In my state, they do NOT do surgery. But many of the surgical PA’s THOUGHT they’d be doing surgery, which I think causes some resentment. In the big (teaching) hospital near me, the surgical NP’s and surgical nurses are staffed interchangeably in the OR.
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In some states PA’s can act as first assistants in surgery. However, RN’s can take a certification course to become RNFA’s - or Registered Nurse First Assistants. They do not need to become NP’s to do this.
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I went to a dermatologist and got some skin tags removed. Wait 3 month for the doctor or come this week for the PA. He was great. Did only derm for over 10 years. When I asked the difference of training he said the doctor just has some extra courses but in this practice they basically do the same things… Agh…
My ENT has a PA who does NOT do anything invasive. Solid pre-op communication (and “here’s my cellphone in case you have questions after hours”) and a good person to check on meds interactions… but does not go past that.
It’s a big practice and they are clearly trying to incorporate non-physicians whenever they can (medical scribes so the docs can spend more time with patients and less time charting) but there’s a limit to what a non-MD can do in a surgical situation-- at least in my area.
Maybe for routine stuff- nasal polyps? But I’ve only seen this doc for procedures requiring general anesthesia, hospital OR, so I don’t know how effective a non-MD can be in these cases.
This is terrifying, 4 years of medical school and 5 years of residency…
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NP and PA programs as direct entry are a new thing that are terrifying to many of us in medical practice. They produce people who have 1 or 2 years post college training who are then put into positions of practice that take physicians 9-12 years of training. OP if you want to be a nurse go to nursing school, practice as an RN for many years, get tons of experience and then decide if you want further training to be an NP. If you want to be a PA then go to college, become a paramedic, work in the medical field, learn all about medicine and then go to a PA program once you have background medical knowledge. If you want to be a doctor go to college, excel and go to medical school. The price and what other people say should not be helping you make the decision.
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Why is this terrifying? The PA has basically been an apprentice for 10 years.
Removal of the skin tags is fine, the statement is terrifying. They claim they have the same training as a dermatologist, and probably believe it. I have no issue with PAs and NPs working under physicians in these type of settings, it is actually exactly the role that they should have. But to say their training is the same and to believe it and spread this information to patients is terrible. The 4 years of medical school and 5 years of one of the most competitive residency that exists is “some extra courses,” yikes!
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I think this deserves its own post. Most people (in theory) think that having NP’s and PA’s doing whatever they can do after a long period of apprenticeship is fine… until it’s THEIR spouse whose contact dermatitis (according to the PA) was actually a serious auto-immune disorder, delaying treatment. Or until they are the one who had a “simple” cauterization for a nose bleed which was actually an aneurysm. (I did jury duty for a medical malpractice suit… I could go on…)
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Thanks for your reply. I definitely wouldn’t want to be doing the one doing surgeries and I understand that PAs don’t do that. At the hospital I shadowed at PAs assisted in surgeries.
I think that a lot of young people like OP think this is a quick way to be a noctor, and should have all of the information. Nursing is an amazing field and currently extremely well paid. I encourage OP to be a nurse to be a nurse, and if things organically go towards further training and degrees then that is amazing, but these direct entry programs should not exist.
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Hello,
I’m not interested in being a doctor. I don’t think PA is a quick way to do that. I just know I want to work in healthcare and I want to weight my options.
I am human and not a bot so I do make mistakes… 
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So the programs that you are discussing are really for people who want to be PAs or nurses and know exactly what they want. If you are not sure what is the harm in going to a less expensive school that is a comfortable distance from home (or community college), do the pre-nursing and pre-PA requirements and work in a hospital or a doctors office and see what you really want. My understanding of these types of programs is they are very focused.
…. and here we go. I always love when a curious student asks a well-meaning question about pathways to certain careers like PA or NP and it always combusts into the MD vs PA/NP discussion. This thread is not the place.
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If a student is evaluating PA, NP, RN, then understanding the limitations/controversial elements around these career paths is a positive thing.
I wish folks on CC (and in real life) were as vocal when it comes to OTHER types of professional training. You want to become a lawyer? Majoring in Criminal Justice or “pre-law” is a bad idea. You want to work in Talent Management in a big corporation? Don’t major in HR. You want to become an agent You’ll be going to law school… so majoring in Sports Management likely won’t get you there.
Information is power.
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I disagree. Op js asking about two wildly different programs and what they each offer. If the goal is to be a doctor then they should know what they are getting into. No one goes into these discussions on posts of direct entry nursing programs because that person has a goal. OP has tons of options to be in healthcare and should explore them rather than choosing a program without knowing what it gets them.
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Agreed. But when the conversation turn to “What should an NP do?” or “Physicians are being fired and replaced with NP’s” then the discussion becomes one that warrants a separate discussion. So please focus on the OP.
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Did the OP mention that the goal is to become a doctor? They actually stated that they don’t want to become a physician.
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OP does not want to become a physician. But if the goal is healthcare- OP might want to explore PT, Speech, hospital management, etc. while figuring out the right path. So many fantastic health care careers- most HS kids know doctor/nurse…
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