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
Immersive Clinical Simulation Labs
There is no better way to learn clinical skills than through hands-on application. At our Centers for Innovative Clinical Practice (CICPs), you will practice clinical skills in realistic scenarios in simulated hospital and home environments. USAHS is one of the few higher education institutions in the country with simulation labs dedicated to the rehabilitative sciences. We have CICPs on all campuses.
Get Hands-on Practice
The CICPs are state-of-the-art learning centers that are designed to simulate clinical and home settings, with real medical equipment and realistic, interprofessional environments. As a USAHS student, you will have the opportunity to practice clinical skills and techniques in a simulated environment in courses across your curriculum.
Guided by expert faculty and CICP staff, you will practice assessment, diagnostics, and treatment with standardized patients and, in some cases and programs, with high-fidelity simulators. Each CICP has video-recording capabilities for students and faculty to review and debrief what students do well, and to reinforce key concepts to improve future practice.
USAHS is proud to be among the first universities to have simulation education centers dedicated to the rehabilitative sciences. The CICPs serve students across modalities and programs, including the physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and speech-language pathology programs. Students in different programs can participate in complex scenarios together, engaging in interprofessional education and collaboration. Students in our Flex DPT, OTD, and MOT programs learn through recorded videos of the simulations and work in the CICPs during their on-campus lab weekends and intensives.
The capabilities of the CICPs enable your instructors to translate and apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to clinical settings. This experience prepares you for your first clinical role, whether in an ICU, an in-patient rehab facility, a mental health clinic, or another setting. Our CICPs are a safe place for you to develop and improve your professionalism, bedside manner, patient safety, and patient care skills.
Students in our Flex DPT, OTD, and MOT programs learn through recorded videos of the simulations and work in the CICPs during their on-campus lab weekends and intensives.*
*Note that the Dallas campus has a simulation learning lab, but not a full CICP.
