Can anyone please me I'm undecided about nusing and pre-med?

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Apr 7, 2011

Medicine is completely different from nursing, and you have to ask yourself a lot of questions before you decide which field is right for you. First and foremost, you have to decide what capacity you want to serve the patient. Do you want to come in, do rounds, order blood work, radiological studies, medications, and other treatments, and leave, or do you want to take the orders that have been given and perform them. Doctors are with the patient a very short amount of time, so if you are looking for more patient and family contact, I would say go with nursing. As a nurse, you are at the bedside constantly, and it requires a lot of knowledge. You have to notice all the small changes that could be a sign of an upcoming disaster, and it is up to you to relate these signs to the doctor and carry out orders to prevent the disaster from happening. As a nurse, you relay a ton of information to the doctor, and sometimes the only reason the doctor gets some of the information is because you caught it and notified him or her ahead of time. As a doctor, you will be expected to a do a few procedures, but, for the most part, your direct patient contact isn't that great. You go in and do a history and physical, you speak to the patient for a brief period of time, and you spend a few moments with them. After your exam is done, you leave the room, order tests and medications, and wait to see what happens. Of course, if you become a surgeon you have a much greater skills set, and your entire day will consist of performing procedure after procedure. A lot of my family wanted me to become a doctor since I am a male, and since I am young, but I always knew that I wanted to be a cardiac ICU nurse. Some members of my family were supportive, but a lot of them told me that I was wasting my time by going to nursing school. However, now that I've gotten into a nursing program, their attitudes have changed drastically. In the end, you have to make the decision that is best for you. Getting your RN or MD is not an easy task. I have taken a ton of classes prior to applying for nursing school, and none of them were all that easy. Before you can begin medical school, you need to have a four year degree in something else, so you are looking at four years of general education, four years of medical school, a year of internship, and up to five years of residency. Then there is no guarantee that you will find a job right away as a physician, and you will have a massive amount of debt and student loans to pay off. With nursing, you spend one to two years finishing prerequisites, which are hard, you go to nursing school for two to three years, depending on your program, and it is hard, and then you finish and are able to find a job. Don't pick one because you think it will be easier than the other, be true to yourself and pick the one that interests you the most.

karamarie91 · Apr 7, 2011

^^^Wow! That was really informative. Just made me realize that nursing is definitely for me!

Highschoolfuturenurs · Apr 7, 2011

Pre-medicine is extremely difficult and most of the Pre-Med majors end up changing their majors. Before you decide what to do you should shadow both a doctor and a nurse and see which one you love the most. Before you can even get into med-school you have to get a Bachelor's in anything, take the required classes for the med-school you want to apply for AND take the MCAT which makes the SAT look like a joke. Like matt said, you are not guaranteed a job after med-school thats why students want to get into the most prestigious med schools because after you graduate you can get a residency in a good hospital. But those med-schools require an MCAT score of no less than 30.

Getting into nursing school is difficult as well but I personally don't think it compares to med school. You have to take pre-requisites and sometimes take an Entrance Exam depending on the school you are applying to.

I think both are excellent and difficult professions. But you should pick the one you can see yourself doing while being happy.

snuckles108 · Apr 7, 2011

My dream job is to become a researcher, I don't know if this is the same as becoming a doctor, and that I really need to attend a medical school for this type of job? Nursing like I said on my previous post would be my back up just incase I don't make it into medical school or if I don't have a job after medical school that I would go for nursing instead.

What type of jobs can I get with a bachelor in nursing? Can you give me more information please?

What's the different between a nurse practioner? I know you need to complete eight years in college to have this job? More information please!

snuckles108 · Apr 7, 2011

Medicine is completely different from nursing, and you have to ask yourself a lot of questions before you decide which field is right for you. First and foremost, you have to decide what capacity you want to serve the patient. Do you want to come in, do rounds, order blood work, radiological studies, medications, and other treatments, and leave, or do you want to take the orders that have been given and perform them. Doctors are with the patient a very short amount of time, so if you are looking for more patient and family contact, I would say go with nursing. As a nurse, you are at the bedside constantly, and it requires a lot of knowledge. You have to notice all the small changes that could be a sign of an upcoming disaster, and it is up to you to relate these signs to the doctor and carry out orders to prevent the disaster from happening. As a nurse, you relay a ton of information to the doctor, and sometimes the only reason the doctor gets some of the information is because you caught it and notified him or her ahead of time. As a doctor, you will be expected to a do a few procedures, but, for the most part, your direct patient contact isn't that great. You go in and do a history and physical, you speak to the patient for a brief period of time, and you spend a few moments with them. After your exam is done, you leave the room, order tests and medications, and wait to see what happens. Of course, if you become a surgeon you have a much greater skills set, and your entire day will consist of performing procedure after procedure. A lot of my family wanted me to become a doctor since I am a male, and since I am young, but I always knew that I wanted to be a cardiac ICU nurse. Some members of my family were supportive, but a lot of them told me that I was wasting my time by going to nursing school. However, now that I've gotten into a nursing program, their attitudes have changed drastically. In the end, you have to make the decision that is best for you. Getting your RN or MD is not an easy task. I have taken a ton of classes prior to applying for nursing school, and none of them were all that easy. Before you can begin medical school, you need to have a four year degree in something else, so you are looking at four years of general education, four years of medical school, a year of internship, and up to five years of residency. Then there is no guarantee that you will find a job right away as a physician, and you will have a massive amount of debt and student loans to pay off. With nursing, you spend one to two years finishing prerequisites, which are hard, you go to nursing school for two to three years, depending on your program, and it is hard, and then you finish and are able to find a job. Don't pick one because you think it will be easier than the other, be true to yourself and pick the one that interests you the most.

Wow! nobody on Earth understands me :confused: I said that I'm takign nursign for two years in a community college and transfer to a four year for my pre-med instead.

Highschoolfuturenurs · Apr 7, 2011

Maybe no one on earth understands you because you aren't really making sense. Nursing is not like any other major that you can just take and then change to pre-med. It doesn't work that way. You will probably be doing PRE NURSING which is not the same thing. There's no way you can do the pre-requisites and nursing school in two years. So your idea about having nursing as a "back up" plan isn't going to work. Just saying.

I don't see why you HAVE to major pre-med if you want nursing as your backup, you can use a nursing degree and still go to med-school without doing pre-med.

THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN · Apr 8, 2011

Once upon a time I wanted to be an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and I was pre-med for two years but I decided I wanted a damn life and so I decided to do nursing instead. Heres your time line if you did what you're talking about doing....pre-nursing 2-2 1/2 years.....nursing school 2 yrs....finish pre-med classes 1-2yrs....med school 4 yrs....internship 1 yr...residency 2-4 yrs. so altogether 12-15 yrs. for all of that. smh not worth it IMHO.

If you want to do research then you should probably (don't quote me) get your masters or doctorate degree in whatever type of research you want to go into instead of wasting all that time and money into nursing AND medicine.

BTW you can also do research as a doctor OR nurse. really research encompasses all fields. soo.

THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN · Apr 8, 2011

also, if I am correct in reading that you have a 4.0, how is it that you got a 1000 on your SAT? What about your ACT? Can't you retake those? Maybe that was a typo

newRNstudent02 · Apr 8, 2011

If research is what you want then you should go for a PhD. There are schools that offer a MD/PhD...very competitive. I suggest you see how University life treats you and decide from there. It's difficult to know what your true calling is when you're still stuck in high school. Good luck!

cccormier · Apr 8, 2011

Wow! nobody on Earth understands me I said that I'm takign nursign for two years in a community college and transfer to a four year for my pre-med instead.

I find it so hard to understand why this person spent a good few minutes writing a supportive, informative and very generous message with great points and relevant information, and all you can think of... is "no one understands me"???? This forum is here to help people who need guidance. If you want direct or specific answers, maybe try asking a college or program advisor.

newRNstudent02 · Apr 8, 2011

It's ironic that someone who wants to go into research is completely clueless about the fundamental difference between a nurse, nurse practitioner, and md. You can't just do nursing for 2 years??? Also, you do realize you need to take standardized tests for all of these programs. TEAS, GRE, MCAT, NCLEX and it goes on and on. If your SAT scores are indicative of your future performance good luck even making it to your associates.