Claudia Mariano graduated from the University of Toronto in 1986 with her Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing. This website is not affiliated with any official organization or education program. Professionals who seek challenging and well-paying healthcare careers may find themselves torn between two comparable disciplines: nurse practitioner and physician assistant. A career in healthcare is a commitment to preventing disease, promoting well-being, and doing no harm; both nurse practitioners and medical doctors embrace an ethos of service, knowledge, teamwork, flexibility, compassion, and safety, but there are key differences in the two occupations in terms of experience, education, and credentialing. pediatric nurse practitioner or family nurse practitioner). All views expressed on this website are that of the author. What Are The Difference Between Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant? Like a nurse practitioner, though, a physician assistant can also diagnose disease and write prescriptions. While nurse practitioner (NP) and physician assistant (PA) professions both offer autonomy, responsibility and competitive salaries, there are clear differences between PA vs. NP careers. Join our Canadian PA community for free resources! Becoming a Nurse Practitioner. NPs and PAs are what we call midlevel providers. 1Hi guys, I'm sure this has probably been beaten to death in the forums and I've tried to do a mini search to find some answers. NPs have additional authority including diagnosing, admitting patients, treating and discharge patients from hospital. There are three different specialty certificates (Primary Health Care, Adult and Paediatrics) with different universities offering the different programs (NP-PHC, NP-Adult, NP-Paediatrics). As long as the condition or presentation falls within an NP’s scope of practice, knowledge and judgement, NPs can see a patient without physician involvement. November 27 is National Physician Assistant Day in Canada. Nursing Model. All views expressed on this website are that of the author. 3. After doing a lot of research on what it means to be a physician assistant, it seems that there is a discrepancy between being a PA in Canada, specifically Ontario vs. USA/Manitoba in regards to autonomy and regulation. The average annual salary of PA is $104.480. The “old medical model” as described by psychiatrist Dr. George Engel in 1977, is a disease-oriented model which describes disease is a result of abnormal biological functioning (deviation from normal anatomy, physiology & molecular biology)[2]. In Ontario, CNO has one that NPs are required to participate in annually, and may include an OSCE for some. There are slight differences between a nurse practitioner and physician assistant yearly salary. While it is true that both the nurse practitioners and the physician assistants work in the health care environment, the truth is that the job duties and responsibilities associated with these two medical positions are radically different. Actually carrying out surgery would be rare, though American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants lists some very minor outpatient procedures as possibly within the realm of the physician assistant. Some states are more NP friendly while others traditionally favor physician assistants. Accessed Feb 1, 2019 https://npao.org/about-npao/what-is-a-np/, © 2017-2020 Canadian PA  |  All Rights Reserved  |. CNO requires nurse practitioners to maintain patient contact in a clinical setting in order to keep their license. The time available for a student to devote to education is also a factor, as PAs may start their careers with considerably less practical training than an NP. What is the difference between a Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner? This is a personal decision that needs to be based on being comfortable with a primary care provider. The Nurse Practitioner program is a Master’s level program. As you weigh the physician assistant vs .nurse practitioner career decision (or, if you’re just plain curious like me…), a quick salary comparison in the state where you plan to practice can help nail down your profession pick.