I am going into my senior year of high school and I am still unsure of what I want to do. My initial plan was to go into nursing… work for a bit then become a nurse practitioner. Then my mother also gave me the idea of being a PA. However, everyone is saying just to go to medical school (I don’t think I can handle the work load and years of schooling). Please just let me know what you guys think would be the best option. Schooling wise, salary wise, and just overall how the classes would be and if I would still have time to study and have a social life!! Also look at my last post as well !!
If someone could also further explain the process of becoming a nurse practitioner too would be great… like is there a straight through program or how many years do I have to work before I can become one??
At the hospital where I work, NP’s and PA’s are pretty much synonymous. I think NP is a great career.
@Gumbymom Alrighty thank you so much!!
Go to the nursing forum and ask questions there. To make it through medical school you have to be pretty dedicated and you will not have the same control over your life hours spent.
The difference between being a NP and PA is that nursing is based in the nursing model which is to promote health. PA are trained in the medical model which is to treat illness. Same end but different thinking to solve patient problems.
One main difference between nurse practitioner and a physicians assistant is that if you go to school to be a nurse you can get a pretty good job after four years of school and then after working a couple of years you can go back and become a nurse practitioner. With a physicians assistant you can’t start working untill after you get that masters degree. Also physicians assistance have to specialize just like doctors do while nurses can go into many different fields.