The roles and supply of nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in North Carolina.

Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are health professionals qualified and licensed to perform a wide variety of medical activities, including the direct provision of patient care.1 Although they are trained in different types of schools and licensed by different entities, in North Carolina PAs and NPs carry out very similar duties and have nearly identical authority to practice medicine.2 This paper begins with short answers to frequently asked questions regarding these two groups of medical professionals.3 It then provides a detailed description of the requirements to be licensed and to practice as a NP or PA and the professional activities in which members of each provision are permitted to engage. As PAs and NPs are licensed at the state level, the information in this document applies only to North Carolina. However, the legal provisions addressed in this document likely have similar counterparts in all other states. Lawyers in other states may have developed, or could develop, comparable guidance relating to the laws governing PAs and NPs in their states. You may wish to talk with your attorney or visit the State Public Health Lawyer Directory to find contact information for a public health attorney in your state. If you have questions about a specific situation you should discuss the matter with your attorney.