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. Bindu Balakrishnan graduated with a Master of Science in Medical Physiology from Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India and a Doctor of Philosophy in Neurophysiology from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Wayne State University, Johns Hopkins and the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, where she was involved in the study of maternal infection and fetal brain development in a rabbit and pig model.
Dr. Balakrishnan has published various articles in peer-reviewed neuroscience journals. After her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Balakrishnan worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Dubuque, Iowa, teaching Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Human Physiology to undergraduates. She also taught Physiology to Physician Assistant students. She is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and joined the University in 2019.
