Rural Primary care, NP or MD

Nurses Career Support

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Hi Everyone!

I am pretty sure I want to work in primary care in a rural setting, and am curious what might be the best way to do that.

I am currently a sophomore completing a biology degree, I came into college sure I wanted to go into medicine, and am curious if it makes more sense to be an NP instead. I am thinking I would be looking either at an MN to DNP, or a couple years off and MD after college.

I know I could complete an MD (pre-recs, experience, the like), but I am worried that that the work life balance/general sacrifices, and overall time commitment might not be worth it if working as an NP is so similar. Also, in the surveys I have seen, NP's are generally more satisfied with their work than the ~50% of MD's who wouldn't do it again. I love the nursing model of treating the whole patient, but in practice it sounds like that is mostly about the practitioner's style (DOs, and many MDs boast similar holistic methods). I am not hugely ocncerned about cash (especially if I end up working in a rural community). I do well in leadership roles and in decision making, but it sounds like many NPs do just that. I am having a hard time seeing reasons to do one over the other.

In a few of the other articles, other FNPs have mentioned that they would go back and do medical school if they had been younger, does anybody else feel that way? Are any of you happy to have gone the NP route instead? Why?

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

It depends where you practice as an NP. In 23 states, NP have independent practice authority, so they function like primary care doctors. If you work in primary care in a good-size clinic, you should have a good work/life balance. If you are in a really remote area and are the only provider around, expect to have more demands on your time. I just accepted a job in a small town of about 3,000 people. The clinic there is a good size, with several providers, so we have set hours and rotate on-call and the Saturday clinic, which is quite reasonable. Other than that, I was told to expect to work 8 to 8.5 hours a day in general. I have seen job listings for an NP to be the only provider on various remote islands, and I would imagine someone in that role isn't going to get to work only 8 to 5.

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