Be honest . . . medical school?

[JoseQuinones]

Hey all, I've really come to like the wisdom and viewpoints I get on this site, as people often put things in perspectives I never thought of before.

I am nearly done with my BSN (October, knock on wood).

So can I think aloud for a second? It seems to me the more I get into the world of nursing, we're always defining our profession to others, almost a little defensively. It seems that especially APRN's go through this. It seems that even we ourselves don't have our roles well defined to ourselves. And there's always this "My job is just as important as yours" thing between us and other healthcare providers. There's this constant tension between the APRN's and the PA's, for example - almost a jealousy. I don't want to spend a career defending the idea of my job.

The other thing is that I don't view this career as a money maker. I come into nursing because I want to impact the lack of access to healthcare that so many people - including family members - have historically suffered. As I look around at the people who influence public policy, I see that MD's are disproportionately represented at the table. I'm a political activist. In the committee meetings, the legislative hearings, even in the media, it's always Dr. So-and-So who is quoted. If a nurse, even a DNP, is there, it feels like they spend more time defending their competency and credentials than they do presenting their solutions. No one ever says, "So Dr. So-and-So, what exactly is it you do?" They say, "I'm a pediatrician" and everyone knows they are qualified to comment on issues pertaining to children. Right now we're fighting to expand APRN's scope of practice in this district to help bend the cost curve on medical care for uninsured immigrants, and no one will listen to us unless we have Dr. So-and-So with us. It's an undeniable reality.

Since my plan was always to be a CRNA, I've been taking lots of science credits in addition to my BSN program, so I have almost all the credits I'd need for a pre-med degree.

I am asking for honesty here. In your heart of heart of hearts, if you had it to do over again, would you continue into APRN practice or would you have gone to medical school? Both sides of the coin are indispensable when it comes to medical care, but what about influencing policy? Am I missing something? Is it new-grad nerves? A desire to continue in the comfortable womb of the university?

And please, no defensive comments from people who are angry that I am attacking the nursing profession or saying it's somehow less important. I'm not.

[Libby1987]

There's a shortage of MD's (especially in the population you've been advocating for) and an increasing supply of CRNA's. Job market alone might point to medical school.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I keep hearing about all this tension between Doctors, PAs and NPs. In my reality, I haven't witnessed it to any significant degree. Certainly not jealousy between NPs and PAs, and very few instances where doctors don't understand the place of NPs in modern healthcare. There is the odd hold-out doc who thinks we're jumped up nurses, but they are a dying breed.

I could have gone to medical school, but I chose nursing. For me the nursing model was more appealing than the medical model. I did complete a semester in PA school and dropped out to go to nursing school. Nothing against the medical model, but it didn't feel like the right fit for me.

No regrets.