ER nurse to ER doctor

[al3x117, RN, EMT-B]

Just have a question on becoming an ER nurse then become an ER doctor. Is this even possible? And if this route is possible what are the responsibilities of an ER doctor and an ER nurse. If I strictly wanted to be an ER doctor after being an ER nurse for a couple of years (3-4 years) are the roles of both drastically different from each other?

[RotorRunner]

There is no "bridge" from RN to MD.

You would have to attend medical school, complete a residency, and specialize in emergency medicine to work as an ED physician.

They are drastically different in their scopes of practice.

[Jules A, MSN]

They are drastically different in their scopes of practice.

Although they are different in their scope a sharp ED RN would probably make an excellent ED physician with the appropriate education. Unfortunately as RotorRunner mentioned there isn't a bridge so not the most practical route to go and would waste a lot of time. If you are interested in medical school and able to get in I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone to go that route rather than nursing.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

A nurse is not a junior, less educated doctor. A nurse is a nurse and a doctor is a doctor.

Choose one.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

If you wish to work as an ER nurse and then progress to a wider scope of practice, there's always the NP route. There is no such thing as RN to MD- it requires completing the required prerequisites, being admitted to medical school, successfully completing medical school, completing a residency, and finding a job. If MD is your ultimate goal, then why waste time with nursing? They are two different professions.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Yes, you can become an emergency physician after having been an ER nurse.

1. You graduate from a nursing program, pass NCLEX, obtain RN licensure, and work as a nurse in an emergency department.

2. Then you graduate medical school after hopefully securing a competitive match into an emergency medicine residency, complete the residency, and become a physician in an emergency department.

As you see, there is no shortcut to the process. Physicians operate under the medical model of care provision while nurses work under the nursing model. Therefore, there is no seamless bridge between nursing (RN) and medicine (MD / DO).

[al3x117, RN, EMT-B]

Thanks guys for all the help I really appreciate it!

[amzyRN]

I think it's a waste of time to do both. If you want to be a doctor go for it now because there's a lot of training involved. Getting your RN will take time away from the long training you'll need as an ER MD. In my department a lot of the scribes to the MDs are pre-med, perhaps consider taking a scribe job or tech job, but if you want to do medicine, that is a very long process and you'll want to get started right away. s

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

You can switch to MD after becoming an RN but your RN classes won't transfer over. The good thing about becoming and RN first is that you will be working with the MD. You can then see if being an MD is really what you want to do. If age, and money aren't an issue you can later go for MD. You can also work as a nurse while going for MD if you have time. You could work PRN. It is hard but some people are able to do it. Good luck!

[DeeAngel]

Of course it's possible, you just need to be willing to do the work from the beginning and pay for it. There is no RN to MD shortcut. You go to nursing school, transfer any under grad credit you can, complete the pre-med courses, graduate and then apply to medical school, hoping to be accepted.

[al3x117, RN, EMT-B]

You can switch to MD after becoming an RN but your RN classes won't transfer over. The good thing about becoming and RN first is that you will be working with the MD. You can then see if being an MD is really what you want to do. If age, and money aren't an issue you can later go for MD. You can also work as a nurse while going for MD if you have time. You could work PRN. It is hard but some people are able to do it. Good luck!

I was thinking the same thing. Plus it will get me insight into seeing if I like the responsibility of being an MD. Thanks for the advice.

[GM2RN]

I was thinking the same thing. Plus it will get me insight into seeing if I like the responsibility of being an MD. Thanks for the advice.

There's a lot of responsibility with nursing; it's different than with a doctor but nurses are still responsible for patients' lives. There's also the physician assistant option. While it's unlikely that there is any real bridge to becoming an MD from a PA, the PA role would be much more like that of the MD while still having the MD with which to collaborate in the ER while you learn and gain confidence.