From MA to ????

Hello everyone,

I am a 26 yr old MA who is a single mother, I have worked hard in MA school to ensure that I obtained as much knowledge as possible so that I can be the best MA I can be. I am currently working in a peds office at a well known hospital in Philadelphia but I want to farther my medical career. For a moment I considered going to nursing school becoming a rn and then going to medical school to become a md ( after alot more schooling, of course). After really thinking about this I realized that I would have my entire life on hold for the next 12 yrs, something I am not interesting in doing, on top of paying back thousands of dollars in student loans. So I am now considering becoming either a Nurse Practioner or a Physician Assistant, but I am not sure which would be the best fit for me. I understand the difference of the two careers but still very much on the fench. Does anyone here have any advice to help me? Also I plan on working full time while in school, if anyone knows of programs in philly that have evening classes for either profession it would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.