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. De Brun is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) San Marcos, CA campus. Dr. De Brun completed her Bachelor of Science, Master of Occupational Therapy and post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy at Loma Linda University. She has a wide variety of experience as a mental health occupational therapist working in emerging practice, community-based pediatric and adult mental health services. Her clinical practice experience includes pediatric trauma intervention centers, domestic violence shelters, substance use and recovery services, local school districts and regional centers.
Dr. De Brun’s research and scholarly interests have focused on emerging practice, program development, trauma-informed education, secondary trauma and burnout, early childhood trauma, the maternal-child co-occupational experience and occupational justice. She has served as a fieldwork educator in various emerging practice and community-based settings, including mental health programming for children, survivors of domestic violence and for individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Dr. De Brun serves as chair of the Occupational Therapy Association of California’s (OTAC) nominations committee, where she advocates for OT leadership in California and for the occupational therapy profession. She joined USAHS in 2020.
