Understanding educational pathways for NP, PA

Vertigo75
Fri, 28 Jan 2022 17:57:27 +0000

I am currently an NP, certified in family practice. I’ve been a nurse for almost 25 years and 12 of those years have been in the NP role.

Contrary to what was said above, my prereq classes (chem, physics, A&P, micro, etc), were taken alongside the bio/chem majors and were not “watered down” as a nursing major. Not all programs were/are like that. I went to a four-year BSN program directly out of HS.

Worked as an RN for about 10 years prior to deciding to going back to become an NP. My nursing specialty included emergency and cardiac nursing. I feel ER nursing best-prepared me for learning about a lot of the subtle vs textbook presentations to many different scenarios. Learned what the initial workups and treatments should be for a lot of different conditions. Developed that “sixth sense” you need to have when something just doesn’t seem right and you need to dive deeper.

Returned to school for my MSN as an NP. Chose this route because as a mom with 2 small children, I could return to school part-time and still work to support my family. PA programs are FT, and it would be nearly impossible to work while going to school.

I would say that if you want to go straight through your bachelor’s and master’s and be able to work right away as an mid-level provider, go the PA route. If you prefer to get your BSN and then work as a nurse for a bit (highly recommended) before going straight to grad school, go the NP route.

I am old school in my belief that nurses should not become NP’s without having worked at least a couple years as a nurse first. You need to be able to learn what you don’t know in patient presentations. These things you typically won’t learn from a textbook.

Specialty can also help determine which path to choose. If you want to be in the OR during surgeries, go the PA route. Neonatal medicine, go the NP route. You will likely see both types of mid-levels together in most of the other types of clinical areas.

I practice in a state that requires physician collaboration. We have a very, very good working relationship with each other - very respectful of each other’s knowledge and clinical expertise on both ends.