Doctor and nurse

dedicatednurse092b · May 27, 2014

I had to subscribe , I need answers to this very same questions , in the mist of deciding.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · May 27, 2014

I wasn't interested in being in school/training until I was 40 and then dealing with a crippling $200k if debt.

Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B · May 27, 2014

I think if you research more about the philosophy behind each profession the decision would be pretty clear. I know being a doctor would never be for me, because of how they are trained to come at issues. I am much more suited for the nursing school of thought. It's easy to look at the two and think the jobs are pretty close, but I find in how we are trained and how we interact with patent issues are very distinct.

I use my phone, to type, I work at night, and I'm a bad speller. Pick any reason you want for my misspellings

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 27, 2014

I didn't want an office. I didn't want to be on call and bothered all hours of the day and night...incessantly paged. When my day ended I wanted it to end.

I just,plain and simple, didn't want to be an MD.... if I was a doctor anything it would be a veterinarian.

resumecpr · May 27, 2014

I wanted to be a MD, but didn't want to go away to school as my father had recently died and I felt like my mother needed me. I went to nursing school instead and got my Bachelor's degree. It was only when I was actually in nursing school that I decided to be a RN. And in the last 10 years, I am so glad I chose to be a nurse instead. I can travel. I can take month long vacations and get paid. Doctors can not. I get paid overtime. I am the eyes and ears for the doctor. And I paid off my student loans in

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · May 27, 2014

My decision wasn't nurse-or-doctor...at least not THAT kind of doctor. I started college w/ the aim of a PhD in musicology (music history/scholarly study) :)

However my undergrad program as a music major got lonely. Well, ensembles were fun, but sitting in a 5x5 practice room alone for hours... Plus I wanted to be employed when all was said and done.

I had been working as a CNA and really loved it, so when I decided music as a profession wasn't for me, I decided to become an RN.

Now having some years under my belt, I know without a doubt I wouldn't want to be a physician. I had my first child on my 23rd birthday, and I hate the thought of working the hours a resident does w/ small children. Like Esme12, I like that once I report off, my shift is DONE. I may have the same pts when I come back, but for the time I'm off they're not MY pts. The only time I work on call is if my unit's census is low; given the choice between on call and cancelled, I usually take on call b/c I'll get paid something and can save my PTO for a planned break or a sick day. But I don't have to work my regular days AND take call. I like treating the whole pt vs. treating JUST the disease or injury.

AmyRN303, BSN, RN · May 27, 2014

My decision wasn't nurse-or-doctor...at least not THAT kind of doctor. I started college w/ the aim of a PhD in musicology (music history/scholarly study) :)
However my undergrad program as a music major got lonely. Well, ensembles were fun, but sitting in a 5x5 practice room alone for hours... Plus I wanted to be employed when all was said and done.
I had been working as a CNA and really loved it, so when I decided music as a profession wasn't for me, I decided to become an RN.
Now having some years under my belt, I know without a doubt I wouldn't want to be a physician. I had my first child on my 23rd birthday, and I hate the thought of working the hours a resident does w/ small children. Like Esme12, I like that once I report off, my shift is DONE. I may have the same pts when I come back, but for the time I'm off they're not MY pts. The only time I work on call is if my unit's census is low; given the choice between on call and cancelled, I usually take on call b/c I'll get paid something and can save my PTO for a planned break or a sick day. But I don't have to work my regular days AND take call. I like treating the whole pt vs. treating JUST the disease or injury.

My story is similar, Here.I.Stand! I was a music education major for two years and I realized I didn't want to teach music. I also realized that at the time the market for music teachers was almost nil due to the glut of qualified candidates. I married at 22, had my first child at 24. I watched my uncle go through med school, internship, residency. Medicine had always fascinated me, but that was a strong deterrent to doing it with four children. So, I sat on my dream for ten years. I decided to go to nursing school for various reasons at age 36. I know I chose the right path.

nnadozieogechi · May 27, 2014

My story is similar, Here.I.Stand! I was a music education major for two years and I realized I didn't want to teach music. I also realized that at the time the market for music teachers was almost nil due to the glut of qualified candidates. I married at 22, had my first child at 24. I watched my uncle go through med school, internship, residency. Medicine had always fascinated me, but that was a strong deterrent to doing it with four children. So, I sat on my dream for ten years. I decided to go to nursing school for various reasons at age 36. I know I chose the right path.

Amy i love your determination, i'm presently experiencing similar problem too. I'm studying zoology and in my finals,i love nursing and dont mind going for a 2nd degree after my b.sc in zoology

sweetdreame, BSN, RN · May 27, 2014

I have many reasons for not becoming an MD. I think both are valued members of the health care team, and I am glad there are people who choose the path. These are the reasons I chose nursing before becoming a nurse:

- Doctors treat diseases, nurses treat people.

- Quality of life and time away from work (this includes during the education years).

- I want to have babies before I'm old and didn't want to do it during residency and miss important moments.

- I didn't want to be away from my family (in aspects of geography and time spent) for (potentially) 8 years.

- Physicians specialize very early...before they know much about anything. Many don't get their desired specialty. Once they choose they are stuck unless they want to go back to another residency. In nursing you can do anything from bedside care, to school nursing, to education, to community health, to leadership, to research. I can't think of many other degrees with that amount of flexibility.

- Debt as a nurse is more manageable...in most cases. I will probably end up with nearly as much debt as an MD.

Here are my reasons now:

- I have seen the difference education and experience in nursing makes. Nurses look at their patients...sometimes reading even the smallest cues that things are wrong, this includes physical and emotional aspects. I have rarely seen physicians with such abilities. I love people and I love what nursing has taught me. It has really made me a better person.

- Many of my physician colleagues regret their decision. They have little or no work/life balance.

- I know many physicians who admit that the cost-effectiveness of becoming an MD is not even realistic anymore.

There are a wealth of reasons for choosing each field. The only thing I would caution you on is that nursing is not a field where you get much recognition or glory. Even when you do save the day (which may be frequent), the physician usually gets (or takes) the credit. But, I will promise you this...nursing yields many rewards that cannot be quantified. Good luck with your decision!

guest07/14/15 · May 27, 2014

When I was younger, I was more interested in being a doctor because I thought that they made more money, they were more important to the patient and they had status. As I got older, I realized that the nurse is the foundation in the medical field. It is the nurse that has more interaction with the patients, gives more education to the patients and it is the nurse who you really get to know at the end of the day. I felt like I liked getting to know the patient and being there for them when they need me makes me feel happier. I also realized that I love being a mom and spending time with my family. As a nurse, I am able to not be on call all hours of the day and night. I will be able to travel more, live a very comfortable lifestyle and have that time with my family. I believe that as a nurse I will be happier.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · May 27, 2014

Oppositional disorder :) Everybody told me I should be a doctor since I was so smart and loved science, so I said, "Well, they need smart nurses, too."

I had summer jobs in hospitals in high school (ER, OR, PACU, lucky me) and liked what nurses did with people better than what physicians did, and knew myself well enough to know that working as hard as I would have to work to get into and pass med school was more than I wanted to do. I didn't want to pull all-nighters and call, either, because sleep deprivation and I have a very uneasy relationship. Now, from a years-later perspective, I see that was my first intimation of the idea of "work-life balance," :) even though nobody had thought of that term then. Since I had children later, I appreciate having had that freedom even more.

I second the very desirable aspects of flexibility, career and geographical mobility, and collegiality. Nursing wins on all of those, hands down. Had I gone to med school I'd be doing pretty much the same thing I'd have been doing thirty years ago, and be bored out of my skull. I'm on what amounts to about my fifth career in nursing, and it's a gas.