Main logo
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Schedule Appointment
Sign in
    • Virtual Care
    • Walk-In Care
    • Urgent Care
    • New Patient Appointment
    • Emergency Room
    Which Should I Choose?
    • Hospitals
    • Imaging Centers
    • Senior Care
    • Schools
    • Emergency
    • Outpatient Care
    • Primary Care
    • Therapy & Fitness
    • Home Care
    View Nearby Locations
    • Find a Doctor or Provider
    • Schedule an Appointment
    • Primary Care
    • What is an NP or PA?
    • Sentara Medical Group
    Find a Doctor or Provider
    • Sentara Virtual Care

      Quick, easy access to same-day care or physical therapy

    • New patients

      Find a Primary Care Provider

    • Cancer
    • Emergency
    • Heart & Vascular
    • Home Care
    • Imaging
    • Maternity
    • Neurosciences
    • Orthopedics
    • Therapy
    • Weight Loss Surgery
    View All Services
    Sentara is a Leader in:
    • mammography-universal.jpg

      Mammography

      Schedule your mammogram today

    • heart-ep-lab.jpg

      Heart and Vascular

      Nationally ranked heart care, close to home

    • Purpose
    • Focus Areas
    • Community Impact
    • Partners
    • Team Members
    Learn More
    Featured News
    • NewSentaraLogo.png

      Investment in healthcare career programs

      Sentara Healthcare invests nearly $4 million in two new pipeline development programs to support students pursuing healthcare careers

    • Community Care mobile clinic_rect.png

      Sentara Community Care Achievements

      Sentara Community Care achieves measurable results in 2022, plans to expand across the Commonwealth in 2023

    • Careers
    • Classes & Events
    • Newsroom
    • Brand Evolution
    • Health & Wellness
    • Community Needs
    • Diversity
    More About Sentara
    Featured News & Press
    • Dennis and NORA.png

      Sentara celebrates partnership with the Network of Regional Advocacy (NORA) and its mission to address social determinants of health

    • Summer Trauma Injuries-Rectangle.jpg

      Let's not meet by accident: Sentara trauma team warns of common summer injuries

  1. Home
  2. Find a Doctor
  3. NPs and PAs

Advanced Practice Clinicians: NPs and PAs

Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) are an integral part of our care teams. APCs consist of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). Both PAs and NPs provide high-quality primary and specialty care for our patients. Similar to physicians, APCs require advanced training and education beyond their initial medical training. Our APCs are focused on health promotion, disease prevention and health education to guide patients to make smarter health and lifestyle choices.

The most significant difference between a PA and an NP is in their educational preparation. A PA attends an intense, three-year graduate-level program with many of the same courses taken by physicians, and receives a master’s degree.

An NP is a registered nurse who attends graduate-level, advanced clinical training beyond their initial professional registered nurse preparation. NPs either have a master’s or doctoral degree.



PAs and NPs practice under the rules and regulations of the state and are board-certified licensed healthcare professionals. PAs are board-certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. NPs are certified through one or more certifying bodies, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Both PAs and NPs must participate in ongoing continuing education, maintain a minimum number of hours in clinical practice and re-certify on a regular basis. (PAs every 10 years and NPs every 5 years).


Both PAs and NPs may examine, diagnose, treat and manage acute and chronic illness, order and interpret tests and prescribe medications. They work in collaboration with physicians to provide a variety of services to our patients, including patient-centered care with a focus on health promotion, disease prevention, health education and counseling.  

A patient may be seen by an APC for follow-up care after surgery or a procedure. The patient’s physician will continue to be involved in their overall care, but an APC may be the patient’s primary provider for follow-up monitoring and treatment. All PAs and NPs work under the supervision of a physician and collaborate with them on patient cases to ensure that comprehensive and personalized care is provided to all patients.

Yes! APCs provide quality primary and specialty care services similar to those of a physician. Both PAs and NPs can diagnose, treat and prescribe for acute and chronic health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma, and are prepared to deliver primary care with a focus on disease prevention and health promotion. Also, with increasing demands upon our physicians to provide complex and advanced medical and surgical care, you may find that a PA or NP is able to see you more quickly.

About Sentara

  • Community Involvement
  • Newsroom
  • Clinical Quality & Patient Safety
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • For Physicians
  • For Employees
  • Contact Us

Patient Quick Links

  • Sign In to MyChart
  • Find a Doctor
  • Get Directions
  • Patient Guide
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Medical Records
  • Medical Services A-Z
  • COVID-19 Info

Sentara In Your Community

  • Hospitals & Locations
  • Classes, Events & Support Groups
  • ExploreHealth with Sentara
  • Community Health Needs Assessments
  • Make a Gift
getAppleButton.svggetGoogleButton.svg

  • Privacy Policy
  • User Agreement
  • Social Media Policy
  • Notice of Nondiscrimination
  • Compliance Office
  • Financial Assistance
  • Language Assistance
Your community, not-for-profit health partner. Copyright © 2023 Sentara Health.