JustBeachyNurse, RN Specializes in Complex pediatrics turned LTC/subacute geriatrics. Has 11 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 It's different. Not really comparable, IMHO. Different theory model, different scope of practice , different educational pathway. If I wanted to be a physician, I would have applied to/attended medical school. Ultimately I wanted to be a nurse and here I am. Both professions have a profound impact on the health/wellness/ recovery of patients just in different ways. 0 Likes
klone, MSN, RN Specializes in Women's Health/OB Leadership. Has 15 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 Yes, I could. But I didn't want to be a physician. To me, the decade of training, horrible residency hours and abuse wasn't worth it to me. 0 Likes
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma. Has 41 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 Yes, I could. But I didn't want to be a physician. To me, the decade of training, horrible residency hours and abuse wasn't worth it to me.AMEN! I didn't want the call and the hassles. You can keep that medical degree. I would have like to have been a vet though 0 Likes
toomuchbaloney Aug 24, 2014 Agreed.Made that decision decades ago and have never regretted the choice and have never looked back.Sure, I would have likely made more money. There would likely have been a personal cost to that equation. I am still married to the same person and have a wonderful life which allows me lots of time to pursue those things which are important to my health as a human being. 0 Likes
Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN Has 6 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 I'm going to be honest and say no ...or at least that I'm not sure ...maybe if there were lots of opportunities to cheat?? 0 Likes
LadyFree28, BSN, RN Specializes in Pediatrics, Rehab, Trauma. Has 10 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 AMEN! I didn't want the call and the hassles. You can keep that medical degree. I would have like to have been a vet thoughTHIS.Like the positives of the nursing model too much to become a doctor; if I want to become a provider, then my next step would to become an NP-but that would be a semi-retirement gig. I love being a nurse too much and want to give back to this profession.We are part of a collaborative team and are equally important in our own models and can deliver competent care to the patient. 0 Likes
Caffeine_IV Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice. Has 7 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 I have no idea. I wasn't interested in becoming a physician. Of course med school is more difficult than nursing school. But they really aren't meant to be compared. It's more of a time commitment than nursing. They have to learn a vast amount of information. Not to put down any MDs at all but they aren't all these super smart geniuses. I'm quite sure many nurses (and other professions) possess the mental capacity to complete medical school. Could I be a mathematician. No. 0 Likes
klone, MSN, RN Specializes in Women's Health/OB Leadership. Has 15 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 Yeah, I think it's funny that so many people hold up physicians as genius brainiacs. I used to, too. Then I got to know physicians when I started working as a nurse, and I was a bit disillusioned to realize that physicians were human. I don't think a physician could get through med school if they're *stupid* but I realized that I was as intelligent, if not more so, than most of them. You don't need to be a genius to get through med school. You do need to be tenacious and persistent and have a thick skin. 0 Likes
toomuchbaloney Aug 24, 2014 I have no idea. I wasn't interested in becoming a physician. Of course med school is more difficult than nursing school. But they really aren't meant to be compared. It's more of a time commitment than nursing. They have to learn a vast amount of information. Not to put down any MDs at all but they aren't all these super smart geniuses. I'm quite sure many nurses (and other professions) possess the mental capacity to complete medical school. Could I be a mathematician. No.I have a number of friends who were nurses and then pursued their MD. None of them said the didactic was more difficult, just that is was very different. 0 Likes
RNperdiem, RN Has 14 years experience. Aug 24, 2014 It is harder to get into med school than nursing school. It takes serious drive and stamina to jump through all the hoops, survive the competition for those few spots. The person who makes it to med school is generally not the person who asks; it is the person who there is no holding back. 0 Likes
Dranger Aug 24, 2014 I had a roommate for a few months who was in med school. Anyone saying the work load is close in difficulty is lying.The amount of work they put in and sheer knowledge they retain is mind boggling.It's not even close. 0 Likes
Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro. Has 16 years experience. Aug 25, 2014 I probably could have done it if I didn't have such heavy family commitments--assuming I not only had the grades but did well enough on the application and interviews. But I got married at 21 and pregnant w/ my first daughter four months later, plus our financial situation at the time required me to work while in school and raising the baby. I don't think I could have hacked it when my time was so divided. As it is, it was a really tough few years.But I wanted to be an RN. 0 Likes
rachel0609, ADN, RN Aug 25, 2014 I'll be honest, I always wanted to be a doctor. Unfortunately there's no way I could afford the cost. That being said, I don't feel like I've settled by choosing to be a nurse, I love the field I chose! RN , BSN 0 Likes
roser13, ASN, RN Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC. Has 17 years experience. Aug 25, 2014 I personally don't think you can compare the two. Such different educational tracks.But as far as the hard science (biology & chemistry) requirements, nursing doesn't hold a candle to med school. 0 Likes
verene, MSN Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing. Aug 25, 2014 My sister is doing the pre-med route; I'm doing pre-nursing. We have discussed classes and challenges of each route with each other. I think I could do med-school if it was what I wanted. But it isn't want I want. I'm drawn to the nursing model of care far more than the medical model. My sister is much more attracted to the medical model and really wants to be a surgeon. She could succeed at nursing, I think, but it isn't what she wants, so she has no interest in nursing school, likewise I see no sense in applying to med-school knowing that I wouldn't be happy with it, even if I could do the work. I am however attracted to the idea of becoming an NP down the road. Expanded scope of practice and additional responsibility and education, but still with in the nursing model of care. 0 Likes
TheCommuter, BSN, RN Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych. Has 15 years experience. Aug 25, 2014 Is it really much harder than nursing? Since I've never attended medical school, I have no firsthand knowledge to tell you if it's really that much harder than nursing school.However, with my current fund of knowledge, I can honestly tell you I wouldn't be able to perform extremely well in several of the prerequisite courses required for medical school, namely physics, organic chemistry and calculus. 0 Likes