Is a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Family Physician Assistant basically the same???

r they just about the same??? also, which is a better career Nurse practitoner/Physician assistant or Nurse Educator????
thanks

Yes and No. We (PA and NP) perform similar tasks. The difference is in the training. PA's are trained by Physicians in the Physician model of health care. NP's are trained by nurses in the nursing model of care. There is a difference!! PA's do have to work under the supervision of a Doctor. (Direct or Indirect) NP's do too. They can not just hang out a shingle and provide care. As far as the degree issue goes, ALL PA's sit and have to pass a very challenging National Certification exam, administered by the National Commission on Certification for Physician Assistants, regardless of there 2,4 or other degree status. (With re- certification every 6 years and 100 hrs. continuing education every two years-similar to MD's) Just because of the vast RN lobby in each state, NP's have gained more privileges than PA's have in the same amount of time. Most states allow PA's and NP's to prescribe medicines limited to a certain formulary. As far as billing goes, PA's services are billed and are covered by Medicare. PA's may also bill "incident-to" which gets billed like the Physician. As a surgical PA, I made over $400,000 in bill-ables for my supervising physician in one year. Bill-ables are less in Family Practice due to the incident-to clauses. For more information on PA's, please visit www.aapa.org, which also links to all state and constituent organizations. As far as NP's go, I'm sure a quick on line search can find something. Also, a comment was posted regarding seeing the NP vs. Doctor, and I have heard the same thing for PA's...we are grouped as "mid-level practioners", and that is who you want to see!!

no, PA is the best

In terms of their training & capabilities, they're pretty close.

To be an NP, you first have to be a nurse, usually with a BSN.
Nurse educators also have to be a nurse, also usually with a BSN or MSN.

While there are some Bachelor's degree PA programs, most are moving towards graduate degrees. That means 4 years of college then 2+ years of graduate school

I see a FNP and she is really good. There are limits to what a FNP can do, but she can treat most anything and is limited to prescribing certain drugs, like xanax or something controlled. I worked for a doctor who had a nurse FNP working a few days a week in her place. Believe me, the FNP was a whole lot smarter (and nicer) than the doc.

No there not the same thing. The Family practice Nurse has her/his own license and can practice independently. A PA, cannot practice unless he/she is directly involved with a doctor. The PA can't bill for him/her self. A nurse can!