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
Sunddip Aguilar, EdD
Program Director, EdD/DHSc Programs
Dr. Sunddip Aguilar is the Program Director for the Doctorate of Education program in the College of Health Sciences. Prior to working at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, she had been in the field of education for 17 years. She started her career teaching students in middle school, high school, and online before shifting to teaching in postsecondary education. In addition to working in education, she has been nominated to serve on several boards of directors to help organizations make positive changes in meeting their mission, vision and goals. She was the recipient of Faculty of the Year in 2017.
As an educational consultant and workshop presenter, Dr. Aguilar has developed undergraduate and graduate curricula in the United States, Canada, Africa and the United Kingdom, as well as facilitated faculty training sessions in The United Kingdom, China, India and Canada. She is the author of the book Teacher Survival Skills: An Action Plan for Successful Teaching and has published in several peer-reviewed journals, including: Research in Higher Education, American International Journal of Contemporary Education, Journal of Education and Social Policy and Athletic Training Journal. She currently serves as a reviewer for higher education journals and is currently leading the curriculum committee for the College of Health Sciences.
