TITLE:
Comparative Evaluation of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants: Education, Policy, and Patient Outcomes
AUTHORS:
Brian Chou, Bohan Zhang
KEYWORDS:
Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Physician Assistants (PAs), Healthcare Policy, Clinical Outcomes, Education and Training
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
17,
2025
ABSTRACT: Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) play a crucial role in addressing healthcare workforce shortages and providing cost-effective, high-quality care. This review examines current literature on their educational models, compensation patterns, policy development, clinical outcomes, and progression of their role in healthcare. Findings show that both professions achieve comparable patient satisfaction and outcomes to physicians despite differing in regulatory and educational frameworks among other differences.