And assuming OP has worked in their target specialty for 10+ years not the worst idea. The problem with current NP schools is that they’re banking on the person coming in with more experience than your average PA candidate, so the didactics are less rigorous.
The problem is that they don’t actually require that experience for enrollment or even to award the degree. So you have straight through ADN-to-NP degree mills that can get a newly graduated RN to prescribing medications in like three years of writing essays about philosophy while working 48 hours a week (now with CHATGPT!) which is just unbelievably dangerous.
JayhawkJedi@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Definitely agree with you on the NP mills side of things. I do think PA school has better pre-reqs and training for general medicine. And that someone that does a bachelors straight to PA will be better off than the NP mill side of things. There is still a lot to learn though for those fresh PAs and there are a ton of medical companies that throw you in without really giving you the resources to learn. It is just straight production based, get as many patients through as you can, and many new grads can struggle.
My partner is a PA and was an MA for 8 years prior, so this is where most of my info is coming from.
I also say NP because the job market for PA is a little more limited. Since PAs must practice under an MD, it can limit job searches. And you almost never see jobs that specifically are looking for a PA, it is usually either just NP or NP/PA. You can still try to apply for the NP job but a bit more of a stretch. Some of them are just familiar with NP and will tend just just keep hiring NPs. My partner has been asked in several interviews where the job posting was for NP about what PA school training consisted of, and some of these interviews were at medical centers tied to universities.
Overall though, they both generally have the very similar job opportunities. So OP’s outlook for changing to a better job could happen quicker with the NP route without having to go back and do a bachelor’s, which would cost both more money and time. Especially with the concern of being an older applicant as well.