If you had to do it again... would you become!?

I wanted to be an NP b/c I found out I really like medicine & too old to handle 10 more yrs of school. If I was younger, I'd be in medical school.

I ditto what MiddleAgeNP said. But at 42--soooo not going back to med school..... :)

EM physician... or invest in google if we are talking hypotheticals.

Honestly I just got sick of fighting with residents and interns all the time. If I had to do it again, I would have become an intensivist.

IF i was in it for the money and didn't care about job satisfaction : CRNA ...but I love being a CRNP I love the one on one with patients....although it peeves me we dont get paid as much as PA's or CRNA's but oh well...my job satisfaction trumps that..

IF i was in it for the money and didn't care about job satisfaction : CRNA ...but I love being a CRNP I love the one on one with patients....although it peeves me we dont get paid as much as PA's or CRNA's but oh well...my job satisfaction trumps that..

According to national surveys, you are paid as much or more than PAs.

Average Physician Assistant Salary. Physician Assistant Job, Career Education & Unemployment Help

http://nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Downloads/2010/010410/NP010110_SalarySurvey.pdf

CRNAs get their pay for 2 reasons 1) low overhead 2) high liability. I do not argue that an NP job is equally as hard as CRNA, but you are not holding the life a patient in your hands with every patient, basically becoming their autonomic nervous system for them while a butcher gets his cut on.

Also, CRNAs get plenty of patient interaction when they preop the patient, optimize their medical condition for surgery, and finally meeting with them postop to deal with pain issues.

this was a personal opinion

this was a personal opinion

You stating that PAs make more isn't an opinion, it's fiction. As far as my point on CRNAs, I was just offering my opinion on why you should not be "peeved" about the compensation of others.

You stating that PAs make more isn't an opinion, it's fiction. As far as my point on CRNAs, I was just offering my opinion on why you should not be "peeved" about the compensation of others.

Maybe in his area PAs get more than NPs. That is the case in my area. And what I got out of Johnson's post is that although he wouldn't mind the CRNA pay, the job wouldn't ultimately fulfill him, while he is satisfied with his career as an NP.