Medical school

I think about Med school all the time. I have taken a different path in becoming a nurse and I hope you all don't hate me instantly when I say I originally went into nursing just to prove to myself that I could do it. All of my patients seem to really appreciate what I do for them and I do love making them feel better in any way that I can. However, I see how the Doctors are treated and the respect that is given them (even if they are not the greatest), and somewhere deep inside I want that.

I just graduated on 12/13 and will probably not take boards until the end of Feb. or the beginning of March. I currently have a bachelors degree in business and education and can jump into a nurse practitioner masters progam, but you still don't get the respect of a doctor.

Med-school certainly isn't out of the question just yet!

What an interesting question you posed! As a Nurse Practitioner, I have often been asked the same question "Did you ever think about becomming a doctor?" I would be telling a lie if I said no. I think every young man thinks about being a Doctor an Astronaut and a cowboy at least a few times in their life!!!

Insofar as the respect thing... I have it, and pleanty of it, because I GIVE it. I value all nursing staff I work with, Nursing Assistants, LPN's, RN's [including diploma, ADN and BSN from another 'volatile' posting]... it doesn't matter, we all respect each other. The staff that I have the pleasure of working with know that they can ask me anything at anytime, and not just about patient's, but if they have their own health concerns as well.

My patient's give me respect because I listen to their concerns and I invite them to be part of the treatment plan [as any good nurse should]. As far as the doctor's go, I have met one or two insecure ones who have 'looked down their nose' at me, but it doesn't bother me, I just hope that one day they find a positive source of self-esteem. For the most part, my supervising and collaborating physicians are very good to me, they keep an eye on my professional development, NEVER miss an opportunity to teach me something, and are very supportive. Postive aspects of being 'just an N.P.', include not having to do many of the unpleasant tasks that the physician's have to do [evening/night/weekend/holiday coverage], etc.

Another N.P. friend of mine has already gone back to medical school. She loves it and thinks she was crazy for ever having become an N.P. in the first place. Personally, I guess I have the same option, but my interests lie along a different path.

The moral of my story is this: We all need each other. C.N.A.'s, L.P.N.'s, R.N.'s [whatever your degree status], N.P.'s, C.N.S.'s, and of course, M.D.'s/D.O.'s. We each bring something unique to the care of the patient, and it's knowing this that prevents me from EVER having any regrets about becomming a nurse.

Hope this answers your question.

Thanks for the responses guys. I totally agree Tim-GNP, that we are all integral parts of the healthcare team. I am really looking forward to entering the profession

Shannon

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"The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it."-Johan Ruskin

Doctors and nurses do different jobs. I have no desire to be a doctor. I have never felt that I was not respected by the most important people to me - my patients (as Tim says) because I respect them. It would be unusual for most MDs to attain the rapport I have had the privilege of attaining with many of my patients. I wouldn't mind having the money. But I wouldn't want the job. I do very much admire some of the accomplishments of physicians, however, and I enjoy working with most of them.

I must admit that when I first decided to return to school (I knew I wanted to go further in the medical field), I was seriously considering medical school. Deciding to go back to school at 36, would of course mean that I would be 44 before I get into any internship, and 47-48 after I finish with a residency. The reason I've decided to go through nursing isn't just because I can become a nurse in a quarter of the time, but because I feel that I can help the whole patient, not just the illness which is what many of the doctors focus on. Many times, especially in hospital settings, doctors maybe check on their patient a couple of times a day, maybe for only 10 minutes. I believe that a nurse has the power to help the whole patient.

Another important thing is that there are so many options for nurses, including furthering your formal education while working.

Can you imagine having gone through three or four years of residency, finding that you are not happy with your selection and having to start all over again?

Sorry, for the long message...

I started nursing school in lieu of the pre-med program when I was 18 because I didn't want to commit that many years of school to a field I knew nothing about. One thing I learned in nursing school was that I did NOT want to go to med school!

I'll be quite honest with you all, after reading and opening my eyes to the nursing profession, I'm really considering changing my focus to going to med school versus nursing school. I give all of you working nurses a lot of credit, but to be honest I'm getting so disgusted with what I am reading. Between the backstabbing of fellow nurses to the injust treatment of nurses by administration and hospitals, the appeal of nursing has definitely vanishing. It used to be that nurses can actually nurse and be there for their patients, now there is such a shortage that the nurses working are being worked to death and I think their main hope is to finish their shift without any major problems.

With medicine, although there is also a lot of stress and things required, a doctor can choose to take the extra time to spend with their patients. Whether or not doctors do this is their own choice, not in the cases of nurses who must do what is being dictated to them by the "powers that be" or they are out on their a#*#$s.

I do know that if I do become a doctor, I will not be blinded to the nurses plight and will do what I can do. The only way that nurses are going to be able to be seen for the important profession they are is if they starting working together and outsiders (other medical professionals and the public) support them.

I am one of the many that will be leaving nursing. I have been accepted into medical school - I am choosing to go to DO school over MD school. I have been an ER/Trauma RN for 5 years now. I love what I do, don't get me wrong (why else would I want to become an ER Doc?). The issues that have driven me out of nursing include all that have been listed in theses Forums, and then some. I'm tired of the disrespect, harassment, and physical abuse against Nursing by patients and Administration alike. All the rules that we "lived with" in my institution have been thrown out the window on a whim - the wind blows and the rules change. Scary Example: it is now OK to have brandy-new RNs in my ER/Trauma Center for 8 hours by themselves - no senior nurse, no ACLS/PALS/CEN/etc certifications...

Would I have gone to medical school first, instead of Nursing (BTW nursing was a post-bacc career change itself)? A resounding "NO" despite all the punches nursing has taken. Nursing has afforded me many invaluable experiences and given me the confidence to approach this next stage of my life without fear.

My hat's off to you, my Brothers and Sisters, who choose to remain in one of the more difficult careers....

Kat

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The grass isn't greener on the other side -- it's just different grass

A Dr. friend of mine suggested I go to medical school. He thought I would make a "good doctor". He even said he would help me if I decided to go. I thought about it for a week. Then I thanked and said "No." I told him "You are one of the few MD's I like and respect. Most of you B@#$%&*s are more concerned with your annal income than your patients. I don't want to become something I hate." I still feel that way.

Cmggriff, although I agree with you that there are some doctors that are real b#$%tards, there are also many fine doctors. Just the same as you will find with every profession, good and bad. Reading these many topics has been very eye-opening to me. Of course my respect for many of you working nurses is immense and I will always keep that in mind if I decide to continue along with medical school and medicine, I will always try to be an advocator for nurses, but for me, I don't think I want to be a nurse anymore.

I can take the hard school work, the long hours and even the stresses of working with the ill, but I'm not going to waste time in situations where I will be at such a risk to lose everything I worked for with the whims of administration.

Good luck to you all! This will be my last post as Iwant2banurse.

This is really sad; iwant2banurse no longer wants to enter nursing. Nursing has been one of the best decisions in my life, and I would never have wanted or cared to be a doctor or anything else. Nurses are an odd lot; if for no other reason than the fact that there are so many different types of us. LPNs, RNs (diploma, AD, BAN, BSN) advanced practice, administration, education- whatever your heart desires, there is a level of nursing and an area (ED, med-surg, ICU/CCU, OR, PACU, LTC, home health, school nursing, etc.) that you can find to be deliriously happy in. I have always felt that there is an area in nursing that fits each nurse, and if someone is not happy where they are currently working, find another area that does make you want to go to work each day. We can be in all type of unions or not, work in hospitals or out on our own, earn money or volunteer doing this job, and still be considered NURSES. We do bicker and vent a lot here; just as there are so many areas and types of nurses, we have so many different personality types that each tends to think that they are right. This is probably the most diverse group of people holding the same basic title (NURSE) that there could ever be. I'm still glad that it is my chosen profession, and I would never quit. I know many retired RNs who are still involved with nursing as volunteers (right off the top of my head I can count 15). I figure that if I should live long enough to retire, I shall be volunteering as a retired nurse also. You can't say that about many doctors, can you? Nursing gives us so many options; it is up to us what we do with nursing that makes a difference in our profession.

[This message has been edited by Jenny P (edited January 14, 2001).]