Should I Go to Med School?

[contentment]

We've all seen it and hate it. TV nurses wanting to "move up," so they go to med school. And now I'm considering that, too, but I would really like a nurse's perspective on the situation.

I'm about 20 years old, and I'll be starting my second year in nursing school (ADN) in the fall. I'm top of my class (and 1 of 2 people in my class of about 80 to still have a 4.0 GPA), which I know nursing school doesn't seem to care about ("'C's get degrees!" is all I hear). I spent a year before nursing school doing some pre-reqs.

I like nursing. I adore nursing school itself--I love gaining knowledge about the human body, medications, diseases, etc. I don't love being a student nurse in the hospital--most of it is bed baths, and 98% of the time, I have a complete care patient who's unable to speak. Granted, I always feel good after a day of clinical. I love helping people. (Also, giving injections is my new favorite thing to do.) But what I had the best time doing, though tedious, was the care plan research. I like solving mysteries ("explain abnormal lab values").

My original plan was to graduate with my ADN, get my RN, start an RN-BSN program, then hopefully go on for my MSN to become an NP. Then suddenly two of my biology professors told me they thought I was in the wrong field, and should go to med school. I should say that both of these professors always emphasized the importance of nursing, how we're the ones with the patient 24/7. I never sensed an ounce of disrespect for nurses from them, so I knew it wasn't that. But they told me that they think I'm more of a problem solver than a caretaker; I kind of agree with them.

So now I'm thinking--should I just go to med school after I finish my BSN? I know I'll have to take chemistry, physics, and etc. But if that's a better route for me, I'll suffer through a couple of prerequisite courses. Or would I be better off just getting my MSN (though I hear it's changing to DNP in 2015, which is the year when I'll graduate with my BSN)? Any advice is very appreciated!

[sourapril]

Do whatever you want. I have several degrees and am not interested in hospital nursing. I am interested in being a nurse epidemiologist. Seems like a field that requires problem solving skills. I think you should at least shadow some MDs, NPs, RNs in a variety of settings before you apply to med school. Follow them for at least 8 hours and see if you can see yourself do what they do. med school is long commitment and you want to be certain you want to do it. Good luck.

[CRNA2b-2017]

A few quick thoughts:

1. "C's get degrees" isn't accurate. Ir should read "C's may get A degree". I know lots of nurses that want to go back to school for NP/CRNA that can't because they got C's back when they were in school.

2. People will always ask "why not med school". They think it's a compliment.

3. Insinuating that nurses don't problem solve (at every level) shows a misunderstanding on the part of your teachers.

4. Only you know what is right for you. BSN-NP is going to be 1.5-3 years. BSN-MD is going to be 6-8 years. Shadow an NP and shadow a MD see what you like.

5. Don't care what everyone else thinks you should do. Be happy and proud of what you think you should do.

Awesome advice and what u say is true. I graduated with a BSN valedictorian and someone said "be careful you are going to waste ur brain being satisfied with mediocre you should go to med sch". This crushed me... people really think low pf nurses. Drs can not function without nurses and the converse is true. I wanna advance in nursing and develop our field. I don't need to be an MD to show or prove I'm smart. We need to empower ourselves as nurses, advance in our field and help develop upcoming/future nurses!!!

[pknurse]

Cousin went to med school; she applied during her final year of nursing school. Anything is possible, and honestly, seeking advice from this website (allnurses) about this subject is going to render you with horrible advice. I suggest you check out the medical school section of Reddit for further advice.

[Luckyyou, BSN, RN]

I could write a book on this topic based off of personal experience, but let me boil it down to one very important piece of advice: take a very close look at the day-to-day activities of both professions. What are the nurses doing during a particular shift vs what the MDs are doing? Which one is more interesting to you? It would help if you have an idea of what area you can see yourself in. An MD in an ER is going to have a very different day than an ICU nurse will, or an FNP in an office setting, etc etc. Also educate yourself on what a competitive MCAT score is these days and the classes you will need to ace to get there.

I also very strongly second the idea that ICU nursing may be similar to what you're looking for. There are many nights in my unit where the nurses have more say in the treatment plans and the orders being written than the interns do.

[contentment]

Thank you all SO much! I really appreciate it. I know it's ultimately a decision I need to make, but your advice has been very helpful. I never thought of ICU nursing--I'm looking forward to that clinical experience in my last semester, and I'll definitely try to shadow an ICU nurse before that.

Any tips on how to shadow the different professions and fields? I've been trying all summer to shadow an RN but it seems no one will allow a student to unless it's a part of the school curriculum/set up by my nursing program.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

When you go back for your BSN, take premed courses too.

My daughter is a physcian, She has a masters degree in clinical research, Having 4.0 gpa and being #1 in her class of 4000 was not good enough for med school the first time.

She had 4yeArs of med school, she is pgy 3 and has one more year before her fellowship, so it is 4 years med school, 4 years residency and. 2 years fellowship, it will be 10 years after college.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Also, look very carefully at the vast, vast numbers of nursing specialties which do not involve a daily grind at the bedside but provide grand opportunities for sleuthing, problem-solving, and autonomy in professional practice. It is a complete non sequitur for someone to say, "Compare what a doc does in the hospital to what the nurse does in the hospital," as if "hospital" were remotely all there were. Check out the APRN boards (see yellow band at top of page) and ask around in there, too.

[neverbethesame]

I don't think your two bio profs were giving you a backhanded compliment at all. If you have a strong desire to be an MD, then do as so many have suggested research, shadow, question, weigh pros/cons. DO NOT let anyone make you feel inferior for any of the choices that you make. Good luck!!

[stitcher98]

Try looking at free clinics, HMOs, etc to find an NP to shadow. I have several NP friends who work in these settings

[Nurse Mentor Nancy, MSN, RN, NP]

I have worked in many roles in my 38 years of nursing, including being an adult nurse practitioner for 15 years. I have loved every one of them because of the challenges they presented and the opportunities I have to make a difference in the lives of others. There is one big difference between medicine and nursing I haven't seen anyone mention. Physicians focus on preventing or curing the illness. Nurses focus on assisting the whole person to prevent or recover from illness. That is much more challenging to me and what I wanted to do. In fact, I stopped being a nurse practitioner because I was being pushed to see more and more patients in less time to do more diagnosing and treating and less teaching and counseling. It's OK to be a smart nurse. If you were sick, wouldn't you want to have the best nurse you could have? I would. If I'm ill, I want a smart nurse to be leading my nursing team so I experience as few complications as possible and recover quickly. Staying alive would be nice, too.