Similarities Between A Physician Assistant And A Nurse Practitioner

Introduction There are many important positions that play vital roles in the general healthcare model. Two of these important positions that make up the team are the Physician Assistant and the Nurse Practitioner. Although their roles are very similar, the way in which each achieves their position in the healthcare field is very different. The Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner have differing education and specialty paths. Also, each position has a unique way to approach and manage the patient’s care.

Significance

According to the AAPA, The Affordable Care Act was the first place where Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners were termed as two of the three “primary care providers.”1 The PA and the NP each play a similar role

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook the employment of PAs is expected to make a 30% increase in just 10 short years.7 Similarly, the NP employment is expected to grow by 31% over the next 10 years.8 As each position grows and gains more authority they have impacts on each other’s salaries and that of a Physician.9 According to John J. Perry’s research on the impact of the NP gaining more authority in practice had a negative impact on both the PA and Physician’s salaries.9 While the negative impact only lead to a 1.4% decrease in PA salary, the decrease was much larger for physicians experiencing a decrease of roughly 7.6% each year.9 If the PA was granted more authority similar to that of a NP this decreased the NP salary by only 0.8% annually.9 Lastly, if the PA is granted more prescriptive authority, the physician’s salary increases by almost 8% for each year that the PA is granted this authority. This positive impact on physicians is due to the fact that PAs had direct supervision from the