Debating on becoming a nurse practitioner or a doctor

Jules A, MSN · Jan 13, 2017

How did you know nursing was the field for you?
Did you ever think you'd chase the opposite?
Do you have any regrets from choosing the field you did?
Thank you for any help you can offer!

Hi and welcome!

If I was as smart and mature as you are at 16 there is no way I would have become a nurse and instead would have definitely done medical school. In my opinion the medical school education is so far superior to what NP programs provide. I am dual certified and have done 2 NP programs and was very disappointed with the superficial nature of our courses. Your income and in many cases professional respect will also be far superior as a MD vs NP. There is a longer and more expensive course of education as well as generally a more intense work obligation as a MD. If you are looking for a Mommy friendly career NP might be a better fit. Overall I would say it depends on how driven you are.

Please don't let the whole "holistic" or as you said "bonding" with the patient thing be a consideration in your choice. That in my opinion is a pathetic attempt by many nurses to justify their lack of productivity and knowledge. It is unfortunate but NPs patient satisfaction scores are often higher due to the increased time and superficial things that are not actually provider duties which patients seem to love no matter how competent or incompetent their provider might be. Lay people rarely know how skilled their care provider actually is. Personally I want a Rock Star surgeon and could give a hoot if they have the personality of a troll. Worth noting physicians are also trained holistically to look at the whole person. The way we approach our patients is largely based on our personalities, experiences and philosophy which again just my opinion isn't owned by either medical model or nursing.

db2xs · Jan 20, 2017

At your age, you might bode well with taking the MD route, as it is more time-intensive. I had a previous career before I became a nurse, which I did when I was in my late 30s. I seriously debated doing the MD route but I didn't want to go through the whole rigamarole only to be an MD at age 90.

I have my own opinions about MDs vs NPs, just like all of us do. We have the good ones and we have the bad ones--that is life. I think people in general are not good communicators, MD or NP or garbage collector or secretary. Obviously I would rather have the most competent healthcare provider, but if they had the personality of a troll, I would go find another one. It matters to me that the people I interact with on an intimate level such as the nitty gritty of my health issues be a good communicator and not a jerk. If I am working with a doctor who sees me as a bag of bones and blood and flesh and nothing but a "problem" to fix, then forget them.

I don't know about anyone else, but I do see the patient as a holistic being. Mental health/well-being is an important part of human beings and many MDs are concerned primarily with one thing, and that one thing is their focus of medicine, not anything else. Not all, but many. This may be due to personality, this my be due to reimbursement issues, but I know for myself, I take the time out to talk with patients and make them feel comfortable.

Having said that, I would agree with Jules that the NP program is pretty flimsy, as I am in NP school right now and have been gravely disappointed. Perhaps by the time you go through your schooling and get to the NP stage, things will have changed, but somehow I doubt that. The nursing powers that be have been saying for 40 years that they would do away with the ADN but it's still around.