Need Help

[journeylarra]

I'm 17 years old and im in Job Corps for the CNA program and will be going to advanced training to get my LPN. I've always wanted to be a neonatal nurse but with recent research I decided to be a NNP. But now with more research I've decided I either want to be a neonatologist or a Neonatal Surgeon. But I don't know how to go about that. Should I go to be a Neonatal nurse first? Will that change how much college I have to take before med school?

Willing to go wherever I have to get school done

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

If you want to be a neonatologist or neonatal surgeon skip nursing school and do pre-med in preparation for medical school. NNP will not help you prepare for medical school as nursing is one career medicine is different though both are in the healthcare industry.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

JustBeachy's right. If you want to be a physician, don't take a seat in a nursing program away from someone who wants to be a nurse. Although nurses who then go on to become physicians are usually excellent physicians, the path you've described - CNA>LPN>BScN>NNP>MD would take you hmmmm... about 18 years. Even going the pre-med route will take quite a long time - 3 years for pre-med, 4 years for med school, 5 years for a peds residency and then 2 or 3 years for a neonatal fellowship to become a neonatologist. There isn't a specific specialty of neonatal surgery, you would need a pediatric surgical fellowship that will take a variable period of time depending on whether you want general surgery or specialist surgery like cardiothoracic, ear-nose-and-throat or neuro. But you won't have essentially wasted about 4 extra years of your life and a boat-load of money to get to the same place.

[journeylarra]

Thanks for the advice. I'm still going to go up to LPN to help pay for med school. But I understand where y'all are coming from by taking a spot from someone who wants their ending career to be a nurse. Still a lot to think about. But I have plenty of time to do it.