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. Deann O’Lenick joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 2021 as a core faculty member in the Master of Speech-Language Pathology Program on the Dallas, TX campus. Dr. O’Lenick received her Bachelor of Science from North Dakota State University, Master of Science from Texas Tech University, MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University and PhD from Texas Woman’s University.
Teaching has long been a priority of Dr. O’Lenick. She has built businesses and founded nonprofits to further the conversations about augmentative communication. These include O’Lenick Consulting, LLC, SymbolSpeak, LLC, Emmerzion, LLC, Hear MY Voice-Language Through AAC and Halakah.
Dr. O’Lenick’s work history includes research in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, providing evaluations and interventions and caregiver education in early childhood intervention programs, public schools, state supported living centers, private practices, home health and long-term care facilities. Her specialty areas include complex communication needs such as augmentative and alternative communication, behavioral communication disorders and autism, and swallowing impairments for people with complex needs.
