Sorry about the use of initials without first defining them and thanks to kc2ixe for picking up on my slack. Sometimes I forget that this is an international forum and the US healthcare system is not familiar to all forum members. To add a few comments:

All are well-educated and well-trained healthcare professionals who provide much needed medical care in the appropriate setting.

PA’s can stand for Physician’s Assistant or Physician’s Associate. Their scope of practice will depend upon the state in which they seek to practice. In many states they can prescribe certain medications, perform physicals, perform certain medical procedures (i.e. suturing, evaluating x-rays for fractures) and act as an extension of the physician. You may find them in doctor’s offices providing basic health care, nursing homes and emergency departments.

NP’s or Nurse Practitioners are generally holders of Master Degrees in Nursing have had their RN (Register Nurse) for a period of time. In many states they can prescribe medications, perform detailed health exams and recommend a course of treatment for various conditions. Again, many are found in doctor’s offices providing basic health care, nursing homes and emergency departments. Depending upon the state, NP’s can set up their own nursing practice.


Some of the roles of PA’s and NP’s are blurred and are dependent upon the state in which the individual wishes to practice.

My point in the original post was to point out some of uniqueness and specialization of each of these healthcare professionals and that each is a valued member of the healthcare system. To give you an idea of the specialization of skills (again may vary by state), most inter-hospital transports of Advanced Life Support (ALS) patients requires both a RN and Paramedic to accompany the patient. The RN generally monitors medication and medical procedures initiated in the hospital i.e. I.V. drips, catheters, chest tubes, where the paramedic is there to provide ALS interventions such as intubations, cardoversion and certain Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACSL) medications, that are out of the scope of practice for the RN. In some areas (inter-hospital flight transport is one example), individuals are required to have both, an RN and paramedic standing. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) whether they are EMT-B (Basic)’s, EMT-I (Intermediate)’s or EMT-P (Paramedic)’s, are all healthcare professionals and are vital members of the pre-hospital emergency medical system. Hope some of this helps. Pete