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
Suzanne Trotter graduated from Auburn University in 1990 with a BA in Public Relations and from Emory University in 1995 with a Master’s of Physical Therapy. She pursued a manual therapy certification through the International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine and was awarded Fellowship status in 2006 through the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT). She completed a ScD in Physical Therapy through Texas Tech Health Sciences University in 2014.
She is currently teaching soft tissue interventions, Movement Science 2, and assists with Differential Diagnosis and other MSK courses as needed. She has been working in outpatient orthopedics for the majority of her career, and currently sees patients as needed in a private practice in Austin. In 2018, she co-founded the non-profit Tesoro Project, which engages clinicians and students on international service-learning projects to Guatemala.
She enjoys spending time with her husband, two children and two white Labrador Retrievers. She enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and weight training.
