Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are advanced healthcare practitioners with similar responsibilities, such as diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medications. However, their training and paths toward certification differ in significant ways. This blog post unpacks the key differences between NPs and PAs to help you determine which career path best aligns with your goals. What Is a Nurse Practitioner? A nurse practitioner (NP) is a licensed clinician who provides comprehensive healthcare to patients of all ages. An NP can work in virtually any healthcare setting, diagnosing patient conditions and prescribing medications. As of October 2022, nurse practitioners have full practice authority in 27 states, meaning that they can practice Read more

Graduate School with OT & PT Programs

Study in the oldest city in the U.S.

Enjoy beautiful beaches and a rich, Spanish-influenced history. The USAHS campus in St. Augustine overlooks the gorgeous northeast Florida coastline with nearby beaches like St. Augustine Beach and tranquil Crescent Beach and is located near downtown St. Augustine, the oldest European-founded city in the United States. Wander the cobblestone streets to take in the centuries-old architecture—on your way to the beach!

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Why study with USAHS in St. Augustine?

Immerse yourself in history.

In the historic St. Augustine, Florida, colonial Spain is still alive in centuries-old architecture, cobblestone streets, and lamp-lit pubs. Take a tour, just eight minutes away from the university, of the Historic District’s many notable buildings including the mission-style cathedral, the Oldest House, and three military forts (Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas, and Fort Mose). Excellent museums like the Lightner Museum and Maritime Museum, as well as cultural festivals abound, as do boutiques, galleries, bistros, wineries, and cozy cafés.

Broaden your job opportunities.

USAHS has been known and respected in the community since 1997, and our graduates are working across a diversity of local healthcare organizations. Our undergraduate students benefit from access to an on-campus health science career services advisor, a current job board, two annual job fairs, a writing center, and complimentary counseling and tutoring services at our college in St Augustine, FL.

Connect with your surroundings.

At our university in St Augustine, FL, our degree programs are flexible—affording you the time to take a breath and explore the natural environment. Visit a protected wildlife sanctuary or the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, chill out on the beach in summer, take a fishing expedition, or play volleyball by the pier.

State-of-the-art on-campus resources

Centers for Innovative Clinical Practice

Students in our physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology programs practice using state-of-the-art technology in our Centers for Innovative Clinical Practice. Located on all USAHS campuses, our CICPs are immersive learning laboratories that mimic a variety of clinical spaces and home settings.

ADL Simulation Lab

Watch students in our occupational therapy programs use assistive devices tailored to each scenario as they work with mock patients on daily living skills, such as getting in and out of a bathtub and brushing their teeth.

Driving Simulator

Our driving simulators are built with actual car parts, including a six-speed transmission and a force-feedback steering wheel. Video monitors play simulations, so the user feels like they’re really driving. Our OT students use this tool to assess patients’ reaction speeds and visual perception, and to help patients build or rebuild their driving skills.

3D Printers

Our 3D printers enable you to design and build customized assistive technology for patients. Using technology and your own inspiration, you can create orthotics, prosthetics, and other devices that could make a patient’s sports life or daily life a little bit easier. You can even work with patients to create individualized devices.

BTE PrimusRS

This rehabilitation and exercise machine enables you to gather real-time, objective data on patient movement. Using functional attachments, the BTE measures different types of movement—such as opening a door, steering a car, and playing certain sports. It’s a powerful tool for gauging patient progress and assessing how well your interventions are working.

Double Robot

Double Robotics’ telepresence robot enables a remote healthcare provider to communicate with a patient through a movable robot with an iPad. You can practice remote consultations, such as moving the robot around a hospital bed and angling it to assess the patient’s wound. For the patient, the robot offers a closer analogue to a human presence than does a static screen.

Anatomage Table

These anatomy visualization tables display fully segmented 3D human anatomy via a fully interactive touchscreen experience. You can see realistic views inside the human body by selecting different planes and cross-sections. You can query structures, save the information inside a USB drive, and study the visualizations in more depth at home.

Programs offered at USAHS St. Augustine

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program

woman with a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) assisting a patient

Become an occupational therapy practitioner and help people of all ages overcome physical and cognitive barriers and improve their quality of life. We offer the MOT program in two formats: Residential and Flex. Visit program page

Flex MOT Program

If you want to earn the identical MOT degree but in a more flexible format, including on-campus lab classes held on scheduled weekends rather than weekdays, the Flex MOT is the path for you. Visit program page

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Choose the OTD program if you want to prepare not only for clinical practice and fieldwork experience, but also for expanded roles in the profession. In the OTD's additional two trimesters beyond the MOT, you will gain research experience with a capstone project. Visit program page

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

woman from a graduate physical therapy program assisting a patient

The DPT is the entry-level degree in physical therapy. It prepares you for clinical practice with a wide range of patients and in varied settings. It also prepares you for advanced roles in research and practice leadership. Visit program page

Flex Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Created for working students, the Flex DPT path offers the identical curriculum and degree as the DPT with a more flexible schedule: students meet on campus for lab classes on weekends rather than weekdays. Visit program page

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Campus Director

Lori Hankins

Location

How to Get to USAHS St. Augustine

USAHS St. Augustine is located right off of University Blvd just south of historic downtown St. Augustine.

Our St. Augustine Campus Address:

1 University Blvd
St. Augustine, FL 32086

Our hours are: 8AM – 8PM Monday – Friday

Our contact phone number is: (800)-241-1027

Parking: Students are not permitted to park in the north, west, and south patient/ visitor/ staff/ faculty parking lots from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Students that park in these lots will be issued a parking citation of $25.00. After 5:00 p.m. students can park in the west and south visitor/ staff/ faculty parking lots. Students can park in front of the main entrance for up to 15 minutes to deliver items to faculty/staff or pick up items.