Nurse Practitioner School vs Medical School

manusko · Feb 21, 2014

Right now I feel like I am at a crossroads. I am 26 and feel like I could do both. On one hand becoming an NP through a direct entry program is the quickest route. I would start fall of 2015 and be 30 when I am done. On the other hand I know that I have what it takes to go to med school and do well. I imagine myself as an NP working alongside doctors with the feeling that that could have been me. But finishing medical school and residency is a mighty long route and I pictured myself with kids and being settled in my career before 40. So unfortunately for me the medschool ship might have passed. If I choose nursing I would become an FNP. If I were to go to med school I would like to become a gastroenterologist. Does anyone have insight that can help me put this issue in perspective? Many thanks. Background: Graduate of Brandeis University with a BA in something non-health related. Have been taking science courses at another institution as pre-reqs for both medical and nurse practitioner programs. Married with a husband that can support me throughout either med school or an NP program.[/quote']
Some GI docs I work with have told me that there are programs looking into GI training programs for NPs. So if you choose the NO route there is still hope.

manusko · Feb 21, 2014

http://m.hopkinsmedicine.org/gastroenterology_hepatology/education_training/nurse_practitioner_fellowship_program.html

PMFB-RN, RN · Feb 21, 2014

Lots of the residents I work with get pregnant and have children. They seem to manage just fine. I don't think going to med school means you have to put off having children.

elkpark · Feb 21, 2014

Lots of the residents I work with get pregnant and have children. They seem to manage just fine. I don't think going to med school means you have to put off having children.

Same here.

zmansc, ASN, RN · Feb 21, 2014

Very valid points. I think the decision is a very personal one, and there are a lot of factors to take into account. I considered med school and PA school when I choose to instead become an RN and then NP. My reasons for picking this path and career had more to do with my family and life situation and a lot less to do with the role of each career. I think I would have been able to achieve my goals in any of the careers, but the NP career and path fit better with my current life situation. A family, teenage boys that I didn't want to miss out on their remaining childhood years, and far less years to spend after my career than if I was 26yo. lol

From your original post, I get the feeling one of your concerns about becoming an NP is that you will feel like you could have become an MD and "settled" for an NP. I know several others (my father for example) who asked me about this too. There is a perception in the non-medical world that NP/PAs want to be MD/DO but somehow picked a lesser/easier path. I'm sure there are some for whom this is true, but that doesn't make it true for most. From what I've seen in my limited experience, and no this is not backed by any scientific study, most MD/DO get along with NP/PA and vice versa. There are still those MD who think they are gods (and I'm thinking of a few very specific surgeons I get the honor of interfacing with on a far too frequent basis). Those MDs don't get along with anyone, not the RNs, the NPs, PAs, DOs, or MDs. That won't change, they won't get along with anyone, regardless of the initials after the name. However, most of the MD/DO I work with are very respectful and happy to work with the team we have and allow anyone who can help to help to the full extent of their knowledge and skills. Just my experience, others may have a different experience. So, if your concern is will you feel like you somehow came up short, I think when you get into practice you would find that to be a concern that was not necessary to worry about.

Dranger · Feb 22, 2014

Lots of the residents I work with get pregnant and have children. They seem to manage just fine. I don't think going to med school means you have to put off having children.

While residency is intense in the form of hours it doesn't hold a candle to the quick paced/compact studying needed for med school (I had a DC roommate and a MD resident roommate). Residents are obviously already matched and have already passed a few board exams. Also what about her spouse working? It's possible but her spouse is going to have to sacrifice a lot maybe even his own career. She says hes supportive but does he know what hes giving up if they have kids during med school? Just saying, I don't think she really knows what shes getting into. NP is far more flexible than MD and I would go that route.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

Everyone thank you for your thoughtful comments. It's great to have so many different perspectives as I had been thinking only one way before. You have all helped me very much.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

"It's possible but her spouse is going to have to sacrifice a lot maybe even his own career." That really is a possibility especially if I can't stay in Boston. He's in the military so he can always change bases. But yes, the transition to somewhere else would be hard on him too.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

"It's possible but her spouse is going to have to sacrifice a lot maybe even his own career." That really is a possibility especially if I can't stay in Boston. He's in the military so he can always change bases. But yes, the transition to somewhere else would be hard on him too.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

While residency is intense in the form of hours it doesn't hold a candle to the quick paced/compact studying needed for med school (I had a DC roommate and a MD resident roommate). Residents are obviously already matched and have already passed a few board exams. Also what about her spouse working? It's possible but her spouse is going to have to sacrifice a lot maybe even his own career. She says hes supportive but does he know what hes giving up if they have kids during med school? Just saying, I don't think she really knows what shes getting into. NP is far more flexible than MD and I would go that route.

That really is a possibility especially if I can't stay in Boston. He's in the military so he can always change bases. But yes, the transition to somewhere else would be hard on him too.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program | Johns Hopkins Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Thank you for the link.

mdaniel747 · Feb 24, 2014

You need to do what makes you happy. I assume if you have gone this far in your thinking you have shadowed both NPs/PAs and MDs? Are you planning to work in a primary care setting?
In the primary care setting there is really no difference in what MDs do versus what NPs and PAs do. I work in an internal medicine and gastro office and see both panels of patients. My role is the same as my MD partner.
In the hospital, he does scopes. I have been trained to do them but the hospital won't let me do them solo at this time. It doesn't bother me as I find them monotonous and would rather see people in clinic.
Remember both NP school and medical school will require prerequisite courses so plan on two years of that if you don't have your core sciences done.
Medical school will make having a baby a bit more difficult if that is in your 10-year plan; you will be 40 by the time you are done with residency and fellowship. This isn't a bad thing unless you want a family and prioritize that.
As far as NP vs PA it's a toss up; NPs have much more chance of practicing autonomously.

It's great to know that even as an NP you can still learn how to use the scopes. And yes I would choose NP because I would eventually like to practice autonomously.