Who's Who in Your Doctor's Office

Who' s Who in Your Doctor' s Office

How to tell your MD from your NP RN and PA

Behind the Coat

l Back in the day, there were doctors and nurses. Now a plethora of health care professionals may be caring for you. Here’s how to keep them straight.

Physician MD

PAs can diagnose, and prescribe lab tests, treatment and medication. They typically have a master’s degree plus 2,000 hours of training with patients while in PA school. A PA’s white coat is a little shorter than a physician’s.

Physician assistant PA

An NP has a master’s degree, which includes 500 to 700 hours of direct patient care during nursing school. NPs can do much of what doctors do, including diagnose you and prescribe medications.

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Certified and licensed by the state, RNs administer meds, provide care and otherwise manage patient care. The iconic nurse’s cap all but disappeared by the 1980s, as more men became nurses and there was a switch to unisex scrubs.

Nurse practitioner NP

Medical student

l Back in the day, there were doctors and nurses. Now a plethora of health care professionals may be caring for you. Here’s how to keep them straight.

Registered nurse RN

l Back in the day, there were doctors and nurses. Now a plethora of health care professionals may be caring for you. Here’s how to keep them straight.

Technician

l Back in the day, there were doctors and nurses. Now a plethora of health care professionals may be caring for you. Here’s how to keep them straight.

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l Back in the day, there were doctors and nurses. Now a plethora of health care professionals may be caring for you. Here’s how to keep them straight.

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