Aspiring Nurses: Why not Med School??

Because I didn't want to be a doctor.

I never have to be on call. I never work more than 40hours a week unless I want to. I have never been sued in 10 years of nursing pratice. I do not have to pay for malpractice insurance. I make more money than a medical resident and more money than most hospitalists and have no overhead expenses. Being a doctor does sound like fun but in reality is more work and responsibility than most peple think with less pay and perks than most people think.

I didn't figure out that I wanted to be a nurse until my early 20s, before that I thought I was going to be the next Anne Rice. When I realized that was next to the impossible, I enrolled in an LPN program (just to make some money while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life). I got my first job at a veteran's hospital and I loved it. I knew this was my calling because I looked forward going to work everyday. I love that I can be more involved with my patients and put a smile on their face. I have now moved on to work in a psychiatric center, but I have a few patients who still send me holiday cards and an up to date letter. It feels so good to have made a difference in one's life.

Though I have a high respect for Doctors there is just too much liability involved. They don't get to know their wonderful patients (ok, maybe not all are so wonderful, lol)...but yeah, being a Doctor is just not a career calling for me. I L-O-V-E being a Nurse.

Many of the courses required for Nursing Schools and Medical Schools are the same, as many of you are aware. What made you choose the Nursing route over the MD? They are both challenging and require lots of commitment, but MD gets more prestige. So why Nursing? Enlighten me!

I don't know about anyone else, but I think that as a nurse you get to spend more time with the patients. The doctors go in talk for a bit and leave. Not many of them actually get to spend time with their patients or their families. When you consider the additional expense, liability, and hardships that Doctors face, I can't imagine wanting to live that life.

Not to mention being expected to go days without sleep during residency and having to make critical decisions. I don't like to live that dangerously.

Having to deal with getting ripped apart by senior docs because it's what was done to them. You hear about how nurses eat their young, but from the way a lot of these residents talk, what nurses do to each other doesn't seem so bad.

I'm 45. My husband is a nurse so I know how much i can make. I did the math. 4 years undergraduate degree, med school, internship, then fellowship. I have the same earning potential as a nurse as a MD at this stage of my life. I spent the last 16 years running a private medical practice and the headache is incredible. The fact that I can be a nurse and after my shift not have 40 billion things to worry about is ..... priceless.

Actually, there is not a lot of overlap between the course required for medical school, and the courses required for many nursing schools:

Medical schools require (all require at least the following courses)

Biology I (for science majors)

Biology II ( for science majors)

General Chemistry I

General Chemistry II

Organic Chemistry I

Organic Chemistry II

Physics I (algebra based, not calculus based)

Physics II (algebra based, not calculus based)

Nursing schools (most require the following)

A chemistry class (not necessarily for science majors)

A&P I (not necesarily for science majors)

A&P II (not necessarily for science majors)

Microbiology (not necessarily for science majors)

Nutrition

Psychology

Human growth and development (or similar course)

And maybe I'm forgetting some others

So, as you can see, there really isn't a great overlap between the two.

Also, being a nurse and being a physician are two totally different animals, with very different purposes.

I think the question, "Why not med school?" reveals the common belief that nursing is a lower extension of medicine. They are quite separate and distinct disciplines.

I like nursing philosophy and focus. I'm not too fond of the disease model of medicine.

Medical school is VERY competitive, VERY expensive and VERY time consuming. Unless you have the talent AND you know you want to be an MD very early on, it just seems like too much to endure. I spent my 20's having a good time. I can't imagine having spent them with my nose in a book.

Buzz off already, we wanted to be nurses and that's what we did.

because I want a career AND a life....I don't want my career to be my life.

Second career for me. Didn't want to start such a long program in my 30s, but after looking at the requirements and my ultimate goal, I just might.

Many of the courses required for Nursing Schools and Medical Schools are the same, as many of you are aware. What made you choose the Nursing route over the MD? They are both challenging and require lots of commitment, but MD gets more prestige. So why Nursing? Enlighten me!