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. Hope McCarroll attended Texas Woman’s University Denton campus for her undergraduate and entry-level graduate studies in occupational therapy. She has practiced mostly as a school-based occupational therapist in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. After several years of practice, she pursued her post-professional doctorate in occupational therapy to specialize in school-based occupational therapy practice and specifically research handwriting in public schools. She completed her studies in 2016 and had her research published in Cogent Education in 2017, looking at the effects of handwriting on academic success in writing, reading, and math. She has presented her research and specialty area at various conferences and in-services across the United States. Dr. McCarroll is based out of the Dallas campus of the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and looks to continue her research as she continues her journey.
