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. Maureen Fischer graduated from East Carolina University with her Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy in 1997. She has a variety of clinical experience and started her career at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, where she worked in acute care, NICU, outpatient, acute and subacute rehabilitation settings. She also has experience working in a Level 1 trauma center, schools and early intervention, and telehealth with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Dr. Fischer’s passion is in early intervention, which she has practiced for 11 years in Maryland before moving her family to Ponte Vedra, FL in 2017. Dr. Fischer began teaching at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences as a lab assistant in the fall of 2019 and worked as a contributing faculty member primarily in the pediatrics applications course while pursuing her Post-professional Doctor in Occupational Therapy, which she earned from Chatham University in May 2022. She moved to a core faculty role at USAHS as Instructor in May 2022.
Dr. Fischer is passionate about working with families of infants and young children, focusing her evidence-based project in that area. She also started a small local business, AskanOT, which provides education and consultative services to families concerned about their young child’s development. Dr. Fischer’s research includes partnering with pediatric primary care, providing parent education through a local pediatric practice. She is excited to promote occupational therapy’s role in the emerging practice area of pediatric primary care.
