nursing school or med school?

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2003

Skrawberri, what are your grades like in school? If you plan on going to med school, plan on attending an excellent college and giving up a lot of time with friends while you are studying. I am currently in nursing school and my fiance is in med school, so I see both sides of the picture. There are major advantages and disadvantages to pursuing either profession. In September, I will be making a fairly decent salary when I am only 22, while my fiance will have to wait until he is almost 30 to start making money, although when he does start getting a paycheck, he will be making much, much more than I do. I think deciding on medical school entails a huge sacrifice-- you have to want it more than anything else in the world, and many people do not get accepted on their first try. My fiance had to spend thousands of dollars taking an MCAT prep class, actually taking the MCAT, and applying to schools TWICE. You will have much greater autonomy and be better compensated as a physician, but you will also spend more time in school and make more sacrifices both financially and with your social/personal life. I suggest shadowing both a nurse and physician to give you a greater idea of what each profession entails. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. Good luck!

TheBrainMusher · Jan 28, 2003

Skrawberri, I also feel your pain. I am inthe same boat. Except I'm a little bit older. A few things to keep in mind, I know you will HATE ME when I say this (but I'm just speaking from experience ...) being 17 you have your whole life in front of you. I wanted the same things when I was 17, I went into college a chem major, I broke up with my high school boyfriend, and moved on. Evenutally away from medicine. After graduating with a business degree, I'm thinking of moving back into the healthcare field. The salaries, hours, flexibility all are appealing to me (same as you) ... esp b/c I have now been with my current boyfriend for four years and I would like to have a family, etc. Same thing with you. Leaving for nursing school would be a financial drain for me, and then I would probably be making less, working weird hours, holidays, etc. All the reasons I wanted to leave "for" nursing, were kinda of a mirage. I was dreaming too much.

I want to buy a house and start a family, but I need income for that. My boyfriend is still trying to decide what to do, and he'd like to have his own business ... there's even MORE money we'd (or he'd) have to shell out.

You have to do what is BEST for you and alwasy put yourself first. If things don't work out for you and your man, you will always hold that against him ... "I should have gone to med school" and you will always wonder "What if I did things for ME and not for US?" I'm in the same boat.

But I decided, I have to do things for me. I have decided that I am going to stick on the path I'm on right now and then when I finish my prereq's I will decide if I should go to nursing school or continue on my current path. The med school is an enticing option later, but I don't think I want to be a doctor anymore. Nursing fits me more I believe ... but I will see.

I would suggest you follow a pre-med path in nursing if you want to figure it out. Once you start the nursing, you could graduate with the degree and then if you wanted to ... you would have the option of doing EITHER. If you decide through school you want to go to med school, you could just switch to Bio, but the nursing won't hurt you. You will already have exposure to the health care world which would only help you! Doctors on a whole aren't making a whole lotta money when it comes to malpractice insurance, etc. There are some very lucrative nursing fields too. I field that with nursing, you get the opportunity to choose from MANY different fields and can switch freely, doctors are more specialized ...

My advice, do your research!!!!!! Look into programs and options you would like to explore, shadow the profession, look at options. College is a growing/learning experience ... embrace that and work from there. Nothing in life is definite, make sure you really want to do it, no matter what anyone else says.

MICU RN · Jan 28, 2003

Shadow both and if still think you want to become a doctor go for it. You probably will never be happy if you settle for nursing just because of the work schedule. Let me tell you a little about my day today. I work in a big academic hospital and have plenty of autonomy as far as RN's go and it is still nothing compared to being a doctor. In addition, I spent most of today cleaning crap, the pt. had six episodes of foul smelling diarrhea and plenty of it. And by the way I had to also make sure the pt. did not go south, she was on a vent and had no immune system. Did I also mention that she is obese, that is typical for adult ICU pt's and you have to constantly roll them and change them while you find time to keep them alive. No other profession makes you do the dirty work nursing does, be warned there is big reason there is such a shortage. Bedside nursing can often suck and even though you sacrifice less to become a nurse as opposed to a MD don't fool yourself nursing school requires plenty of sacrifice and stress. That is the main reason I think so many of us are frustrated with it, you work so hard to become a RN then you are expected to do work that other college educated people wont even think about doing. So don't do nursing unless your heart is truly in it, if it is go for it and fight for better work condition, pay and respect, the profession stilll has along way to go. I have the greatest respect for good nurses because it is a job most people will not do. Good luck.

Glad2behere · Jan 28, 2003

No doubt a doc...at least they can't be found when they're needed.

If you are even considering it, go to med school and never look back. Time has a way of flying by. Sure, you can always go back to med school!!! Yea right! Try it facing a house payment and 2 carpayments, kids....da, da, da. Flunk out of med school, so what, there's still nursing school. Oh, and be a radiologist or the like where you don't get your hands in the dirty.