in aug i will be starting the nursing program at my local college and will be graduating in 2012 ( long time) with my rn. recently i have started to consider entering med school in 2014 at the ripe old age of 30. i was wondering if anyone has considered this and what your reasons may have been for not doing it, other than financial. or is anyone doing something similar and could share their experience.
also since most of you work in a hospital setting, what can you tell me about the doctors you work with? most of my experiences with doctors have not been good. that's one of my reasons for wanting to go all the way. i think if more nurses became doctors we might have happier hospitals.
I say go for it. I have worked w/several doctors who were nurses first. One was an ICU RN & became an anesthesiologist- she was well into her 40's by the time she graduated & it didn't really make her any nicer to nurses- in fact, quite the opposite. (altho she's an awesome anesthesiologist!) I think it has more to do w/underlying personality type, and not being a nurse first. If you are empathetic/kind/sincere, then you will be that way whether you're an RN or an MD. I also know plenty of docs that are really great to work with who were never nurses- in fact, that is my overall experience w/doctors in general- the jerks have been in the minority. I say start now though, why do nursing first? We need more women doctors! Good luck.
That's what I thought. I thought, "Oh, Boy! Someone is considering getting a doctoral degree in nursing. Get for her/him!"
I was soooooo disappointed in the OP. I hate to think that some nursing students still think that nursing is somehow "less than" medicine.
I spent 4 years in college, 2 years getting an MSN, and 5 years getting a PhD. That's as many years as med school plus a 3-year medical residency. I don't consider myself "less than" the physicians I work with. We are just different.
Oh ... and in the academic world .... PhD's outrank MD's. I'm the one who "went all the way" with my education, not the physicians.
llg, PhD, RN
llg, I was wondering if you would mind sharing how old you were when you started your PhD program? I'll be around 36 when I get my BSN and probably around 39 when/if I get my MSN. I'd love to go on and get either PhD of DPN but I don't know if 40 is too old to start.
For me becoming a doctor would be going all the way in the medical field. I didn't mean to offend anyone. I was just asking if anyone got their RN and then decided they might want to go to med school.
Nurses are greatly important and I would be happy spending the rest of my life being one, but I stood by watching my Grandma die as a child feeling helpless, and I don't want to be helpless in my career because my job title doesn't allow me to do certian things.
I'm not really looking for a list of all the amazing things nurses do or what makes them great, you would be preaching to the chior.
I knew what you meant, and there is no reason for anyone to throw flames your way.
You asked a respectful valid question and wasn't bashing nursing in any way.
I had a very close friend of mine who recently completed medical school who was an MSN. Her reason for going on? Because she wanted to be the one to make ALL of the decisions for her patients...it had nothing to do with not liking being a nurse, the money, etc...it had to do with her desire of having that responsibility and being the one to do it.
It's something to consider...just remember that physicians make on average $150 to $200K when they get out of school, and even though you might have $125K in student debt, it's much easier to pay when you are raking in that kind of income.
My friend was able to pay it off in 4 years...she just contined to live in the same apartment, drove the same car...so her living expenses were very reasonable. Then, after she paid off all her debt, she rewarded herself with lifestyle "upgrades".
Just make sure that you have the commitment to finish.
No one is trying to deter you from med school. If you want to go to med school, then go.I'm sorry that some of the comments seem so harsh but as nurses, we've fought for our place in the healthcare community.
But I found some of the things you said quite offensive. One particular quote comes to mind "I don't want to be helpless in my career because my job title doesn't allow me to do certian things." I find that being an RN in an ICU, I have lots of autonomy. I enjoy being a nurse because I like be at the bedside with my patient, seeing them progress from certain death to being sent to a subacute rehab facility.
This has nothing to do with nurses eating their young. That's a totally different situation and I feel it doesn't apply to this thread. This is an open forum and we are allowed to express our viewpoints.
So why are you so offended at someone who asked a VALID question?
The OP never bashed nursing.
I have never wanted to me a medical doctor either. Not once did it cross my mind.
However, if people wanted to get into the "medical food chain" debate, the fact remains that nurses are not at the top of it, and without physicians bringing patients into the hospital, the hospital wouldn't have any money to pay the nurses.
That in NO WAY diminishes an ounce of respect, dignity, and the necessary role that nurses play in a patient's care.
As professionals, everyone should be supporting anyone else's aspirations to choose whatever medical pathway they want to, whether they want to complete a 6-week CNA course, get their NP, DNP, teach nursing school, or be a physican.
I for one SUPPORT IT ALL!!!!!!
I just feel when someone comes in and asks a RESPECTFUL and honest question...everyone needs to check their ego at the door and answer it in the same spirit in which it was asked.
So why are you so offended at someone who asked a VALID question?
The OP never bashed nursing.
I have never wanted to me a medical doctor either. Not once did it cross my mind.
However, if people wanted to get into the "medical food chain" debate, the fact remains that nurses are not at the top of it, and without physicians bringing patients into the hospital, the hospital wouldn't have any money to pay the nurses.
That in NO WAY diminishes an ounce of respect, dignity, and the necessary role that nurses play in a patient's care.
As professionals, everyone should be supporting anyone else's aspirations to choose whatever medical pathway they want to, whether they want to complete a 6-week CNA course, get their NP, DNP, teach nursing school, or be a physican.
I for one SUPPORT IT ALL!!!!!!
I just feel when someone comes in and asks a RESPECTFUL and honest question...everyone needs to check their ego at the door and answer it in the same spirit in which it was asked.
My ego is checked. Thanks. Did I not say, if you want to go to medical school, go for it? I'm not stopping anyone from what they want. Nursing and medicine are two totally different fields. If I'm on anyone's food chain, it's nursing's. And that whole if the docs didn't bring their patient's to the hospitals thing, nurses wouldn't be paid, is a bunch of crap. I worked at one of those hospitals, the nurses were treated poorly. Oh and we were made to go to yearly mandatory meetings about how to make the docs happy so they bring their patients to the hospital. It was such crap. The hospital I work at now, we are all the same level with each other. The docs are held accountable for what they do. Not like at the last hospital I worked at, where docs never collaborated with each other about a patient's care and treatment and many things fell through the cracks. Some of the things she said I found to be disrespectful.
Maybe my reaction was a bit knee-jerk, but I was not the only one who was insulted. I stand by my word and am not apologizing for what I said.
and without physicians bringing patients into the hospital, the hospital wouldn't have any money to pay the nurses.
Really? I always thought that it was illness that brought the patients to the hospital so that doctors AND nurses could keep collecting their paychecks?
Really? I always thought that it was illness that brought the patients to the hospital so that doctors AND nurses could keep collecting their paychecks?
llg, I was wondering if you would mind sharing how old you were when you started your PhD program? I'll be around 36 when I get my BSN and probably around 39 when/if I get my MSN. I'd love to go on and get either PhD of DPN but I don't know if 40 is too old to start.
I graduated with my BSN at 22.
Started MSN at 24, graduated when I was 26.
Started PhD at 36, graduated when I was 41.
40 won't be too late to start ... but you do have to consider that you will have less time after graduation to recover financially from the big expense. A PhD in nursing is not the "route to riches." It's usually a committment to a lifestyle you make because that's simply who you are.
I have no regrets ... but I would probably have more money for retirement had I simply stayed at the MSN level. I wouldn't have been happy in life without my PhD.
What bothers me is that the OP will be taking a spot in NS that someone else could have. Someone who actually wants to be a NURSE! It is very competitive to get into any program why take that highly valuable spot?
If the OP wants to ultimately be an MD- go pre-med, don't waste your time or the seat in the nursing program. Give it to one of us that have been working for years to get into nursing school. Thanks!
in aug i will be starting the nursing program at my local college and will be graduating in 2012 ( long time) with my rn. recently i have started to consider entering med school in 2014 at the ripe old age of 30. i was wondering if anyone has considered this and what your reasons may have been for not doing it, other than financial. or is anyone doing something similar and could share their experience.
also since most of you work in a hospital setting, what can you tell me about the doctors you work with? most of my experiences with doctors have not been good. that’s one of my reasons for wanting to go all the way. i think if more nurses became doctors we might have happier hospitals.
thanks for any help you might have.
jennifer
question first? are you starting your pre-reqs for nursing school this fall. why would it take you 4 years to get through nursing school? are you going part-time?
i don't see what the big deal is with people getting offended, i think some people are overreacting. i'm not a nurse yet, but i intend on going to nursing school and the possibly applying to medical school. i know the two are totally different. i've always wanted to be a nurse but i truly feel that nurses should get paid more for the work that they do!!! i do not think it is fair. i am planning on going through nursing school first so i can get a feel of the healthcare field and see if i want to expand my scope of learning and also income. and technically you can apply to med school with any degree, as long a you have the correct sciences under your belt. as for me i have made sure that i the sciences i take for nursing school are for science majors, and many of the science classes that i have taking for nursing school a&p, micro, and chemistry all fit into the classes i need for med school. granted i need o-chem, physics and bio-chem, but that is it. and if decide not to go at least i will have my bsn to fall back on.
i want to be an ob/gyn, originally i wanted to be a cnm but the median salary for a cnm in dallas 87,000, compared to an ob/gyn in dallas, tx who makes on average 240,000! cnms should make alot more for doing about the same amount of work, maybe even more. so i figure i might as go all the way to get my md...maybe. if i decide not to crna would be all the way for me.
but as of right now my dream is to be a nurse i respect nurses and i feel it will make me a better doctor. as bad i feel that nurses should be able to call the shots on everything, they can't. i also know of nurses personally and on tv that have crossed over from the nursing practice who got tired of doing physican work for nursing money.
this is not to offend any nurses on here! i want to be a nurse myself! but i also feel as if some people on here are talking down on doctors just because of the amount of time and energy they put into their education (not to say that nurses don't) but some posters seem to come across a negative toward the medical profession. i don't think that is fair considering we don't like nurses being talked down upon. i do not agree with the way some mds interact with patients but i feel that being a nurse first would make that easier for a doctor to do.
If your ultimate goal is medical school, you need to get a degree in something you are sure you will get A's in. The general medical school will prefer a student with a 4.0 in English over a student with a 3.5 in physics.
nickola
250 Posts
I say go for it. I have worked w/several doctors who were nurses first. One was an ICU RN & became an anesthesiologist- she was well into her 40's by the time she graduated & it didn't really make her any nicer to nurses- in fact, quite the opposite. (altho she's an awesome anesthesiologist!) I think it has more to do w/underlying personality type, and not being a nurse first. If you are empathetic/kind/sincere, then you will be that way whether you're an RN or an MD. I also know plenty of docs that are really great to work with who were never nurses- in fact, that is my overall experience w/doctors in general- the jerks have been in the minority. I say start now though, why do nursing first? We need more women doctors! Good luck.