Has anyone considered going all the way?

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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

Wow... I'm new to the forum, and honestly, after reading this thread, I can see how others who are newer to nursing would be reluctant to ask honest, valid questions w/o being flamed. The OP mentioned that she did not mean to offend - and maybe she didn't word things the exact way that you'd like to see them and maybe she has different aspirations or ideas about the medical field, but there were some nasty responses to her post! These are coming from the "nursing" community, where folks are supposed to be helpful, compassionate and nurturing? It sounds to me that some of you are a bit too defensive about your profession.

Specializes in ER, ICU cath lab, remote med.
these are coming from the "nursing" community, where folks are supposed to be helpful, compassionate and nurturing? it sounds to me that some of you are a bit too defensive about your profession.

hmmmm...for all the blood, sweat, and tears i don't think there's even a remote possibility that i could be "too defensive" about my profession. i for one, want a nurse who is passionate about the profession to take care of me if i'm ever in the hospital. i think that all anyone here has done is show their disdain, in general, for people who think that nurses are somehow "less" than physicians. it's the idea that we might sit around wishing we had "gone all the way" when in fact, the field we are in can be quite fulfilling and challenging.

i believe jennifer meant no harm. i believe she just wondered if anyone had made a career change from nursing into medicine. maybe if she'd just worded it differently, she wouldn't be catching so much flak.

oh, and on a side note, anyone who thinks this forum or this thread is too mean or too difficult hasn't spent a day juggling the needs of self, patient, family, pt's family, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, dietician, charge nurse, manager, and administrators. this job is hard...getting a "talking to" on a web forum is not.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
llg,

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm looking ahead to next year, when I finish my MSN in Nursing Education, and am considering a EdD (Higher Education), DNP (Nursing Education) or PhD (Higher Ed.). Since my goals are to teach nursing/sciences, which would you suggest? Is your PhD in Nursing or Education? Any comments are appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

UnitRN01

I would definitely NOT recommend an EdD or any other doctoral degree outside of nursing. The bar is being raised within the nursing profession and upper-level faculty positions are increasingly requiring that your doctoral degree be in nursing. I believe that either a DNP or a PhD in Nursing will be your best bet.

Mine is a PhD(Nursing).

Good luck to you! I loved my PhD program and really enjoyed it.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
I considered it but for one thing, I'm not very smart so I decided to become a nurse. That wayI could still work in the hospital even though I wasn't doing the important stuff like doctors do. Also, like you, I was way too old-. I was 27 when I graduated with my BSN. Gosh, if I went to med school then I would have been almost 40 by the time I finished my residency- that's almost dead isn't it? Sounds like you have made the right decision in becoming just a nurse- leave all that doctor stuff to the smarter people. :rolleyes:

You got me! For a moment, I thought you were serious. I think my heart skipped a beat.

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:

I don't think the OP meant any harm in what was said-- just obvious naivete. The OP, like most of the unwashed masses, probably think that a physician is "all the way" under any circumstance. But the vast majority of nurses I know have had no desire to ever become physicians. With all the extra years, loans, lowering reimbursements, and overall nightmarish headaches /hours/ paperwork /lawsuits...its not the profession it once was -- they're not so much the gods in the healthcare system they once were.

yes, and sadly, nurses aren't the respected professionals they used to be- probably due to the litigious society in which we live, and the fact that the general public has more resources available to edify themselves re: healthcare.

Wow... I'm new to the forum, and honestly, after reading this thread, I can see how others who are newer to nursing would be reluctant to ask honest, valid questions w/o being flamed. The OP mentioned that she did not mean to offend - and maybe she didn't word things the exact way that you'd like to see them and maybe she has different aspirations or ideas about the medical field, but there were some nasty responses to her post! These are coming from the "nursing" community, where folks are supposed to be helpful, compassionate and nurturing? It sounds to me that some of you are a bit too defensive about your profession.

It helps to remember that we cannot control anything another person thinks, says or does- however, we CAN control how we choose to respond! :twocents:

You are still young. I changed my career at the age of 36 and have decided to get my CNA.. I will graduate in 2011.. Hmmm for me there has been a lot to think about. The money is not the only reason, I considered that I want to spend time with my family, have more flexibility in my hours (without sacrificing my wage) and I have had knee trouble. So running the floors of the hospital for a full shift.. PLus at my age this is as close to becoming a doctor and still have time for my family

You are still young. I changed my career at the age of 36 and have decided to get my CNA.. I will graduate in 2011.. Hmmm for me there has been a lot to think about. The money is not the only reason, I considered that I want to spend time with my family, have more flexibility in my hours (without sacrificing my wage) and I have had knee trouble. So running the floors of the hospital for a full shift.. PLus at my age this is as close to becoming a doctor and still have time for my family

Three years for a CNA program? Or am I misunderstanding the post?

Wow... I'm new to the forum, and honestly, after reading this thread, I can see how others who are newer to nursing would be reluctant to ask honest, valid questions w/o being flamed. The OP mentioned that she did not mean to offend - and maybe she didn't word things the exact way that you'd like to see them and maybe she has different aspirations or ideas about the medical field, but there were some nasty responses to her post! These are coming from the "nursing" community, where folks are supposed to be helpful, compassionate and nurturing? It sounds to me that some of you are a bit too defensive about your profession.

Its not the question that offends, its the suggestion that nurses are somehow "less" than physicians. Every day, we deal with patients who still hold the belief that nurses are the doctor's handmaidens. In the hospital, we are not employed by the doctors and as a whole they have no direct bearing on whether we continue our employment with a specific facility. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard frustrated patients/family members say something to the effect of "I already spoke to the doctor and if that nurse doesn't _____, he said he will fire her..." What? Unless you are employed in private practice, an MD alone cannot fire a nurse, plain and simple! So, with the way the OP posed her question it is being interpreted as if she was saying "Has anyone considered going 'all the way' to become the big boss?" I know (as I think most other posters do as well) that this is not what she was asking. But the term "all the way" seems to perpetuate the ridiculous stigma of a nurse being subservient to the MD and this is frustrating. We already have to deal with this in the hospital and in the public, so to have to deal with it here (among our comrades) is, again, FRUSTRATING!

i'd say if you had the chance to be either a nurse or a physician.. than definitely be a physician. they're the final authority of a patient's plan of care and the are the ones that guide their care. nurses just carry out those orders. i guess it also depends if you want to be the one giving orders, or the one taking them? not to mention the the pay is a lot better...:)

Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
they're the final authority of a patient's plan of care and the are the ones that guide their care. nurses just carry out those orders. i guess it also depends if you want to be the one giving orders, or the one taking them?

Nope. Wrong. NPs write their own orders, in mosts cases autonomous from any physican involvement or oversight. Nurses play a great role in coordinating and guiding patient care. I never view myself as simply "carrying out orders." Physicans make mistakes too... the RN has a great role in suggesting and carrying out modes of therapy, as well as protecting their patient from harm.

Those who view nursing simply as "carrying out orders" should rethink their career choice, IMHO.

i'd say if you had the chance to be either a nurse or a physician.. than definitely be a physician. they're the final authority of a patient's plan of care and the are the ones that guide their care. nurses just carry out those orders. i guess it also depends if you want to be the one giving orders, or the one taking them? not to mention the the pay is a lot better...:)

Whoa! Please tell me you are being sarcastic?!?!?!

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