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That's a good question they are both Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) and both can prescribe, which distinguishes them from RNs. I don't know if one is more in demand than the other, but I have seen more NPs on staff than PAs in the area that I work.
It’s dependent on the state you’re in. For example, in Florida NP are more highly sought after because they can establish their own practices. In the OR PAs are needed because they have the training, and a PA can work across the board — family, peds, geriatrics. as an NP I would encourage you to go the physician route. I wish I had done this myself. it’s more demanding and carries more responsibility, but the pay is worth it.
I agree with what others have said above, but I’ll also add that PA’s follow the medical model where as NP’s follow the nursing model which differ in that nursing seems more wholistic including making the patient comfortable etc where as the medical model is more focused on etiology, pathology, treatment etc . Also there are direct entry NP programs but they typically have lower requirements in terms of the amount of clinical hours and I’ve seen NP’s have to establish their own clinical rotations where in a PA program do not.
I did not get a health or science degree for my first bachelor's and am completing my DNP through a direct entry program graduating this June. I considered the physician route and am glad I went the NP route. Yes, physicians make a lot more money. They also go into a lot more debt, the training is significantly longer, and residency is incredibly stressful. Physician programs also tend to be pretty cut-throat in terms of student competition and they are designed to weed people out from what I have heard from MD friends.. Meaning that for most schools some people won't make it through the program and the school will not provide support to help keep you on track. Then the job itself is generally more demanding and carries more responsibility and therefore greater risk.
My program was 4 years (Seattle U's APNI-DNP program), I had my BSN after 5 quarters and worked part time as an RN through the rest of the program which massively reduced my student loan burden. I am already getting job interviews with large healthcare systems and do not plan to complete an NP residency or fellowship. I'll make a minimum of $120k out of the gate (can make more starting out in specialties, etc but this is less common unless you've worked as an RN in a specialty for a good amount of time) and if I live at the lifestyle I have been for the last 4 years (which is quite comfortable!) my loans can be paid off in less than 5 years. I don't plan to do that since I'll be trying for public service student loan forgiveness but still, point is my debt burden is probably a third what an MD graduates with. I can also continue to work as an RN while I find the right job AND do that on the side if I ever feel like it, or even return to it for periods if I need a break from NP work.
PA programs generally require you to have a minimum of 1 year of paid clinical experience to apply, so applicants have worked as EMTs, MAs, CNAs, etc. You are more competitive the more experience you have. Programs tend to be unforgiving of any academic issues like physician programs. I have a friend who failed the very last practical exam by a percentage point and was cut from her program, so all that tuition and time was a waste. By contrast, I have had classmates who struggled and needed to repeat courses but all of them were given a path to finish the program.
A lot of this also depends on why you want to go into patient care. I genuinely feel called to the field. I left a very high paying job in tech because it was sucking the life out of me and I had always thought I wanted to be a doctor but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons. I took a lifetime pay cut to pursue this career. If you're looking at it as a good paying career primarily, physician route probably makes more sense. If you want a career that feels meaningful, then I say choose the route that gets you there quicker and that gets you in front of actual patients caring for them in a different way (i.e. NP or PA).