The nurse practitioner/physician assistant provides comprehensive direct patient care and scholarly practice including obtaining comprehensive patient histories, performing complete physical examination, ordering and performing diagnostic testing and screening, diagnosing illness, prescribing both pharmacological and other treatments for patients, and providing health maintenance and promotion interventions such as patient and family education and counseling. Also, the NP/PA assumes accountability for indirect care responsibilities, which support patient care including staff and student education, clinical research if applicable, program development, and quality improvement.