Medical law

[synaptic]

I have been thinking after completing my Pych NP degree to go back and get a law degree for medical law. I was wondering if anybody has any experience in this or if anybody knows anybody who has gone this route and noted any success from it. A few people have spoken to me about this type of career and it seems very interested and as if it may have some good possibilities for great advancement. They say the law market is tough in many areas, just as the NP market can be tough, but I believe that going to a reputable school would alleviate any of these problems, and also having a degree and significant experience in the medical field would also probably help. I would probably lay my focus on a defense attorney positions since I do not have any urge to go after people for malpractice. Not too worried about student loans since I got my degrees from pretty cheap schools and didn't have to shovel out the ridiculous amount that it seems many people pay for some of these online programs that are from for profit universities.

Any info would be great

Best regards

[Annaiya, NP]

I agree with your decision to not go to law school. I was a lawyer before going to nursing school and I have nothing good to say about the profession. There are some great attorneys out there, but there are very few who are happy with their careers. I get asked all of the time if I will use my nursing and go back to law and I have never wanted to. Very few jobs pay as well as the general public thinks, and the hours worked by the attorneys who make a lot make it not worth it. Not to mention the work is pretty routine and boring. It's interesting to begin with, but the whole point is to become an expert in 1 area and then apply that knowledge over and over again. New cases and new laws come out, but there is very little intellectual challenge after the first couple of years. Whereas in nursing there is so much more variety and challenge with the work. Plus we actually help people as nurses and NPs:)

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

There is a higher rate of alcoholism among attorneys than the general population. A lot of unhappy campers out there.

[Katya000]

I think law would be great to study, and I'd probably want to work malpractice for anything that seemed like it needed an advocate but meh, I've known about the glut of law graduates, poor paying jobs and miserable hours for at least a decade which is why it doesn't appeal to me. Being an NP may not be the best possible job in the world, but I'd still rather do this than be a MD because of the loan debt. And there really is a lot of flexibility in types of jobs for NPs and I'm currently looking for a new job and haven't had an issue with finding something despite the over-saturation of NPs in the market. Harder for new grads, but I have over a year experience now so it's been much easier. Plus I like to work in rural areas so that helps. Suffice it to say, I'd skip law school and pick up some books, check youtube for "classes" (youtube has everything!) and live vicariously :)