PAs and NPs Defined

Much like the PA and MD/DO professions, it sometimes comes down to which school they attended.  I have seen screwed up PAs, NPs, and MDs.  With that said, I do agree that NPs trying to sell themselves as having more procedural training/experience than they have is dangerous and stupid.  Although they truly have proven themselves as fantastic clinicians and I would never want to take that from them.  I do believe that an NP can be good in any medical setting however, they do not receive the procedural training nor perform the in depth clinical rotations that PAs do.  I think with the boom of the PA profession and us skipping bed pans, they feel like we have not paid our dues and our abilities in many areas (ER, Surg, etc.) exceed theirs.  When the state sets similar Scopes of prac. they just jumped on the train and said, "we can do that too".  I always though that people wanted to be nurses because they wanted to nurse people, not cut on them.  I became a PA because I wanted to practice procedural medicine.  Like the Docs say, if they want to be PAs, just have the BSNs go to PA school.  Don't try to redefine what a nurse is.

Without wanting to get into a "he said; she said" scenario, I think it is becoming more important to define more clearly the differences that do exist between the two professions. Some of the MOST important aspects are internships - PA's are REQUIRED to intern in surgery, ER, family practice, OB/GYN, and Pediatrics to meet accreditation standards. NP's internships, on the other hand, vary greatly, and some programs have internships of simply a few months in only one area, such as in a family practice setting. Yet, upon graduation they are often viewed, or I should say they "sell" themselves, with an ability to practice in almost any setting. The training is drastically and dramatically different, yet the lobby power of the nursing profession sets them up in so many ways that it appears to the medical profession and public that they may be equally qualified - which in my opinion is often no true. In my work settings one area that is constantly and issue is the fact that in many programs the NP has NEVER sutured - yet they are being hired - or in some states hired over PA's to practice in urgent care settings. There are differences and I believe it is okay to highlight those differences.