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A physician is a doctor and a licensed nurse is a nurse. There are many levels of nurses all the way from LPN, to RN and up.
Now, are you talking a Certified Nurse Practitioner? If so, that is a different animal. In many places a Nurse Practitioner has the same responsibilities as a doctor, i.e. writing prescriptions, however the nurse practitioner has to work under the license of a doctor.
Yes, in my doctors office I don't beleive I have acually seen my doctor in 2 or 3 years, we see nurse practitioners who examine us, prescribe our medication and treat us.
Scott, an NP is a really really BIG step up from an RN, whereas an RN is only a medium step up from an LPN. And an LPN is a small step up from CNA.
In many states it is being mandated that NPs now go through medical school, just like a doctor, to get the title of NP, so why not just go ahead and get the title of MD.
Here in Illinois, many physician's offices employ Physicians Assistants - they do exams, take blood, do all the day-to-day stuff but the physician has to sign off on any prescriptions. As I understand it, only two years are required beyond a four-year degree (that's what the PA who used to do my physical exams told me). So that might be an option to consider if you want to get into the medical field but can't afford the cost or time of getting a full-blown nursing or medical degree.
There are also medical technician degrees and certificates, many of them doable in two years (depending on your college major). For these options as well as the Physicians Assistant, check your local community colleges as well as four year institutions.
The qualifications and requirements for PAs (physician assistants) and NP (nurse practitioners) is getting stricter. PAs now require 4 years after college (2 years of lectures/didactics and 2 years of clinical experience with clearkships/rotations), though it should be noted that not all PA schools require a college degree, if you take the required courses you can get into PA school without actually earning your bachelors degree. NP training is moving towards being a PhD level of training, and I can see it becoming that in the next few years as opposed to a masters level as it is now (much like pharmacy is now a doctorate level degree instead of a masters level like it was 10 years ago).
As J_9 mentioned, NP's can prescribe medication, both 'regular' and narcotic, but they are typically prescribing associated with a physician/doctor's licence. This also applies to PAs.
These practitioners vary in their experience and training, and a lot of times NPs have a lot of background experience as RNs prior to pursuing further training, whereas the PAs might have only the clinical training from their clinical rotations/clerkships. But once again, this is not a rule, just an observation.
Physicians, also referred to as doctors, medical doctor (MD, allopathic) or doctor of osteopathy (DO, osteopathic) typically undergo 4-years of medical school and then 3-10 years of post-medical school training (depending on their speciality) before they can practice.
Each of these practitioners need to take a licencing exam after their training to verify that they have a basic level of competency prior to being able to practice, so you can feel confident that they are able to address you health care needs.
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