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
Raquel Guarino is an occupational therapist, certified hand therapist and educator. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences in 2008 and master’s degree in occupational therapy from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut in 2010. Her capstone focus was on complementary medicine and occupational therapy to address patient pain.
Guarino spent several years practicing in New Jersey and Florida. She currently has a small business focused on graded exercise kits for patients with upper extremity strength deficits. Guarino has presented and guest lectured at local universities in Florida on orthopedic content and orthotic fabrication.
With 12 years of experience, Guarino has worked in Hand Therapy, Pediatric Sensory Integration rehabilitation and Neuro rehabilitation. She also specializes in laser treatments. She is kinesio-tape certified as well as certified in the Graston technique.
She joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences as a contributing faculty member in 2016 and became a full-time faculty member in January 2022. She teaches within the orthopedic and adult course components of the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.
