Physician Assistant vs. Nurse Practioner?

Which makes the most money?

Which has the most chances for career advancement?

NPs have a lot more changes for advancement, hands down.

Of course, the laws are a little different in each state or province, but PAs can only practice under the supervision of a physician. NPs, however, can open up private practices.

As for education, I have heard that PAs tend to have slightly more surgical knowledge, and they can be first assistant on surgeries. Other than that, I've heard they are about the same. NPs have generally spent more time studying health care in school, 4 years of undergrad leading to a BSN, followed by 2+ years of graduate school, versus PAs who must study basic science as undergrads, but do not generally take any health or medicine related classes.

I think that NPs have a little more respect, but that's just my experience and it's highly subjective.

Within the broader field of nursing in general, there are a lot of options. Nursing is a philosophy and it can be applied in areas of research, administration, education, and the clinical role that we normally picture nurses performing.

P.A. is basically a doctor without the credentials. Seriously.

At my doctor's, there's the doctor and the P.A. Colleen (the Physician's Assistant) is the one we usually see. I rarely ever see Dr. Stone