Do you ever wish you were a doctor?

[adventure_rn]

I feel like I'm asked this question surprisingly frequently, often by family and occasionally by friends, acquaintances, dates, and even patients. Maybe it's because I come from a family of doctors, or because many of close friends from my first degree were pre-med because nursing/pre-nursing on my campus didn't really exist.

I can say with honesty that I've never come home from a shift and thought, "I wish I was a doctor." However, there have been a handful of shifts where I've come home explicitly thinking, "Holy crap, I'm so glad I'm not a doctor."

I briefly worked in x-ray during nursing school, and I found that some x-ray techs expressed regret that they hadn't become physicians. However, I think x-ray differs from nursing because there aren't as many opportunities for advancement (vs. nursing, where you have the option become an NP, CNS, etc., along with many non-clinical paths).

I'm just curious to see if other ANers are faced with this (well-intentioned but occasionally insulting) question. What's your go-to response?

[rock hopper]

I actually had a whole year or so where I planned on going to med school. But ultimately the debt, the stress and the work hours made it a clear "nope" choice for me.

One of the things that drew me to nursing was the upward mobility. I can become a RN, then down the road get my Masters to specialize as a FNP, CNS, CRNA, Psych NP, etc. And the salary for these professions is actually on the rise as more Americans age and depend on more urgent care clinics vs. ED's (yes, that's another discussion you don't want to have with most doctors). Most all NP positions nowadays are six figure. That's good enough for most people ANY day. All I want is a salary that will allow me to retire at a decent age, pay the bills, and allow for a handful of trips around the country/internationally each year.

But what I really like is the patient interaction. I'm a hands on type of guy. I feel like I've got a heart for people, especially those who are less fortunate. I've always wanted to work in an area with a people of a variety of backgrounds--which is why I'm learning Spanish and hope to (eventually) conquer Chinese! (my little brother is fairly fluent).

Oh, and those 7 on 7 off schedules. WOW. Cool! When I was in my early 20's I regularly worked 12-16 hours a day on the construction site, sometimes 7 days a week. It was grueling but I got used to it. I'm not saying that the clinical setting will be easier (heck, i KNOW it won't be!), but at least i'll be doing what I love to do--help other humans.

[anitalaff, BSN, RN]

I like that I'm a nurse and because I wanted to do more with my education I went to NP school. I love this role. But I must say I'm annoyed with the perception that being a nurse practitioner is like having the "brains of a doctor, heart of a nurse." That phrase is emblazoned on a lot of kitsch I found out yesterday when I went looking for some cute little gift ideas for myself. I think that mentality is pervasive enough without needing to advertise it. The phrase insults both professions because we are each smart and educated in our own right and most of each are caring.

AMEN to THAT!

[N-R-N]

Being a nurse is very rewarding. Although I want to further my career and continue to become more specialized, I would never want to be a doctor. It's a great profession, but it just doesn't stir up the fire and passion in me the way that nursing does.

[vandiola]

Sometimes I wish I was a doctor. I'm a nurse in the UK and we don't have anywhere near the same level of pay, career advancement or responsibility that our US counterparts seem to have. Doctor's do work long hours here in the NHS, but probably nowhere as long as you guys in America and some nurses here have to work 60+ hours since pay is so ****** here. And of course, in the UK nurses still have a very low status, you would not believe the number of times I've been called a bum wiper, or all we do is wash people. In the UK, doctors have natural career progression, yearly salary rises, research opportunities and respect. I still love my job, but there's a lot I would change about it.

[moldyoldyrn]

In a word NO.

[B52Bomber]

Do I wish I was a physician? - Nope

Have I considered that in the past? - Yea

I was accepted into graduate school for my DNP before I even finished my BSN! I knew I wanted to obtain "advanced" clinical experience and education related to NURSING.

In my opinion I chose nursing because:

- Physicians CURE (try to) the disease process. Nurses CARE for the patient's symptoms/behaviors/thoughts/emotions in relation to the disease process.

- Physicians make clinical judgements based on physical assessment and observation of the patient's condition and develop treatment based on the numerical data from past research.

Nurses make clinical judgements based on assessment of what we see, what the patient is telling us, and intuition from previous experiences - which ultimately guide or priority of care

- Physicians do find the associated treatment and implement it based on lines of treatment and recommendations,

BUT nurses make sure that the treatment is feasible, realistic, and agreeable to the patients wants, needs, and cultural/spiritual views.

- Physicians determine that the patient is appropriate for discharge back into the community based on clinical outcomes/improvement.

Nurses however determine if patients are ready to return based on their home conditions, available resources and their knowledge of disease self-management techniques - which will all advertently affect whether or not the patient will be compliant.

Lastly, physicians understand the disease processes inside and out and can diagnose the patient based on biological, chemical and pathophysiological mechanisms....

But nurses can assess and understand the patient's disease processes based on bio/psycho/social perspectives.

Nursing is so unique, flexible, challenging, interesting, amusing, even fought and heart breaking but everything I do I do for the well being of my whole patient - body, mind, -!: soul.