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
Karen Menard, PhD, OTR/L
Program Director, Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Dr. Karen Menard joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in January 2012 as contributing faculty and became Program Director in March 2015. She earned her PhD in Education from Walden University in 2014, Master of Science in Health Sciences from the University of Central Florida in 1992 and Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Florida International University in 1985.
She brings more than 30 years of managerial and clinical experience in a variety of settings specializing in orthopedic, neurological, cognitive, emotional and pediatric disorders. In addition, Dr. Menard authored materials presented at the WASC Academic Resource Conference, Online Learning Consortium, World Confederation of Physical Therapy, International Autism Conference, Autism One Conference, National Academies of Practice, AOTA National Conferences and Florida Occupational Therapy Association Conference, and published in the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education and in the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Dr. Menard is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and Florida Occupational Therapy Association, with special interest activities focused in interprofessional education in higher education. Her passion is to encourage all students to advance the profession of occupational therapy through research and education. Her research expertise is in qualitative studies.
