Do you ever think about going to medical school?

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Hi,

I am just curious as to weather there are any nurses who have the desire to become doctors?

I would love to hear about the things that have influenced your decision.

Michelle

Thanks for the supportive comments, you two.

It's so frustrating to talk with people who want a degree in nursing becuase they think it will be an easy way to make a good income or get into medical school. I have no idea what leads them to believe a nursing major is "easy." Earning a nursing degree is the result of YEARS of hard work. People who are informed know that nursing is one of the hardest majors on any college campus.

ftr bb catcher, where do some of your classmates get the misquided idea that nursing is for people who "want to make a lot of money without a college degree?" Do they not know that many nurses do have college degrees? I'm in a B.S.N. program right now...because I want a college degree! Or do they think an A.D.N. or diploma program won't take years of hard work? Where do some people get their ideas? :uhoh21:

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When I was younger I might have considered med school. But if I had that type of money I would become a commercial pilot instead... yeah, I know, makes perfect sense. ;)

I really want to become a nurse, and I want this with my heart and soul. I have this nurturing personality that I possibly wouldn't get the chance to demonstrate if I became a doctor. I know that there are compassionate doctors out there, but I want to a definite role in carrying out the plan that will make the patient healthy again. I want to spend time with patients, go with them through the highs and lows, be with them for an extended period of time, not the typical 10 minutes a day a doctor might spend with a hospitalized patient.

Added to the a doctor has to fork out, I'm definitely glad to be a nurse. Although I am interested in labor and delivery, I woudln't even become a midwife for this reason. Malpractice insurance would probably do me in. :(

I will be happy if I become a nurse. Hopefully within the next 2 years or so.

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Specializes in ICU, ED, Transport, Home Care, Mgmnt.

A few years out of nursing school I thought about going to med school, thought I could do a better job than the doc's I was dealing with :rolleyes: Luckily I came to my senses and realized being a doctor wasn't where I wanted to be, I wanted to be at the bedside actually taking care of patients. I know of one physician who probably would have been much happier if he had become a nurse instead. :rotfl:

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

No

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Specializes in obstetrics(high risk antepartum, L/D,etc.
I hadn't ever realized the things you were saying about nursing being such a bad major for someone wanting to go to med school but it kind of does make some sense. Although both medicine and nursing deal with healthcare and work so closely together, their focuses and philosophies are somewhat different. 
Is it possible that nursing being looked down upon by medical schools is that, once the students get a taste of nursing, they no longer might want to be a doctor, will the responsibilites, hours, stress, etc.  Not to say that we nurses dont have all of those and more, but we seem to deal with it better.   :chuckle
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Specializes in Med/Surg, ED, ortho, urology.

I know it has been a long time since this last post, but I wanted to respond. I am still debating on medicine or nursing. I start my nursing degree in just over a week. But over here, the Nursing programs only just get filled. There isn't as high a demand here. But I am 26 now, by the time I am an RN I will be 29. How old is to old to go into medicine? Anyway I do prefer treating the person rather than the disease, so maybe this is God leading me in the direction He wants me to be in. Only time will tell.

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Yes I have thought that......

If you have your RN, what do you need to do if you want to go to medical school?

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I really put serious thought into this and had to look at the pros and cons of each. Nursing's cons outweighed being a doctor by far.

Doctor Cons

1. I have a daughter and I am a single mom. I want to be home with my baby as much as possible.

2. The nearest med school is an hour away and I don't want to uproot my life and move. Living an hour away is too hard when you have a daughter and you are on call.

3. The huge loans.

4. The massive .

5. 4 years getting a bachelors (and they told me that having a bsn would not make me competitive I would need a bachelors in biology, psychology, chemistry, etc.), 4 years of med school, 5 years of residency at least. That equals 13 years! My daughter would be 12 when I finished and I don't want to be in school/internship that long! I would be 34.

6. The residency is also an hour away.

7. Typical residency hours are 80 hours a week, That is crazy.

8. During those first 8 years I would have to be a full time student.

9. I found a message board for women physicians and most of them are burned out b/c they don't have time for their families but they also don't even know their patients.

10. There isn't a big physician shortage and you have to hunt for a job.

Pros of being a physician:

1. I love medicine and I love a challenge.

2. Once you pay off the loans and take away the liability insurance the pay is still better.

3. It seems like people admire doctors more so I guess the last pro wouldn't be pride b/c I will have pride as a nurse, it's more of a vanity thing ooh look at me I'm a doctor. Which is the wrong reason.

Pros of nursing:

1. I will have more time at my home with my baby.

2. I can still have a social life.

3. The pay is still good enough for me and my daughter plus extra to live comfortably.

4. The school is 5 minutes down the road from my home.

5. There are jobs everywhere.

6. The school is shorter, I can go part time at my own pace, and I can still continue my education.

7. Doctors cure diseases nurses cure people.

8. The cost for school is not as bad.

Cons of nursing:

1. I have heard doctors treat nurses horrible. ie I'll call you when the bedpan needs to be changed.

2. A lot of people see nursing as dirty work.

As you can see nursing is for me, and the thing that almost had me change my mind is I was worried about what other people would think. That shouldn't influence anyone's decision. I am happy with my choice and I will be the best nurse I know how to be. :p

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Yes I have thought that......

If you have your RN, what do you need to do if you want to go to medical school?

You need to get your bachelors and look at the prerequisites for the med school you are applying for. To be competitive with the other applicants you need to have a bachelors in a science or psychology. They also accept applicants with a bachelors in the arts. Then you take the MCAT and they will make their decision based on your MCAT scores and you GPA plus extra curricular activities. Then you go to med school for four years and in order to get a good residency you need to keep good grades. Depending on what area you want to specialize in depends on how long the residency is. Examply: Dermatology= 1 year of residency in a general health field and 3 years residency in dermatology. Surgery=5-7 years of residency. My OBGYN did 5 years general surgery 4 years OBGYN and 1 year in some minute field I cant remember.

Once you finish your residency you are a doctor on your own yay! It only takes a million years haha and lots of school (with 4 classes/16 credits of chemistry yuck)

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Nope. I'd rather be the one calling a doctor at 0300, not the one receiving the call.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

Nope! I used to want to be an astronaut when I was little though. Seriously, I consider nursing a part of medicine, and a crucial part at that. I can do a whole lot for a patient without and outside of a physician's order; a physician can give orders, but without a nurse to give orders to, who's going to carry them out?

Hm. And I don't mean that to imply that I'm forgetting about CNA's/techs. Where I work I see a tech maybe once a month so I am used to doing the work most of the time. Just a wrinkle in perspective!

I did consider these things as a good fit:

-personality: nurturing

-mindset: like a challenge, need variety

-age: I'm in my thirties so I can do this for a long time (lord willing and the creek don't rise)

-finances: need insurance and a stable job market

I also considered that I didn't want to spend my entire middle of my life in school. I don't see that as an "easy road" because the actual work of nursing is not by any means easy. I considered nursing a good fit, and considering how many patients I meet who don't like their jobs, I'm in a good place.

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Specializes in Oncology, OR.
I know it has been a long time since this last post, but I wanted to respond. I am still debating on medicine or nursing. I start my nursing degree in just over a week. But over here, the Nursing programs only just get filled. There isn't as high a demand here. But I am 26 now, by the time I am an RN I will be 29. How old is to old to go into medicine? Anyway I do prefer treating the person rather than the disease, so maybe this is God leading me in the direction He wants me to be in. Only time will tell.

I used to work with a woman who graduated with honors from MIT as a mechanical engineer and was the manager of the engineering group at our company for 10 years. When she was in her mid-30's, she decided to start over again and went to med school. I also dated a guy whose mother went to med school in her 40's. So I guess as far as your question of how old is too old, only you can decide that. Maybe after you've been a RN for awhile and can get a really good look at the two professions, you'll have a better idea of what's best for you. But I think if if you're more interested in treating the person than the disease, you can't go wrong as a RN. Anyway, good luck to you!

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