Can't make a decision for the life of me...

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I am posting this here because I am hoping to gain a wide range of perspectives and opinions.

I know no one can make a decision but myself, however it is hard to choose when one cannot really know what a nurse does.

I've been in college for almost 3 years now. Began as pre-dental at a 4year university, made good grades and decided to check out nursing. I took a year of AP, have a 3.91 gpa (1 B freshman year) and really enjoyed all my sciences.

I received my acceptance letter today for LSU's BSN program. I am very grateful to be in this position.

However, I found myself wondering "why" a lot of times and a lot of professors telling me that the extra information is irrelevant.

So, I wonder if I really should finish my biology degree and apply to med school. I have 2 years left of pre-med/dent.

What really do RNs do? Have you any say in your patient's care? What is a care plan? Are you satisfied, if you had the opportunity, would you have pursued med school?

I *know* this can be like comparing apples to oranges but in many aspects, nursing and medicine are a lot alike.

I am 20 years old, I really do not know what career is best for me. However I don't want to waste time.

I could do the BSN and continue to take my premed courses over the summer in case I want to sit for the MCAT, but I may also find out that I love nursing.

I've been in a lot of hospitals and around sick people, I know the basics of what a RN does but I really cannot say if it is what I want to do. My advisor says a lot of people don't really know until they begin clinicals and either continue because they love it and its what they want, or leave and pursue other options.

I want to be a nurse because I *cliche* want to help people, I have a caring "nurse-curse" personality, nurturing, I want to be there around the patient to see them improve or get worse and to catch the problems before they get out of hand/notify the doctor. I could see myself working in ICU or ER. I like fast paced environments and I like challenges, and I hope I could find a career in nursing to satisfy that. I am also attracted to the 3 day 12 hr shift, so I can have flexibility to travel and have a family.

I want to be a physician because I am not sure if nursing will quench my thirst for knowledge. I am very interested in the diagnostic model of medicine and treating a disease (but how much can nurses do of that? I do not know). I am interested in pathology, neurology, and nephrology. I love learning, I really do.

So nurses... help me understand what you do. Anyone else in my situation, how have you arrived at a decision? What advice have you been given?

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Someone PLEASE reply!!

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Specializes in cvicu.

At age 20 i would cont.on and finish premed courses

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Specializes in Emergency.

id accept the nursing offer. i mean you're 20 and verry young.. i mean im 22, lol but still. what im saying is, go for the nursing..and in you're off time like summers, take your premed course. nobody ever said you have to have one degree. so do nursing..then med school.. you're 20!! lol. it may sound ambitious and a bit much..but thats who i am. i plan on law school after nursing.. so thats just my opinion.

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No one can answer this for you. You need to figure out what you really want to do with your life and then pursue it. Being a doctor is more prestigious and will most likely lead to a higher standard of living. However, there is also more responsibility. Having a love of learning has nothing to do with what profession you choose.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

Nurses can not diagnose anything. About the only thing we can do as far as medicine goes (other than administer it) is to recommend something to a physican for our patient. For instance, I call about my pt one night to recommend ativan, or maybe I may need to ask for Haldol. Just an example.

I would go to medical school if I were young like you. I didn't pursue nursing until my 40s and now I see how much I love the medical field. I tell my family, I wish I could go to medical school. but at my age, it's too much effort.

I would also say it depends on whether you need money to pay your way through medical school. Nursing would def help with that.

Good luck.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I think it depends on a lot of different things. As you say, nursing and medicine share a lot of commonalities. They also are completely different. Nurses know more about their patients than doctors do. Doctors know more about disease than nurses do. IMO, you can be happy in both fields. It's never wrong to seek the "whys" and "wherefores" of anything. If your professors have a problem with it, do your own research, find out for yourself.

What do nurses do? everything. We analyze data, record extremely accurate accounts, recognize emergencies and implement treatment *before* a doctor is ever on the scene. They manage medications, evaluate for reactions or "unintended outcomes." They provide comfort for the dying, the hurting, the addicted, the disabled AND their families.

There was a time when I wanted to be a pediatrician. I love kids. But I had to come to grips with the fact that i didn't want the responsibilities of being a physician. I'm a caregiver by heart. So I became a nurse instead and I have never regretted that decision. I like the fact that I can work in many different fields--peds, ICU, ER, Labor & Delivery,office nursing, school nursing, telephone triage. I can work different schedules, part-time, full-time, Mon-Fri, or weekends only. Over the last 31 years I have developed extremely accurate diagnostic skills. I don't always know what the patient HAS, but I am very good at recognising and interpreting symptoms I know a bad situation when I see it and I respond without panic or indecision.

Best of luck to you deciding what you want to do. You can always become a nurse first and then go to med school. I believe you'll be a better doctor if you start by being a good nurse. (Or you can become a nurse practitioner!)

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

You may also become a nurse practitioner if you want to cut follow the nursing module, yet have a bit more autonomy.

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If you are asking this question now, you will likely be asking it throughout your entire LONG medical training. My husband is in medical school and many of his fellow students, particularly the female ones want to quit and do nursing or ANYTHING else. Even residents who are done with years of training and applying to fellowships want to throw in the towel and choose their families over medicine. You can do both (have a family/life, and be a good doctor) but you don't have much of a life outside of this, and do not get as much family time or respect from your collegues in the medical profession as you would like. You simply can't have your cake and eat it too. There will have to be some compromises here and there. So if you are considering nursing now, I think you should go for it. I just finished up school and am starting my first RN job in June. I used to want to be a doctor, then I wanted to be an NP, and now I seriously am considering just doing bedside nursing or education and leadership roles. (these roles will be equally exciting and challenging in their own way) As far as your thirst for knowledge, I am sure there are some jobs of nursing that are not as challenging but there are tons of areas that you will constantly be learning every day, and many areas where you really do have a lot of autonomy and at the same time more hands on patient care. (you willl make a huge difference as a nurse!) From what you said, ICU sounds like it might be a great fit for you! My advice and experience may not apply to everyone, but I think you have to think about what is most important to you. What do you want your life to be like? Search your motives. Whatever you decide you will be giving something up (and gaining something good of course), just make sure it's not something too valuable to you.

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I'm 29, pre-nursing, and am still asking myself the same question. I'm going to do my nursing degree, and if I kick myself and want to pursue an MD. title down the road, I will.

Only you can make that choice. Check out a shadowing program at a local hospital, and see if you can spend a couple of hours on the floor with a nurse. That will give you a good idea if you are headed down the right path.

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What about finishing college as a pre-med student, majoring in whatever you were going to major in, and then applying to LSU again as a second degree student if you decide against med school, or if you have trouble getting in? It gets tougher to make the choice to go to med school the older you get - you get into a relationship, start to consider kids, buy a house, etc. and the idea of even attempting med school, then residency just seems too burdensome.

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Having a love of learning has nothing to do with what profession you choose.

As others have noted, if you are interested in something, you can always research it on your own. Also, if you want to *help people* you can always volunteer during your free time. Go into nursing in order to become a nurse.

In regard to "what do nurses do" - you can find several threads address that question. Learn how to use the search function on the site. Do know that patients are in and out of hospitals pretty quickly and nurses are responsible for several patients at any one time so nurses may not have a whole lot of one-on-one time with each of their patients. Nurses also are responsible for many care coordination tasks that can take up a good bulk of time... charting, contacting physicians, keeping up with new orders, making sure the proper diet is ordered and delivered, and more.

I don't recommend nursing school if the MAIN reason is to satisfy a thirst for knowledge. Nursing school is primarily about what's needed to become a nurse... getting the minimum amount of clinical experience to qualify to take the licensing exam, covering the content required by nursing schools to qualify students to take the licensing exam, and making sure as many graduates as possible will actually pass the licensing exam. Look at some nursing textbooks, nursing care plan books, and at sample nursing licensing exam questions to get a taste of the content of nursing school.

While good programs will cover more than the bare minimum, nursing is about patient care - physiologic and psychological comfort. It's only peripherally about treating diseases. Nursing school covers a wide range of topics and necessarily can't go too in depth.

By the way, I don't recommend medical school to quench a thirst for knowledge either. If knowledge is the thing, major in the TOPIC that interests you. Medical school and nursing school are programs to get folks started as practitioners. There are plenty of jobs out there related to medicine that involve medical knowledge that don't involve practicing medicine or nursing. There's medical research, there are medical supply companies, there are pharmaceuticals, there's health care administration, and lots more.

Food for thought!

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