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
Fabian Bizama, PT, MPT, PhD is an assistant professor in the Flex DPT program in Austin, Texas. He teaches Pediatric Physical Therapy, Administration and Management, Biophysical Agents, and Patient Care Management III. He completed a dual degree and graduated with a baccalaureate degree in Health Science and a Masters in Physical Therapy in 2001 from Loma Linda University, in Loma Linda, California. He completed his PhD in Physical Therapy in 2015 at Texas Woman’s University in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Bizama began his career as a physical therapist providing services for young children in the Early Childhood Intervention setting.
For more than 15 years of clinical experience, he has provided services in pediatric out-patient clinic and home health settings working with children of all ages. After accepting a promotion for a manager role, his career path included additional opportunities for leadership and administration. For the last several years, his work experience includes Director level positions where he has been responsible for leading therapists across disciplines to ensure delivery of quality services and meeting company’s financial and strategic goals.
Dr. Bizama’s topics of scholarly inquiry include motor learning, attention to task, and the influence of distraction in performance of motor skills such as gait. In addition, he has collaborated with colleagues for studies including performance measures and gait variability in people with lower-limb amputation that have been presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Bizama has developed several continuing education courses for development of clinical skills, critical thinking, and professionalism.
