MD to NP

abixxy, MSN, RN · Aug 22, 2016

Oh this could be a viable option in the future, though I do not think with the creation of the affordable care act that many NPs will go this route. With many states now adopting new laws for nurse practitioners, such as full prescriptive authority and the ability for a nurse practitioner to open their own practice, I think that newly created autonomy will be enough so we will not need to bridge.

cleback · Aug 22, 2016

I don't see this happening due to the differences between the medical and nursing models. Nurses do not get the same rigorous science background, which would also be a batrier to such a program.

elkpark · Aug 22, 2016

Quite a few physicians from other countries come to the US and pursue education and licensure as NPs because they can't get licensed as an MD in the US (or don't want to go through the time and hassle necessary -- TPTB in medicine make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for foreign MDs to get licensed in the US, regardless of how long and successfully they may have been practicing elsewhere. I wish that the larger nursing community did as good a job of protecting the interests of US nurses as the medical community does of protecting their own ...)

There are some US NP programs specifically set up to accommodate these individuals. There have been threads here about that in the past.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 22, 2016

Moved to the Nurse Practitioners forum for more replies.

allnurses Guide · Aug 22, 2016

Nurses do not get the same rigorous science background, which would also be a batrier to such a program.

That isn't always true; many NP programs require similar science pre-requisites including organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, biostatistics, genetics, etc.

Goldenfox · Aug 22, 2016

I was looking on a PA website and they were discussing PA to MD bridges and if NPs could go this route. One PA commented on his/her view of NPs was that they have been giving physicians the finger for years so the AMA would never allow a NP to MD pathway.
However, NPs we might make a MD to NP bridge someday!!!!
I couldnt stop laughing

It would probably be easier for PAs to make such a transition than NPs because most PA schools are graduate level programs that have a very similar (if not, the same) prerequisite core that the US medical schools do. However, I still wouldn't call this a 'bridge' because all of that math and science coursework still has to have had been earned with very impressive grades, and they are age-limited: after a certain number of years the universities will not accept them in transfer and you have to do them over. And, better than good scores on the MCAT remains a big challenge for many. And even if a PA overcomes these hurdles, he/she would still be starting from scratch in med school because US medical schools don't usually grant exemptions or credits for coursework earned in other programs. This adds up to a LOT of time being spent in school and a tremendous amount of $$$ in student loan debt. Given the astronomical cost of college in 2016, and declining physician salaries all across the board, for many, medical school simply isn't a realistic or sensible thing to do anymore.

No reason to laugh at NPs who may want to become physicians. Many have actually done so. There are NPs out there who do have the pre-med academic credentials but have not gone to medical school (yet?) for whatever reason.

We've had threads on this discussion before, and they seem to have been premised on the assumption that every nurse practitioner wants to be a physician. I don't believe that this is true.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Aug 22, 2016

Allopathic medical schools (MD degree granting) all require the full course sequence for any student regardless of background (even PA's). The only accelerated PA to physician pathway I know of is LECOM which is an osteopathic medical program, hence not under the jurisdiction of the AMA. That's not to say there aren't PA's and NP's that have gone to medical school (the same way as did an any medical student from other backgrounds). My NP preceptor from when I was an ACNP student went to medical school and is now a Nephrologist. During my ACNP ICU clinical rotation, I was with an Anesthesiology resident who practiced as an Emergency Medicine PA prior to going back to train in an allopathic medical school.

AAC.271 · Aug 22, 2016

I hear many of the carribean school medical graduates who do not get residency consider np or pa.

If if you become licensed as an np in an independent practice state and you have an md from a carribean med school can you practice/advertise and bill as a physician? Or you must bill as an np? Can you legally say you are a physician and have md after your name? Or are you required to say you are licensed as an np?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Aug 23, 2016

If if you become licensed as an np in an independent practice state and you have an md from a carribean med school can you practice/advertise and bill as a physician? Or you must bill as an np? Can you legally say you are a physician and have md after your name? Or are you required to say you are licensed as an np?

You can't practice as an MD without a license granted by a state of jurisdiction to practice as one.

Consequently, you can't advertise as a physician by adding MD to your name if you do not possess the license as an MD.

Billing requires verification of your credentials by an insurance company, so again, you won't be approved for reimbursement as an MD without a license.

There are instances when you can possibly use the MD credential next to your name as a degree that you received such as when you are performing a non-clinical role (i.e., research).

See this response to a FAQ re: IMG's by AMA: IMGs in Medicine and other FAQs

AAC.271 · Aug 23, 2016

You can't practice as an MD without a license granted by a state of jurisdiction to practice as one.
Consequently, you can't advertise as a physician by adding MD to your name if you do not possess the license as an MD.
Billing requires verification of your credentials by an insurance company, so again, you won't be approved for reimbursement as an MD without a license.
There are instances when you can possibly use the MD credential next to your name as a degree that you received such as when you are performing a non-clinical role (i.e., research).
See this response to a FAQ re: IMG's by AMA: IMGs in Medicine and other FAQs

If you are an MSN NP with an MD, can you be called a doctor by patients though because you earned your doctoral MD degree even though you are practicing as an MSN NP? I'm really curious because one of my close friends is attending a carribean medical school and isn't doing too well and it is very difficult to get into a residency from the carribean. He always dreams of being a doctor so I recommend to him the NP route post MD if he can't get into a residency or else he is stuck with $200,000k debt and no job. Very curious how something like this works.

PMFB-RN, RN · Aug 23, 2016

However, NPs we might make a MD to NP bridge someday!!!!
I couldnt stop laughing

There are already MD to RN programs.