Nurse Practicioner Vs. Physician' s assistant

HI,
lets say that i might not get accepted to Med-school, which job is better? What are the pro’s and con’s of both. What kind of education is required?
If you have any imput, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.

If you want to do surgery, go to PA school. NPs generally aren’t doing surgery but Family Practice, cardiology, etc.
JK

I had looked into a PA education. They surprisingly have more pre-reqs than the med schools do. Be alert to the fact that a lot of them require 1000 hours of direct patient care either through volunteering or a your job. But that said I would vote for PA. They make good money and have a lot of responsibilities.
I had an interview at GW’s PA school and Shenandoah, but cancelled them after making my mind up to go ahead with med school.

I would say that all depends on what you want to do. If you feel like being semi autonomous then PA or NP will work. If you feel like being a 2nd on vascular surgery…PA. If you like doing Neuro or ER, the PA although NP’s do ER work as well.
PA’s follow the medical model in training, however, while NP’ss follow the nursing model. That may help you make a decision.

I also looked into nursing school and there were way more prereqs than med school; it would have taken me nearly 2 years to get there instead of 1 (and for me, time was important).
The real killer was that 2 good friends of mine who are nurses categorically told me that I would not enjoy being a nurse.

there are some programs where you don’t have to already have an undergrad degree in nursing to enter a nurse practitioner program - but it is a requirement for many. My knowledge of this is really out of date so I won’t try to list any programs. Find out lots more. I agree with the general characterization of PAs as often autonomous in a hospital setting (e.g. ER, OR) whereas NPs are more often found in primary care settings. However there is a lot of overlap.

Here, prior to application to PA school, one must have 1000 hrs of verifiable pt contact. Some are going through the several week CNA program and getting a job to do it quicker.
Regards,
Charles