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. Michelle McCraney joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 2019 and currently serves as a Contributing Faculty and dissertation chair/committee member in the Doctor of Education (EdD) program. Dr. McCraney has worked in education for more than 30 years. She began her career teaching special education K-12 students and at Florida’s first Charter Technical Career Center for high school and college students. She served as a teacher, district program and staffing specialist, assistant principal, principal, director, dean and associate vice president in the K-20 public education system. Since 2007, she has been a professor in higher education, teaching graduate students, providing clinical supervision and chairing dissertations of doctoral candidates.
Dr. McCraney has taught the following courses at USAHS: Teaching Methods in Higher Education, Assessment and Evaluation in Health Professional Education and Ethical Principles in Healthcare. She has participated in the curriculum development and revision process to add simulation activities and improve course curriculum. Dr. McCraney has been surveying students on their experiences with simulation and sharing best practices with other colleagues at the University.
Her work also includes input from graduate teacher interns in the program. She was a member of the Technology, Innovation and Peer Support (TIPS) team from 2019-2021 at USAHS. In addition, Dr. McCraney works with the transgender community. She participates in activities to bring acceptance and understanding to her community.
