As a nurse, would you go on for an MD?

Dolce, RN · Oct 27, 2008

Nope.

I wrested long and hard with my decision to pursue nursing or pre-med. I made the decision to go to nursing school and have not regretted it. When I was in nursing school I thought about going on to medical school--that was before I became a practicing nurse and saw first hand what a physician's life is like. I think I'll pass on the pre-req's, med school, residency, private practice, and call. You just couldn't pay me enough money to make me put up with the schedule and life they have to keep.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Oct 27, 2008

I don't want to be a doctor, I'm a nurse.

Farmer Jane · Oct 27, 2008

Nurse2Doc2008, nice to meet you! Thank you for your insight. :) Congratulations on graduating, and for pursuing the career that's right for you.

PiPhi2004 · Oct 27, 2008

As others have said, medicine and nursing are completely different fields. You would basically be starting over, at least in my area. The prereqs are completely different and the sciences are far more in-depth. There are many threads already posted about this subject. I say if you are not already an RN and want to be an MD, then go the MD route. Becoming an RN won't help you become an MD, you just know more than the average lay person about medicine.

lucky1RN · Oct 27, 2008

Here's my dream...

I would love to go to medical school but stay a nurse. I have no desire to be a doctor but want all the education of one. I want the in-depth science and medical knowledge, real clinical/residency time, etc.

A girl can fantasize, right?

SharonH, RN · Oct 27, 2008

If you're a nurse and work closely with MD's would you want to go on to further your education and get an MD license? There is more pay and you already pretty much know human anatomy, diseases, medications and clinical skills that you could do well in Medical School. Plus the hospital you work at may have a tuition reimbursement. When you're a doctor you call all the shots and like I've said you make more money as well.

As others have already pointed out, it really is not that simplistic. Nursing is not a rung on the ladder to medicine and it is not that you would just take a few more in-depth classes to be a MD. Medicine and nursing are really two separate career paths! As far as calling all the shots as a doc, I believe that erroneous belief is at the source of a lot of frustration for physicians these days since that is no longer true.

tencat · Oct 27, 2008

If I were younger and didn't have a family I probably would go back to med school. I just don't have the time or inclination to give up what I have now to go back. Too much sacrifice involved for me. I like my job, and I really like the relationship that nurses get to have with their patients that physicians don't get to experience. I think I would miss that aspect of nursing.

DA314 · Oct 27, 2008

I use to tthink I wanted to be a doctor. After I found a husband and settled down, I realized that I don't want an MD's life. I have friends/relatives that have gone through med school and it nearly drives them nuts! During the med school and residency years, they don't get to see their families/friends. It is all study study study! I love school, and want to be intelligent, bu I also want to finda balance where I can see family/friends regularly. Nursing will provide this for me. I can start working sooner (gotta pay that mortgage!) and still have time to see the people I care about.

Also, while nurses have a lot of responsibility, Dr's have much more. They may get better pay (after about 10 yrs of school), but the stress is much worse too.

MD just isn't the life for me. I applaud those strong enough to handle it.

DoeRN · Oct 27, 2008

Premeds have far more science than we do. Far more. (I think nursing should require more science but that's a different thread.) I believe the premise of the OP was that we would have an advantage going into med school, but that's not the case at all.

Actually not a whole lot more. Of course they have to take more than we do but it isn't like they have to have 15 more sciences classes. I was premed a long time ago and the medical school that I wanted to go to I needed 8 credits in General Biology, 8 credits in Inorganic Chemistry, 8 credit hours in Physics and Cal was "recommended". Also 12 credit hours in behavioral sciences like Psych and Soc which we needed for nursing too. I was not required to take Anatomy and Micro as a prereq. And I had a lot more science classes than what was required because I was a chem/premed major. Not saying that I wasn't going to learn A&P in medical school and WAY more and did I say way more in depth than what we learned in nursing school but it was not a requirement to be admitted. Now of course there is the MCAT consideration.......

But I came to my senses and decided to go to nursing school. I just did not have the energy, money etc to go to medical school. I even considered law school in the next couple of years but money is an issue with that. But to be honest if I was more serious about school at 18/19 and money was not an issue then yes I would have gone to medical school. But I had a talk with a family member who is an RN :nurse: and I never thought about medical school again :heartbeat. I honestly did not know what nurses did even though I have a lot of nurses in my family. What you see on TV is different than actually being a nurse. (ER and shows like that were not around when I was 18). Actually ER had just started but I was looking at what the doctor did and not what the nurse did because I was already at college and premed.

Edit: I had to put in a plug that I made the right choice in going to nursing school and I do not regret it but yeah 14 years ago did I consider being a nurse? No way but I wish I would have.

HappyPediRN · Oct 27, 2008

Yes. I have thought about it and I'm not quite sure where life will end up taking me.

Dinsey · Oct 27, 2008

When I first started college, I thought, "Well, we'll start with nursing, maybe do MD down the road.."

But I have no desire. I love being a nurse! And it's not the hours. I just genuinely prefer the role of a nurse. Being more actively involved, physically involved, in the care of my patients means a lot to me. Spending 8-12 hours with them, getting to know their families - physically helping them to heal - is what I want to do and what makes me feel good. I wouldn't want to get jerked all around the hospital,spending five minutes at each place. I just don't think they get to do the fun stuff :)

MikeyJ, RN · Oct 27, 2008

You will find many previous posts on this board of me elaborating on my plan to start my med school pre-req's after working as a nurse for a year -- that was my plan throughout nursing school. Becoming a physician was something I have always wanted to do and I actually pursued nursing on a fluke. Nursing was something I never intended to pursue.

However, my viewpoint has changed completely. I started as a new grad RN a little over a month ago and I no long have any desire to pursue medicine. I have fallen in love with the nursing profession. I absolutely LOVE the field of nursing I have chosen (PICU), absolutely adore my patients and love interacting with the families. I also enjoy the technical aspect -- there are a lot of skills and tasks to be performed in the PICU.

When I see the physicians round everyday and see their very short interaction with the patients, it made me realize that I would probably be incredibly bored becoming a physician. I cannot imagine not caring for the patient, I cannot imagine the amount of responsibility a physician holds on their shoulders, and I cannot imagine putting my family/friends/life on the back burner for the entirety of my career. Those are all sacrifices physicians have to make. Thus, after working as an RN, I have come to really appreciate the differences between the RN and the MD and the vital roles each plays in a patients care.