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
Nurse Educator Concentration Added to Online EdD Program
San Marcos, California—October 27, 2015—The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences’ online Doctor of Education (EdD) program—designed for health sciences professionals—now offers a Nurse Educator concentration specifically to help nurses who want to teach or advance their careers at the postsecondary level.
“Our online, health-sciences EdD has timely new courses for current and prospective nurse educators,” said Program Director Dr. Betina Malhotra.
Despite a well-documented nursing shortage, nursing schools in the United States turned away close to 80,000 qualified applicants during the 2012 academic year. Almost two-thirds of those schools cited the lack of qualified nurse educators as a reason, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Since 2009, the EdD program has been an option for health sciences practitioners who want to earn an academic degree that will help them master the art and science of teaching and scholarly research. As an online program, it is accessible to working professionals and creates an engaging experience through interactive case studies and simulations of learning environments they could encounter as teachers.
Nurse educator courses cover timely topics such as strategies for promoting student engagement, meeting the needs of culturally diverse students and evaluating educational effectiveness. The program also helps nurse educators understand administrative issues such as accreditation and recruitment and retention of faculty, students and clinical sites.
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About the University of St. Augustine
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USA) is a graduate institution that emphasizes health science education through innovative quality classroom and distance education. Founded in 1979, USA has locations in San Marcos, California; St. Augustine, Florida; and Austin, Texas. USA offers degree programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, education and health science, as well as residency, fellowship and continuing education programs. For more information, visit www.usa.edu. USA is a member of Laureate International Universities, a network of more than 80 institutions in 28 countries and one of the most significant global higher education providers for health sciences. For more information, visit www.laureate.net.
