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
Dr. Blackwell is passionate about occupational therapy. She splits her time between researching innovative practices, teaching graduate occupational therapy students and providing service in community pediatric settings. Her service focuses on supporting participation in important childhood occupations in authentic environments. More specifically, she understands the challenges of addressing sensory and self-regulation needs in the classroom, which is the major focus of her service and research.
Beyond sensory processing and self-regulation, Dr. Blackwell’s research interests include occupational justice, response to intervention (RtI), resilience, and teacher-therapist collaboration in the classroom. Finally, she loves teaching, coaching, and mentoring occupational therapy students at both the pre-professional and post-professional stage.
