"NPs don't practice medicine"

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I read this on a physician assistant forum.

I've been accepted to an accelerated BSN program for career-changers. Yes, I also applied to PA schools, but I am wait-listed at both of them, so I am choosing the BSN (and after RN experience, MSN). Let me say that I do NOT think NPs are inferior to PAs; I applied to both because as someone with a BS in biology, PA school makes more sense time-wise. I am happy to go to nursing school.

So, back to the title. Yes, someone said that NPs don't practice medicine, they practice nursing. What? First, what does this REALLY mean? Second, I understand the difference between the medical and nursing models but do they make any meaningful difference in your career post-graduation? In the same thread, someone also said that NPs have poor diagnostic skills because of the way they are trained. These comments really heated me up. Please tell me this sort of animosity between the professions is mostly just online and not real life!

Thanks in advance for your comments.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.

I know of plenty of clinics where the NP's, PA's and MD's all work together well. And I know technically NP's practice advanced nursing...not medicine. But job wise we all do so much of the same thing.

I know this isn't exactly an answer but I think it's easier for PA's or MD's to say negative things about NP's online rather than to their faces. I also think they don't fully understand nursing unless they do it. No NP's may not have as many clinical hours but my NP school required 2000 hours as an RN before clinical courses could be started. As an RN we are trained on basic lab normal vs. abnormal, common treatments and interventions along with pathophysiology of diseases.

Anyway I'm not 100% for or against any of the degrees/certifications mentioned above. We all try to do the same thing and there are good and bad in each group. I wish the animosity would stop from all sides.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

All I can say is consider the source.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I would actually argue that NPs practice nursing not medicine.

In that vein, advanced practice nursing should not be overseen by medicine (either by an MD in practice or the Board of Medicine.

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But can you explain what that means, please?

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
But can you explain what that means, please?

Physicans, PAs, and NPs can all legally diagnose and treat acute and chronic illness, order and interpret diagnostics tests, and prescribe medication. Research has demonstrated comparable outcomes for all groups.

The rest of it really is semantics. In simple terms the medical model is aimed at treating disease while the nursing model is aimed at treating both disease and the patient's response to disease. Only physicians go to medical school. Physician assistants have an abbreviated medical education that was designed to work under a physician guidance/supervision. NPs have advanced nursing education aimed at independent but collaborative practice with all members of the health care professions.

My two cents.

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In a nut shell... sums it up perfectly.

Physicans, PAs, and NPs can all legally diagnose and treat acute and chronic illness, order and interpret diagnostics tests, and prescribe medication. Research has demonstrated comparable outcomes for all groups.

The rest of it really is semantics. In simple terms the medical model is aimed at treating disease while the nursing model is aimed at treating both disease and the patient's response to disease. Only physicians go to medical school. Physician assistants have an abbreviated medical education that was designed to work under a physician guidance/supervision. NPs have advanced nursing education aimed at independent but collaborative practice with all members of the health care professions.

My two cents.

Sent from my iPhone.

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Okay. I did know the different educational trajectories, of course, I just get a little lost when hearing nursing vs medicine. I know the differences in definition, but wasn't sure if there was a practical difference.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Nurse Practitioners can work independently and collaboratively with physicians, have own practices. As result of education and licensure, Physician Assistants can not have an independent practice and must work under physician supervision.

Best wishes in the role you choose to provide advanced healthcare.

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Specializes in Internal Medicine.
Okay. I did know the different educational trajectories, of course, I just get a little lost when hearing nursing vs medicine. I know the differences in definition, but wasn't sure if there was a practical difference.

At the end? No, there isn't a practical difference. Go into any medical office across our country and see MD's and NP's working side by side, where you often won't have any idea who is who because the end game role is so similar.

I personally feel a sense of jealousy when I read a lot of PA posts towards NP's because we have more autonomy overall, and our title doesn't have the word "assistant" sprinkled in there, automatically implying subservience. I have the deepest respect for every PA I have ever known and worked with, but their online community certainly suffers from an inferiority complex.

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A doctor saying that PAs and NPs don't "practice medicine" is similar to a college professor who teaches calculus telling a high school algebra teacher that the high school teacher doesn't really "teach math." It's arrogant, insulting and untrue.

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Thank you!

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