Ok so i recently just graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Biology. To be honest i really didn't enjoy it at all, in fact I hated it. Anatomy & Physio and Epidemiology were pretty cool. However Basic Biology and learning about the cellular process of things is really boring to me. So i gave up my dream of being a doctor. My goal was to become a healthcare provider, I wanted to provide the bulk of patient care and diagnose. My disappointment in my major sent me researching other careers and I suddenly developed an interest in Nursing approx one yr before i Graduated.
I didnt really understand the role of the nurse. I thought Nurses did what CNA's do and Doctors did what nurses do. I learned that nurses are very knowledgeable (from working with them), their the eyes of medicine and first ones on the scene. That type of experience is invaluable and it would make more sense to ask a nurse about your symptoms before a doctor. I always thought doctors provided most of the patient care. The only thing i don't like about nursing is the cleaning aspect of it, however ill get over it.
To test out my theory on Nursing, I decided to take a nursing class "Pathophysiology" and I loved it, it was also taught by a male NP. He was very knowledgeable and made the subject very interesting which i though was incredible coming from a science major. Are exams were NCLEX style and he focused a lot about common occurences/hallmarks of the diseases we were learning, aswell as throwing in his own experiences. Just hearing him mention the word "patient or simply talking about patients was enough for me" I felt like I had finally been given some food lol.
So I used by last year of school to fullfill all the pre-reqs for nursing school. Ive been heavily weighing my options since graduation and I often have alot of people telling me "you act more like a doctor or you shouldn't settle for Nursing" just based on my personality. I'm always confident and detailed when working in medical environments and people always say "You always act like you know what your doing". which puzzles me because shouldn't every professional be that way. You should be confident when explaining things and that helps the patient trust you more.
I know that i can accomplish anything i set my mind too but I want to enjoy the learning process this next time around. I like nursing more-so since its holistic and moving to other areas is pretty easy. You can go into a lot of different fields with nursing. Ive already been accepted into an Accelerated Nursing MSN program
So here is my question: Is Nursing, PA or MD taught at the cellular level like my bio degree or is it more like the pathophysiology class I took? Im pretty knowledgeable about each role and their limit. My question is mainly about the learning process and what each one focuses on.
thenightnurse456 haha that's interesting I always feel more medical. I guess it could have been my experience aswell. If PA school focuses more so on the disease process and patient care rather than basic biology or cellular processes I.E RNA, DNA, Nucleotides etc. I would consider it
Guys let me know if my question isn't clear enough. I already understand the route (requirements for programs) and scope of each profession, so theirs no need to mention it lol
my question is regarding the learning process. I'm not really interested in learning at the cellular level unless the information is presented in a more intriguing way, I however love learning about disease processes, diagnosing and patient care. That's essentially my biggest fear of PA school. I cant really determine at which level its taught from, it sounds very cellular but not too much in depth
In nursing school you learn assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and the nursing process and how to apply it critically. No, you don't really learn at the cellular level. That is done in A&P I & II as well as Microbiology. I am guessing you would learn more at the cellular level with medical models of practice such as PA or MD. Once you get to NP school, there is more advanced assessment, pathophysiology and pharmacology...I haven't gotten there yet but there may be deeper learning at the cellular level...I don't know.
You can go to your local book store and pick up a fundamentals of nursing or nursing medical surgical nursing book and get an idea of what you will be learning in nursing school. As far as NP school is concerned, it is more advanced learning but I am sure you could find a few books to see what the learning process is like.
First of all, you got a biology degree. Studying life at the cellular level would basically be what a bio major should expect to study. You need a complete understanding of it do pretty much anything in the medical field.
We do study it in nursing also. I know all about DNA, RNA, transcription and transduction. We have gone into osmosis regularly. You need to understand what kind of solutions you are giving like isotonic and hypertonic and what is going on with the person so you don't kill them with the wrong med. Understanding how bacteria and microbes are structured and how different antibiotics affect these bacteria is also important. Biology is the foundation of all things medical.
But, now that you have that degree, you will go into patho whether it's nursing, PA, or doctor. If you want to treat and diagnose disease, go to med school. If you want to treat how the person responds to that disease, become a nurse. But you are never going to get away from biology. Not in either field. But now that you have already taken those classes you will get into the "medical" classes. In either field. If you truly hate biology, look into another field.
Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.
Guys let me know if my question isn't clear enough. I already understand the route (requirements for programs) and scope of each profession, so theirs no need to mention it lol
my question is regarding the learning process. I'm not really interested in learning at the cellular level unless the information is presented in a more intriguing way, I however love learning about disease processes, diagnosing and patient care. That's essentially my biggest fear of PA school. I cant really determine at which level its taught from, it sounds very cellular but not too much in depth
I would ask around on some PA message boards also as MOST of us have gone nursing so we don't know much about PA school. You also mention you don't mind getting into more detail if it's presented in a more intriguing way....well that all depends on the instructor so we cannot really comment on that. Each PA or NP program is a bit different and some may go a bit more in depth so it's difficult for any of us to tell you "this is how it is" because it varies by program and instructor.
Your BEST bet is to find a few programs you're interested in (PA and NP) and find students who have went to those programs.
I actually got my BSN and just passed my NCLEX. I plan to work for a good 5 years before I decide where I want to take my career. I plan to shadow some CRNAs before I see whether I like anesthesia or not. However, I don't want to consider NP school. I'm actually the opposite of you. I'm a nurse that entertains the idea of going to PA school. My reasons are as follows.
As one of the commentators above stated, to treat disease, you need to have a good understanding of biological processes. The more in depth you can understand it, the better provider you will be; IF you sincerely care about your patient. I feel that PA and CRNA schools understand this and implement it into their curriculum. More over, their curriculum are MUCH more standardized in this country than NP schools. With every NP school, there was ALWAYS something different when I researched into them. Furthermore, I don't like how they don't focus very much on the sciences as they do on the theory of nursing and clinical leadership. As for flexibility, PA school would offer you more flexibility. NP schools force you to specialize to one specific patient cohort, and specifically in primary care. Any NP that you see in hospitals without training in a formal ACNP program that covers tertiary care are really stretching their scope of practice. PAs on the other hand can work in almost any field of medicine, their scope of practice is whatever their supervising physician practices in. I love the fact that I can go from ER, to ICU, to Surgery, to OB/GYN, to Pediatrics, AND primary care later in my life when I plan to slow down. A nurse practitioner would need the corresponding licesure to do this be it FNP, PNP, WHNP, or ACNP.
As for the whole "supervision for PAs" thing and "Collaboration for NPs," For a PA, it means they know where their limits lie and they understand when they need to refer their patient to their supervising physician. NPs do the exact same thing when they're in over their heads. As you gain more experience in either role, this will occur less often and you will gain autonomy. I just don't like how NPs say they are fully independent when they DO in fact have supervising (Collaborating) physicians. I feel respect for both professions, as both play a vital role in health care today, however these are the things I understand now that I went through nursing school.
I'm an NP student, and one of my closest friends is a PA who recently graduated. I can't speak to all PA programs, but hers definitely focused on cellular level biology more than my NP program does. However, I'm in psych, so YMMV. Personally, I'm a big ol' science nerd, so I often miss not going more in depth on the physiology (and do a lot of it on my own). I went with NP specifically because I want to be independent and because I work psych and my field is dominated by NPs.
Which is another point. PAs and NPs tend to practice in some of the same fields, but not always. You'll find both in primary care (which you seem interested in), but other areas vary widely. Both PAs and NPs work in pediatrics, but they typically have different roles. There are more PAs in surgery, but few in labor and delivery or psych, which are mostly NPs (or nurse midwives). I don't know the national data on these, but that's been my experience working in three hospital systems across two states. So, you may consider that when deciding.
I just don't like how NPs say they are fully independent when they DO in fact have supervising (Collaborating) physicians. I feel respect for both professions, as both play a vital role in health care today, however these are the things I understand now that I went through nursing school.
This differs by state. In OR and WA NPs don't need collaborating/supervising physicians, and can practice completely under their own license. I would hope any provider would recognize when they're practicing beyond their expertise, but haven't really found that be the case generally, regardless of whether they're an MD, PA, or NP. Sixty percent of psychiatric medications scripts are written by PCPs, which is a damn shame IMNSHO. I'm the first person to refer, not because I need supervision, but because I have no business prescribing outside my expertise.
TWishes That's a great idea, I guess ill look at some PA books aswell. Thanks
Heathermaizey I think secretly all along Ive been waiting to take a formal medical class, I enjoyed pathophysiology throughly. Its interesting because I hear all the time on this website how nurses barely used there pre-reqs ex: microbiology. I hope nursing hasn't become brainless job due to repetitive task, some of you guys describe it that way. However that may just be some nurses.
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.
I cannot speak from experience on the PA level, but as and NP, you are going to have to BE a nurse while becoming an NP. I was pre-vet Bio degree. I too hated the rote memorization of the Krebs cycle. Having the Bio degree will help you understand the "why" when learning about nursing which, I am betting, is why liked patho.
I think you will like the nursing process of learning better than the more clinical style that I imagine the PA route will take. We have both PAs and NPs on our unit and there is subtle differences in how they approach their practice. I think the NP can relate to people better. Similar to how our medicine physicians are better at the bedside, usually, not always, than the surgeons are.
I can't say which profession is better or worse, but I do know of a neat program where you initially start off as a primary care NP student and can apply to the university's PA program while as an NP student. From what I've gleaned off of the website, you are eligible to sit for both boards after you graduate.
I'm a double major in biology and nursing. (Because I started as a bio major when I didn't get in the nursing program first attempt). I love emphasis on love the cellular and micro levels! I love chemistry. Maybe you had some uninteresting teachers but it's going to help you alot more if you can use your cellular knowledge whichever way you go!
Really how I see it your question should be only what you want more patient centered or disease centered. I wouldn't think you'd be happy making a decision like this solely based on trying to avoid cell biology stuff.
Young Tangerine
57 Posts