

thenightnurse456 · Jan 21, 2015

Nursing is a thankless profession and yes, nurses are often disrespected. You'll get yelled at from doctors, PAs, nursing management, patients, relatives of patients. Then of course there's the lack of professional respect we show our own: NP vs BSN vs ASN vs LPN vs CNA etc.

But then one patient every now and then will thank you for all you've done for them and it will make you realise why you chose this profession.

roxystarfire · Jan 21, 2015

That's how I feel at work now...yelling screaming patients in need of care and I'm always so patient and calm because I know how frustrating it is to be sick and not be able to see a doctor I'm always trying my best and hardest to help them no matter what the situation.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2015

Down in South Florida area....the nursing school is brutal and the PA program a little less brutal.

This is totally subjective. Nursing school is not brutal or grueling by any stretch of the imagination. Many people with very average intelligence levels have been able to make it through nursing school.

If nursing school truly was as brutal as people make it out to be, local employment markets wouldn't be glutted with them. The truly 'brutal' educational tracks (medical school, physical therapy) are able to control the number of people who enter those professions because the coursework is actually challenging.

TheGooch · Jan 21, 2015

You really need to read up on what a PA program entails.

elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 21, 2015

If you're looking from the standpoint of dealing with patients, regardless of your level you're going to come across an array of verbally and physically abusive patients undermining you and you'll find yourself feeling thankless. That's just the medical field.

Some Patients will respect you more blindly as a pa because they find your job title worthy of admiration over being "just a nurse", and on the complete other end of the spectrum you'll find those that berate you because you're "not a real doctor" and probably became a pa because you couldn't get into med school. Then you'll find those that praise docs like gods, and then the other end of everyone else who thinks of you as nothing more than an idiot MD , that spends 5 minutes with patients and goes back to your office and count your millions.

The only true satisfaction you'll gain is if you're satisfied with your level of care you provide. But from cna to MD you'll find most days underappreciated and abused, with tiny rays of bliss in between that makes it worth it.

roxystarfire · Jan 29, 2015

If you're looking from the standpoint of dealing with patients, regardless of your level you're going to come across an array of verbally and physically abusive patients undermining you and you'll find yourself feeling thankless. That's just the medical field.
Some Patients will respect you more blindly as a pa because they find your job title worthy of admiration over being "just a nurse", and on the complete other end of the spectrum you'll find those that berate you because you're "not a real doctor" and probably became a pa because you couldn't get into med school. Then you'll find those that praise docs like gods, and then the other end of everyone else who thinks of you as nothing more than an idiot MD , that spends 5 minutes with patients and goes back to your office and count your millions.
The only true satisfaction you'll gain is if you're satisfied with your level of care you provide. But from cna to MD you'll find most days underappreciated and abused, with tiny rays of bliss in between that makes it worth it.

I'm definitely picking up on that from where I work. Many patients that call don't want a PA or NP. They feel weird not seeing an MD. I try to explain to them what the differences are. They always feel weird about it.