Why Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants Are The Fastest Growing Job In Medicine?

If you’ve been in an emergency room, urgent care, clinic, or other medical facility recently, chances are high that you received at least some of your treatment from a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Mesa medical staffing agency has seen dramatic growth in both of these fields in recent years. But why is there such an increase in demands for medical professionals in these roles?

How Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants Compare To Medical Doctors

There are many similarities between the roles of physician assistant (PA), nurse practitioner (NP) and a medical doctor (MD). All of these medical professionals are available through a Queen Creek medical recruiting agency and have many overlapping skills, including providing well visit checkups, providing sick visits in clinic or urgent care, treatment of acute and chronic conditions, ordering labs and tests, and performing basic medical services. The ability to prescribe medications varies between states. The roles vary differently between healthcare facilities. Some practices will allow NPs to work autonomously, essentially running their own healthcare practice, while other facilities require their PAs and NPs to be supervised by and work beneath an onsite MD.

In order to become a PA or NP, a bachelor’s degree is required, which is then followed by two years of additional education. Their education will include plenty of medical coursework as well as supervised, hands-on clinical care. Once they’ve completed their degree, a PA or NP can begin working as soon as they’ve passed their state license exam. In contrast, an MD will need to take on four years of medical school after completing their bachelor’s degree. This is followed by up to seven years of residency training, depending on the specialty chosen by the doctor, completion of a medical examination, and passing board certifications before they are able to work in their chosen profession. The time and financial savings is often a significant factor in why many healthcare students opt to take the PA or NP path instead of becoming a physician.

Differences Between Physician Assistants & Nurse Practitioners

What is the difference between a PA and an NP? Although the roles are similar, the primary difference is the practice model in which they train. Nurse practitioners generally start with an RN background and follow a patient-centered, nursing-based model. Physician assistants also frequently have previous medical experience, but tend to follow a disease-centered, medical doctor oriented model.

Additionally, PAs and NPs typically practice in different areas of medicine. NPs generally select their specialty area at the beginning of their training program, such as pediatrics, family medicine, neonatal care, or psychiatry, and tend to stay with that general population throughout their training and career. In contrast, PAs are similar to physicians in that they usually specialize in one specific field, such as emergency medicine, anesthesia, cardiology, or internal medicine.

What Salary Can An NP Or PA Anticipate?

In general, healthcare is a steady career field with plenty of opportunities available through a Chandler medical staffing agency. The salary expectations for healthcare professionals continues to climb. On average, NPs and PAs will earn $30,000 more per year than registered nurses do; if they choose to work with a specialized field, that number will increase.

Increased Demand Due To Physician Shortage

Many Americans are aware that our country is facing a severe shortage of medical doctors. As college tuition costs continue to skyrocket, the number of students who are willing or able to attend medical school continues to decline. Students who complete medical school and residency will often prefer to take on a salaried role with a large hospital chain rather than go through the added work, time, and expense of opening their own private practice. Experts believe the primary care field will see the greatest doctor shortage as many physicians prefer to specialize in order to receive higher pay benefits. There is also a significant shortage of geriatric physicians, a major problem as a large percentage of the American population is over age 65.

People will always need healthcare, so it is an excellent career choice for someone who is looking for growth and constant job opportunities through Scottsdale physician staffing. As the physician shortage becomes more severe, the number of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in clinic and hospital settings will continue to increase to meet the demands of today’s patients. Since these two healthcare roles offer an excellent starting salary with a fraction of the cost, time investment, and liability that comes with being a medical doctor, along with the benefits of more consistent clinic hours, it is not surprising that these two professions are seeing so much growth.

Get The Solutions You Need With a Mesa Healthcare Staffing Agency

One Stop Recruiting is a top rated medical staffing agency providing placements in Mesa and across the nation. We provide staffing solutions for nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and many other medical positions. Our placements are guaranteed for 90 days, backed by over five decades of experience and established relationships in the healthcare field. Contact us today to get started!