Is it possible for a doctor to be as personal with patients as nurses are?

[redeemed77]

I am 17. My heart is for the medical field, that I know for sure. A career in Nursing is appealing because of the one-on-one contact with the patients, the compassion required, and the idea that I am not simply writing a prescription and sending them out of the room. However, I also want to be highly qualified and able to provide the best care possible to my patients, and pursuing higher and higher education is not an issue! (Though financially it may be haha)

As a doctor, would I still have impact on patients? What medical careers would allow me to make an impact on my patient's lives other than simply signing a slip of paper and seeing them a couple of times a year? I want to help those people who NEED medical aid, beyond a sore hip or a slight cough. Should nursing remain my career path?

[BonewaxRN]

There is this one doctor where I work who is absolutely the most caring physician I've ever met. From previous jobs, I had developed a bad impression of doctors from the Middle East, and expected him to be no different. I was so very wrong! His attitude towards the nurses is one of colleague to colleague, and when we had a wildly combative patient, he was right there to help us. Not only did he contribute his physical strength, he actually did his best to soothe the patient and talk him down. I wish I could name him here. As a doctor he is thorough and competent. He interacts personally with all his patients. If you could be that kind of doctor, I would tell you to go for it! Just be prepared to give up a lot of your youth to school and working to pay off your schooling debts. I'm biased in favor of nursing, because it is what I do and what I love. It is possible to be a proud nurse without being secondary to a physician. It is possible to be a physician who values the work nurses do. Go with what your heart desires. We need both doctors and nurses. Just be the best one you can be.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

nurses who earn doctoral degrees in nursing are also called "doctor." if you are talking about someone who went to medical school, you use the word "physician," or "md/do/dc."

now we've gotten that out of the way:d, there's no reason why you can't use your compassion in any role you choose, be it nursing, medicine, daycare teaching, coaching football, architecture, or anywhere else. if you want to be in health care, you need to do a little more research in what the different roles do, their (what we call in the ed biz) conceptual framework (what makes them tick, motivates them, provides their philosophical bases for practice). as an example, there's a difference between the philosophical basis for the nursing process and the philosophical basis for the medical model of care. these have nothing to do with seniority, knowledge base, tasks, or power, but the basic outlook on what your lifetime profession is and feels and does with people-- which is what i see you asking about.

when you talk to them (physicians and nurses in different settings, therapists of different stripes, and others), ask them why they do what they do, and why they don't do what they don't do. something will resonate with you, and you'll know.

fortunately, being 17, you've got time to figure it out.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

The best doctor I work with was once and a nurse and a medic. She literally worked her way up from the trenches. She has no issue with going in and dropping an NG, inserting a foley, or going in to calm a pt that is losing their marbles.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

Of course it's possible.

[RNVP25, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I love this thread. I thought the same before I entered Nursing. Since medical school was not a financial option for me, I opted for Nursing. Especially since I knew there were many opportunities for career advancement and changes. Though I graduate in december with my ADN, I will continue to my NP degree. This provides me with the ability to have more one on one interaction with patients that I crave. Being on the Med Surg floor for clinicals in brooklyn New york hospital, I am sad to say, nurses work hard and have no time. Many get caught up at the computer screen, where they can extend there time at the bedside. And residents and MD's are not bringing that compassion, because they are discussing whats for lunch with their peers at the nurses' station.

I will say in the two years of clinicals at various brooklyn hospitals, I have met a handful of Fantastic, truly Compassionate and excellent purveyors of bedside care from both MD's and Nurses. And of course I remember them, when I give care to my patients. They will be role models that I hope to have the same lasting impression on my patients as they did on me.

They first off, stopped and looked at my eyes or the patient eyes when discussing treatment or asking how a patient is feeling. They held hands, they smiled. Its those small details that makes other humans feel cared for.

[danh3190]

If I was doing it all over again, I'd just go to med school!

Me too!

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

My oncologist is great- remembers things about me personally- never just the lab work and meds. He's very caring, and excellent with teaching about the diagnosis, chemo, and follow up/longer term recovery info. He will print off med-educ sheets for me himself when he starts a new med. He's shown me photos of his two little kids, and is just plain nice- and GOOD. He's doing some very specific cell-targeted chemo, and has explained a lot to me about it (even the onc nurses hadn't given orificenic before- so they did their own internet searches before my first week of that).

When I had some infections (r/t the overall lab work I had, and then the pancytopenia getting worse with the induction). He always had time to answer questions. And come over from the office after regular hours to see what was going on. (Like MANY cancer patients, things can be a roller coaster).

I can't say enough good about this doc.

I've also worked with docs who are very open and friendly with patients. :)

Yes- doctors can be personal and personable. :)

[honeykrown, MSN, NP]

I have recently started working with a new doctor who is great. She spends time inthe morning finding out their problems and visits them several times during the day/ And even though our orders come in through the computer, she still finds time out to find the nurse and explain the rationale behind it. She also takes time to ask my objective findings adn compares it to hers. Everyone just says is it the new doc and im like yeah shes new and she does things are way which i love

[hopefulwhoop]

I disagree. You are dealing with people who are in pain, who are vulnerable, who are hurting, who are scared, who are maybe grieving, etc... Compassion doesn't have to be your motivator for the job/career but you have to be able to be compassionate while at your job. To me that is a skill requirement of a nursing career. Different people express compassion differently and that is fine but if you want to do your job well, you need to have compassion. Nursing is more than completing a list of tasks.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on that. I do my job very well and I definitely don't see it as a requirement.

[seizetheday]

We'll just have to agree to disagree on that. I do my job very well and I definitely don't see it as a requirement.

Yes I guess we do. Compassion is empathy or sympathy for the suffering of others. To say you don't have that does make me wonder how you do your job well if you have patient contact. People are not just physical beings. You have to be able to support their emotional / mental health as well if you are truly doing a good job and that includes compassion. What about a parent who has just lost a child or someone who has been severely disfigured in a car accident, or someone who has just received a terminal diagnosis. You really don't feel any compassion? Do you ignore their emotional pain and focus solely on their physical / medical procedural care? I guess I don't get how you can do this job well without compassion.