Published
You might want to ask around in your area of the country how the job market is right now for PAs. If it's decent, I think I would personally probably go with that. You make more (~$20K) money, you are more autonomous (even if not completely independent), you can work in a lot of different facilities and fields of practice and specialize in anything (except anesthesia) that a physician can.
On the other hand, if you become a nurse, you could always become an NP (or PA, for that matter) down the road. Jobs are not easy to come by right now, though, evidently.
Good luck!
The two choices you present are RN vs PA. On that basis I would choose the PA because out of the gate you will have a higher pay and responsibility. If your choices are NP vs PA then it's a little more complicated. In most states NP's have more autonomy, and for example, could open their own clinic. If that's important to you, then get your NP. On the other hand, PA's are controlled by physicians and for that reason they are often preferred in hiring by physicians. Just look at the evolution of the anesthesiologist assistant (PA) vs CNA (NP) and you will see what I mean.
seek4hope
26 Posts
if you got accepted into both Bachelor in Nursing + Registered Nurse and Master in Physician Assistant programs, which one would you choose and why ? Thanks.