Should I go for nursing or physician assistant

allnurses Guide · Sep 16, 2014

First off, nurse practitioners are not "acting like a doctor". Nurse practitioners practice within their legal scope of practice, which often overlaps with our physician colleagues, but is uniquely our own. Physician assistants have their legal scope of practice to practice within. NPs and PAs are not "playing doctor"; I just wanted to make sure that that distinction is understood as it is important to both you and to the profession.

If you go the NP route from a prior BA/BS to MSN/DNP then you have the opportunity to do all of it or part of it part-time. The PA route is (nearly) always full-time, from my knowledge, and many require to to sign a contract stating you won't work any jobs while in school.

There are a few things to consider: time, financial burden, model, and independence.

Time: You touched on this. PA is 2-3 years building on your existing degree, full time. NP is 3-6+

years and you may have to repeat a bachelors unless you do direct-entry. The NP option gives you the flexibility to go part-time, the PA likely does not.

Financial Burden: You need to consider the cost of the programs and the cost of the living expenses over those years, this includes lost wages if you can't work while in FT school vs PT school. You will have to determine for yourself what kind of investment you want to make in your future.

Model: The PA education uses the medical model. NP uses the nursing model. Therese are quite different in their structure and focus. In oversimplified terms the medical model focuses on the disease where the nursing model focuses on the patient response to disease.

Independence: Do you ever want the option to practice independently? This is a hard question to consider when starting out. NPs have autonomous practice in 19 states with more coming every year. PAs do not currently (and may not ever) have full independent practice.

Good luck with your choice. Try and shadow some NPs and some PAs.

andreead · Sep 16, 2014

That being said what is that independence meaning? I can work on my own vs having a doctor approve for my work?

everybody tells me is a no brainer go to pa school, but I think np has added benefits. It would take me 2 years to get bsn, roughly 3 years part time for the np and another 2-3 for the dnp. Is that accurate? Is np usually taking 3 and dnp other 3?

allnurses Guide · Sep 16, 2014

That being said what is that independence meaning? I can work on my own vs having a doctor approve for my work?
everybody tells me is a no brainer go to pa school, but I think np has added benefits. It would take me 2 years to get bsn, roughly 3 years part time for the np and another 2-3 for the dnp. Is that accurate? Is np usually taking 3 and dnp other 3?

Independence, in this case, means the ability to practice without a collaborative agreement with a physician.

I don't necessarily think it's a no-brainer. I had a BA in Biology prior to going back to school for my NP.

Direct-entry MSN is 3 years full time.

Accelerated BSN is 18 months full time.

BSN to MSN is 18 months full time.

DNP would add another 9-12 months to most MSN programs.

Double the time for part time.

Sent from my iPhone.

andreead · Sep 16, 2014

So 18 months for the bsn plus 36 months for the np and 24 months.so it should take me about 7 years from beginning to end if I go part time. Does that sound accurate?

Why did you choose np over pa?

allnurses Guide · Sep 16, 2014

So 18 months for the bsn plus 36 months for the np and 24 months.so it should take me about 7 years from beginning to end if I go part time. Does that sound accurate?
Why did you choose np over pa?

Quickest route to NP from your prior BA/BS (if you have prereqs done) is either 3 years FT or 4-6 years PT.

I chose NP over PA because I liked the nursing model better and I wanted the flexibility to work independently at the end of my career if needed.

Sent from my iPhone.

Julia77 · Sep 17, 2014

I suggest you investigate the job opportunities where you wish to practice as a factor in your decision making. For example, some locals prefer PA's and others prefer NP's.

Julia

Julia77 · Sep 17, 2014

I chose NP because NP's are preferred locally, because my schedule was more flexible with the NP schooling, and if I do my NP course slowly, I can anticipate qualifying for educational funding from two sources enough to cover a certain amount of courses each year, and hope not to pay out-of-pocket for my education. Personally, I would have preferred a stronger science and clinical practice aspect to my education (as in PA) and less focus on theory, paper writing, and research (NP), but the financial and job prospect aspects of my situation pointed more towards NP than PA.

Julia

zmansc, ASN, RN · Sep 19, 2014

I think there are a lot of factors that must be taken into consideration here.

First, there are differences between the two careers, some of which have been alluded to or mentioned above. You might wish to research both to get a full understanding of the differences. I would also suggest trying to spend some time with people in both careers, shadowing them, and hopefully getting more insight into the similarities and differences. Do you have any leanings on what type of provider you might wish to be? OB? Family? Peds? Anesthesia? This might take you in different directions.

Second, regardless which path you take, PA or NP will likely have you spending some time going to school full time. So from a financial aspect, you need to think of both your $$ and time as investments you will be making in not only your job satisfaction but in your future earning potential.

Third, you mentioned that it would only take two years to become PA. I'm assuming then that you have all the pre-reqs? Otherwise, it will take you significantly longer than 2 years. I only mention this because it seems you are focusing on the details of RN/NP education and how long that will take, but assuming that you will be able to start PA school almost immediately. When I was considering both, the PA schools I was looking at required applicants to have all pre-reqs done prior to application which was about 9 months prior to admissions. They also typically wanted various amounts of prior medical experience. So, the process itself would take more than the "two years" that the program itself typically required.

guest538567 · Sep 28, 2014

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. As the previous poster mentioned, think hard about what you type of specialty you want. NP education allows for immediate specialization as part of the education (ie. FNP, AGNP, ACNP, PNP, PMHNP, etc), whereas PA education will educate you as a generalist. As a PA, your scope of practice fits your MD's scope. So in theory, if you work in pediatrics and later are hired to do inpatient psychiatry or critical care, you can do these without any additional training. However, I have heard that in reality, there is an increasing expectation to complete residencies prior to hiring. Contrast this to an NP that has a scope that is dependent upon their education. If you are an AGNP and want to do pediatrics, you must return to school for a postmasters.

There are also certain specialties that seem to have preference for PA vs NP. Surgical and ER seem to fit the PA candidate better. While, psychiatry, neonatal, peds, and primary care better fit the NP.

luv'nsunshine · Oct 4, 2014

I think it just depends on you. Both NP and PA are considered mid-level providers. Both are very respected professions. However, NP falls under the board of nursing and PA is regulated by the board of medicine. FNP does not need to retest, but PA's do at least in Oregon they do, in their 5th or 6th year.

BiotoBSNtoFNP · Oct 4, 2014

I have a BS in biology and also decided to go the NP instead of PA. The logistics worked better for me for NP school than PA school and NPs are utilized in my geographical location.

I did a one year, accelerated BSN program full time. Then I got a job and started NP school. I will have my msn 3 years after starting my journey to the bsn.

I liked that I was able to work as an RN (yay paycheck!) while going to school for my np. As stated by others, PA school may be faster, but it is absolutely full time and you cannot work. You may be able to work while getting your NP even if it is full time. I am working as an RN now but also going to np school full time. If you want to compare full time programs, then np and pa full time will be about the same length of time. But you need to add the year or two of bsn. This option still gives you the possibility of working depending on your other obligations (family, kids, etc).

I also didnt have the prereqs for pa school but i did have them done for nursing school.

And finally, there was ultimately just more flexibility with what I could do going into nursing. NPs are urilized in my area more than the PA in the inpatient and outpatient setting.

I think you should shadow both NPs and PAs and see what the job market is in your area.