I'm currently an RN with my BSN. I have long been debating on which route to take to go back to school. I have worked predominantly in the ED, more specifically in in a children's hospital the last year. I want to specialize in either emergency medicine or trauma. I have been getting mixed opinions on which route is the best for what I want to do.
My resume for school is a 3.4 GPA. If I chose to go to MD or DO school I would need about another year of undergrad classes part time to finish i.e. O Chem I/II, Biochem, Physics I/II. I know the route to become a physician is the 4 years of school, 3 years of residency, and then usually a 2-3 year fellowship before I'm officially on my own and can practice wherever I choose. I have no problem going to school for a long period of time, but I'm curious about several things. With the new plan the AMA is looking at is that all advanced practice RN's must be doctorally educated (unless they're grandfathered in). I'm not sure which route is better because I want to be able to practice to the full extent of my scope and knowledge. Some of the NP's and PA's I've worked with in the ED usually work fast track or take the non critical patients. I don't want to go back to school for 4 more years and move away from the trauma and critical patients I love caring for now, and begin taking care of the sniffles and rash patients some of them take.
I have seen some of the NP's I work with are specialized in trauma or emergency and have a wider scope, or at least the hospital allows them to take the very ill and traumatic patients. I've even seen some NP's working on/with a flight crew or critical transport crew. Does anyone have any further knowledge on this because I would love to hear all sides, and welcome any pros/cons. Thanks a lot guys!!!
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Hello all,
I'm currently an RN with my BSN. I have long been debating on which route to take to go back to school. I have worked predominantly in the ED, more specifically in in a children's hospital the last year. I want to specialize in either emergency medicine or trauma. I have been getting mixed opinions on which route is the best for what I want to do.
My resume for school is a 3.4 GPA. If I chose to go to MD or DO school I would need about another year of undergrad classes part time to finish i.e. O Chem I/II, Biochem, Physics I/II. I know the route to become a physician is the 4 years of school, 3 years of residency, and then usually a 2-3 year fellowship before I'm officially on my own and can practice wherever I choose. I have no problem going to school for a long period of time, but I'm curious about several things. With the new plan the AMA is looking at is that all advanced practice RN's must be doctorally educated (unless they're grandfathered in). I'm not sure which route is better because I want to be able to practice to the full extent of my scope and knowledge. Some of the NP's and PA's I've worked with in the ED usually work fast track or take the non critical patients. I don't want to go back to school for 4 more years and move away from the trauma and critical patients I love caring for now, and begin taking care of the sniffles and rash patients some of them take.
I have seen some of the NP's I work with are specialized in trauma or emergency and have a wider scope, or at least the hospital allows them to take the very ill and traumatic patients. I've even seen some NP's working on/with a flight crew or critical transport crew. Does anyone have any further knowledge on this because I would love to hear all sides, and welcome any pros/cons. Thanks a lot guys!!!