Need Insight! Nursing or Med School?

[claytonaleksander]

Hey all! I really need some insight regarding which career path to choose.

So I'm currently finishing my first year of uni in music, but have realized that I want to go in to health care. Therefore, I'm taking a year off to go to take my 11 and 12 sciences and maths. (I'm only 19 and in Toronto by the way!)

Originally I wanted to go into nursing but I also have a strong desire to go to med school. The reason I like nursing is the life style (hours, responsibilities, etc) and I would love to have more patient communication and contact. However, I have the desire to go to med school mostly because I want to be able to learn it all, study it all, and practice and devote my time to diagnosing and treating patients.

My main draw back to not just going to med school is partly the life style (I wouldn't want to work anywhere other than a hospital, I'd probably want to do surgery or ICU or ER stuff). I do plan on one day raising kids and, despite my passion and time commitment that I would be willing to make towards studying, I'm scared that my mental and physical health may not make me 100% able to survive residency. It seems very intense!

My main drawback to just doing nursing is the fact that I want to be able to have some of the skills/responsibilities that doctors have! I've strongly thought about being an NP and would be one eventually if I went in to nursing. However, I find that majority of those who go to be an NP mainly want to work as a family physician... which really isn't my thing. Does anyone have any insight on NP's roles within hospitals? (ICU, ER, especially OR!)

Please don't try to use time or money as a way to persuade my answer. My passion is strong enough for me to pursue either career regardless of how old I'll be when I graduate and how much money I'll be making.

TL;DR: I need insight on NP's roles in hospital ER, OR, and ICU and also the in job life style of doctors vs nurses (patient contact/socialization, core daily tasks, etc). Thank you so much!

[Simplistic]

Become a nurse practitioner! It sounds like a perfect compromise. You can become an acute care nurse practitioner and work in the ER or ICU.

[ThatBigGuy]

You can be an RN in 4 years (or less if you attend an accelerated program). You can become an Acute Care-NP after that and work in a hospital setting. My ICU has an AC-NP.

Your road to being an MD will be more strenuous and much longer, anywhere between 10-14 years depending on specialty.

I don't know that it's possible to start a family while becoming a surgeon or ICU intensivist, which means putting off your family plans until your mid 30's.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

I'm almost done with my acute care NP program and I'm currently doing a rotation in the surgical ICU. We do the same thing as the doctors do, and we're often the only team on the floor. I would advise getting some RN experience before considering that program however, as it's quite intense. The lead NP does 3 12 hour shifts.

[EDNURSE20, BSN]

Become a RN first. You may find out you don't like health care at all, happens to many students because you never really know if it's for you till you do it. Less money/stress if you decide health care isn't for you but also a good stepping stone to go onto something further. Medicine is hard, any doubt before starting will set you up for disaster. You have to be 100% sure to get through a course like that. These quite a few video on YouTube about NP vs MD, would recommend watching those.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

We moved this thread to the Canadian forum for more feedback from those who understand the healthcare system in Canada. Good luck to the original poster.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Create a general career plan such as:

1.In the next couple of months volunteer at a hospital, community clinic or some other healthcare related organization and continue to volunteer throughout your school years

2. Achieve the best marks possible in the grade 11 and 12 maths and sciences courses

3. Apply to Life Science Degree programs

4. If accepted, focus on achieving the best marks possible in the Life Science program, as well as gain experience in assisting with research

5. Apply to Nursing and Medical School

6. Achieve the best marks possible in the program that you are accepted

Once you have a general career plan in place, create detailed plans as you approach each step.

[Yingtsay, BSN, RN]

Things to help you consider:

1) What's your academic achievements? In High school, if you're not an 'A' student at minimum, it's tough to aim for medical school. MD school is very competitive, many have set their goals right out of high school and work everything towards that goal. If you're not prepared for that, MD may not be a viable option

2) Have you done job shadowing? If not talk to your local hospital to find out how. This is your best bet to decide where your passion is. You are the expert to yourself, having the opportunity to see it first hand will be better than any reviews

3) If you are planning to do MD school, avoid using nursing as your undergraduate. It's a lot harder to get perfect grade and it does not prepare you for MCAT. Nursing and MD are very different fields.

4) NP in Canada is very different than US. In Canada, NP do exists. However, they're not as common as the states which means it a lot harder to find a job as NP compared to MD in Canada. I've heard some NPs regretting going to NP school instead of MD due to the job prospect. This challenges is result of how Doctors and NPs are funded in Canada, unless that change it'll be difficult for NP field to explode like the states.