How are nurse practitioners (NPs) different from physician assistants (PAs)?
While NPs and PAs often appear to perform similar functions, there are important distinctions between these health care professionals. Some physician assistants come to their education with a background in health care, but it is not a requirement. Rather than focusing on a specialty patient population, the PA certification process includes education that introduces the provider to the health care system and provides general education about the variety of skills needed for the PA to manage different types of patients. PAs work under the supervision of a physician. Nurse practitioners have initial training and licensure as a registered nurse before pursuing advanced education and training. All NPs in the state of Maryland are masters-prepared providers. Nurse practitioner programs provide specialized education in a variety of clinical areas, providing in-depth education about a particular specialty. NPs may treat patients independently or in collaboration with a physician. This page was
