Need honest advice: NP vs. MD

litchi · Mar 25, 2010

I'm in a similar situation, except I'm three years older than you. I can't speak from experience exactly, I can only share the reasoning behind why I chose the direction I chose.

Since I made the decision to start on the path to becoming a nurse, I always had it in the back of my mind that I would eventually become a NP of some sort. The college that I'm taking my A&P classes at caters directly to nurses, so we do a lot of case studies and incorporate issues that nurses face in with our studies. It seems like everyone else is really struggling with the class and here I am with an average above 100. It made me think that if I'm doing so well in this class that maybe I have what it takes to make it through medical school. Not that I think that nurses have it easy or anything, I just thought that if I could do it then...why not?

I started looking into what I would need to do to to head in that direction. A big issue is pre-reqs. I'd need physics and some more chemistry classes and another biology. I doubt I could handle taking all those at the same time, so I gave myself a two year minimum needed to finish. Then I'd have to take the MCAT and get accepted somewhere.. not really too big of a deal there. Med school would take four years, then residency (I might be leaving out a step in there somewhere..). Residencies last 3-12 years, depending on what you choose. I'm interested in women's health, so I looked into going OB/GYN.. that's three years. So..all that would take me a minimum of nine years. For someone who's almost 30, that's a pretty long time.

Once I figured that up, I looked into OB/GYN salaries.. not bad, $150-$250k. I would definitely be more than happy with that.. but then, once I factored in the length of time it would take me to even get to that point, all the time in between where I'm not making anything cause I'm in school, loan debt and all that (and ok, my age and wanting to start a family soon was a major factor too)...it just didn't seem worth it to me.

I can get my BSN, work as a nurse for two years and then get my NP in six years. I'll have more time for myself and less debt. I'll make less money than a MD and in my state, I'll have to work under one too..but that really doesn't bother me. Having the title and all the responsibility isn't really all that important to me. What is important to me is that I can make a difference in people's lives and help educate them about their health. I think I'll be able to accomplish that just fine as a NP.

I know there are NPs out there that work under MDs that have a wonderful work relationship. As long as I find a place to work that's a good fit, I'm sure I'll be happy with my role as a NP. Maybe if I were younger, I would be making a different choice. But who knows! I don't regret my decisions up to this point and I don't think I'll regret the decision I made to become a nurse either.

It's a personal decision and is totally up to you, though. Think about what's important to you. What do you want to accomplish? Weigh the pros and cons for yourself and do what you feel is right.. If you think that you'll be unhappy as a NP, make the commitment and go for MD.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Graceland200 · Mar 28, 2010

I'm in my 1st yr of nursing school and would choose medicine instead. I think if you have the "doctor" bug you won't be happy with the NP. Don't get me wrong, it's a great profession but you are still young, go for the MD/DO-it sounds like the most direct route for what you want to do.

lvICU · Mar 28, 2010

There are many threads that address this argument so a search might be beneficial. I am getting ready to start an NP program this fall so I can't speak to what it is like in an actual working NP. However, I have worked with both MDs and NPs and have seen them working together. It isn't really fair to compare them head to head because they are two different professions. As someone who never wanted to be an MD, I feel that the NP route is perfect.

MDs get paid more but they also are on call ALL THE TIME!! My best friend is married to a doctor and he rarely does anything with us because he is on call. They also haven't gone on a vacation in a long time. He barely has time to see his kids. Yes the pay is more but so is the malpractice insurance. Especially in the OB/GYN field. As an NP, you often work a shift and then you leave. No 24 hour accountability...Your life is your life :)

Just my :twocents: Maybe you should shadow a resident. That way you can compare to your NP shadow experience.

wowza · Mar 28, 2010

MDs get paid more but they also are on call ALL THE TIME!! My best friend is married to a doctor and he rarely does anything with us because he is on call. They also haven't gone on a vacation in a long time. He barely has time to see his kids. Yes the pay is more but so is the malpractice insurance. Especially in the OB/GYN field. As an NP, you often work a shift and then you leave. No 24 hour accountability...Your life is your life :)
Just my Maybe you should shadow a resident. That way you can compare to your NP shadow experience.

This is an excellent point. Especially during training, your time just isn't your time.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Mar 28, 2010

I agree with what the last two posters had to say. Physicians, and their families, sacrifice a lot. IMO, they don't get paid nearly enough considering the time they put in, and compensation is falling and will continue to fall. Physician practice, beyond physician education, requires a commitment that I am just not willing to make. I don't know a single doc who works less than 80 hours a week. I work 50h/week, and go to grad school FT, but I have more free time than they do, by far. I make it to all my kids events, but I don't see our doc friends there, they are working. Their husbands or wives stand on the sidelines alone. Their families have lives that in the main, simply do not include them.

As for respect, well that is no longer a given with the MD title. Patients have changed! Medicine has become very much about customer service. Modern patients generally lack respect for everyone, not just nurses, lol. They read a little on WebMD and think they know as much as the doc. One of my friends is an internal med doc, and he said he feels like one of those red boxes you get DVDs from, only he spits out Rx. Patients come in, tell him exactly what they want, and he either capitulates or they take their business elsewhere. He sees patients in the office 11 hours a day, 4 days a week, and spends Wednesday trying to get endless amounts of paperwork caught up regarding patients, or simply the business of running a practice. He also has to round at the hospital 7 days a week, and that usually takes 3-4 hours a day -IF- he can avoid long drawn out conversations with families. He figured out that I, as an RN, make more hourly than he does when you consider how many hours per week he works. Another doc friend got sick of that life after 30 years, 3 failed marriages and 4 kids that don't speak to him unless they need money. He sold his practice to the hospital system. He thought that it would be offer a better lifestyle, but now he has a (non-physician) boss that he has to answer to. They tell him now many patients he has to see, how he must treat them, and if he can't keep patients and their families happy, they complain and he gets in trouble with the powers that be. He is miserable, and it is a d@mn shame, b/c he is an outstanding physician and humanitarian. He wants to quit but he cannot b/c of financial obligations. His peers think very highly of him, but his ex-wives and kids hate him, lol. Not a life that I'd choose.

Some people are called to medicine, and thank god for that! I think it is a vocation requiring a tremendous amount of dedication that leaves little room for anything, or anyone, else. NP practice, on the other hand, has more room for lifestyle choices.

PICUPNP · Mar 30, 2010

As a practicing NP for many years, I would advise you to look at PA school. The education is superior by miles to NP education and the opportunities are endless. It is a generalist education and you can move around between specialties without going back to school.

Grnrn · Apr 4, 2010

It all depends on your situation and priorities. OK, you'll be an NP when you are 40 OR you will be an MD when you are 40. If you have the ambition, drive, guts and are aware of what exactly you will be sacrificing, absolutely go for it!!! If it has been done, you can do it too!!!

I got my BSN when I was about 27 with summa cum laude. Then I started taking premed courses while working full-time nights, got a couple of Bs (surprise!... )Then I weighed everything (age included) and decided that for me it will be either future family with children or a a medical degree. So, I chose to go forward in nursing. Am I sorry? At times.... I still think, had I been a few years younger, I would not have had even a second thought. But, I love nursing and, considering my personal situation, I think I'd made the right decision.

Good luck in whatever you chose!

Grnrn · Apr 4, 2010

One more thing,

if you settle on a medical school you might want to deemphasize nursing. As I have learned in one of my personal encounter with a med school admission officer that, paradoxically, they are looking for students from various backgrounds such as arts, engineering, philosophy etc., etc., and nursing was not necessarily considered to be an advantage. Go figure!!!!