NP or MD, Need some advice.

NAURN · Feb 9, 2011

Hi, I'm Nichole. I am an RN and have been nursing for over 5 years now. I love my job. I actually never wanted to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse and she was in the administrative aspect of it (DON) and never seemed like she enjoyed it. But when I was a senior in HS I could not decide what I wanted to be. I really wanted to be a doctor, but knew that I would be paying for my own education so I took a faster route in something that I could make money and not rack up too much in loans... so I ended in nursing. I am glad I did, ALTHOUGH, now that I am ready for the next step (I have my ADN but working on getting my BSN, then NP) I wished I would have went to medical school when I had the chance. Not that I couldn't do it now, I could. But I have 2 young kids and a degree that although might help me in some aspects of getting in as far as having that experience with patients and MDs, there is A LOT of classes I would still need to take to satisfy the science requirement. Plus med school and residency, we're talking 10 years just for that. And, like you, I have to be the best at what I do and I know I can not be the best med student, the best mother, and the best wife all at once. Something had to give. I chose NP because I still love nursing and I love that NPs tend to spend more time with the pt and look at the pt as a whole, instead of just the problem. I am not saying that all Drs are like that, but they are busy. And you have to be prepared for the work load of an MD... lots of long hours.

What I am saying is, if you are just now thinking about school in general and want to be a DR, GO FOR IT NOW. Don't get your NP wishing you would have gone to med school later on down the road. And if you decide that nursing is the better route for you, WELCOME! It is wonderful (most of the time) and it is rewarding. Another thing about the NP route as opposed to MD, is its much more welcome to those who have families and jobs and lives. I can complete an NP part time, while working full time and still have some time with my family. Kind of the best of both worlds in my opinion. I don't think they get paid what they are worth, and that needs to change, but in general, its a good choice. You get to be the provider and a nurse all in one!

Good Luck

bibibi · Feb 10, 2011

I agree with the above post. If you really want to continue pushing your education further the MD route would be better for you. More opportunities to do some serious research. Also thats the only way to do surgeries. As a NP you will either be working under docs or seeing patients in clinics for mostly flu, cold and sore throat. Good luck!!!

middleageNP · Feb 18, 2011

I wished I was smart enough to realize I really liked medicine at an earlier age; I would have gone to med school. Instead, I played, owned my own business, got married, had kids; raised my kids until they were teenagers & decided to go back to school after realizing I hated cleaning house. Medicine always fascinated me, but I figured I'm too old to start medical school, so I chose nursing. At first I intended to have just an ADN, but decided to get my BSN. Before I finished my BSN, I knew I wanted to go further. Needless to say, I've just graduated with an FNP program & wished I went to medical school instead. Because I want to be able to do everything... and as an FNP, I can't. I'm 49 and too old to change my path and not enough money to support 3 college funds (mine, my son's & my daughter's)...

Long story short, go for your MD. Nothing in medical school says you can't care for your patients like an NP... Also, NP school does not teach you anywhere near the amount of crucial information you would get in medical school. Trust me on that. 50-75 % of NP school is of insignificant non-science STUFF ! This is why I wished I went to medical school. I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING about medicine, not nursing theories !!

I precepted at a clinic where interns & PAs do their residencies. And what I witnessed is that the instructors are supportive of their students. Whereas, my nursing instructors (including BSN) were more busy trying to see who they can weed out of the program... What a bunch of crap!

Having said that, I love the nursing b/c of the caring aspect. I just feel the nursing authorities have no clues on how get the respect nursing deserves. Internal fights (nurses eat their youngs), encouragement from administration to "write" each other up, understaffed, not enough focus on medicine, ect...

middleageNP · Feb 18, 2011

Here are some examples... My ability to decipher an Xray/CT or EKG is 3,0,3 respectively on a scale of 1-10 (we were never taught). I won't even mention MRI or compliments labs...

TJFRN · Feb 19, 2011

I have to agree with middleagenp. I wish I was wise enough early on to go to med school (I'm 42 now). I'm currently in my 1st semester of a FNP program and already realize that it's not challenging enough for me. I want more medicine and less theories. But we are nurses and we are drilled to care. Which I do, I care a lot and I feel that MD's are spread to thin that is why it seems they care less. I believe they do care... but hey have other worries such as paying their staff, rent and other overhead cost. That is why they are over worked, stressed and to some seem not to care. Don't get me wrong I love that I'm a nurse and I work with some very supportive MD's who give me the credit that I deserve. But realize that they work long long hours and most of them are completely burnt out!

bibibi · Feb 19, 2011

I agree that its a myth that nurses care more about their patients than MDs. I think it all depends on a person. I have seen many MDs who cared for their patients and many who were there only to make money and did not really care very much. Exactly the same goes for nurses. The bottom line is not about caring but about doing your job as good as you can. After all everybody is out there to make money. No one would be working for free.

zenman · Feb 19, 2011

I agree with the above post. If you really want to continue pushing your education further the MD route would be better for you. More opportunities to do some serious research. Also thats the only way to do surgeries. As a NP you will either be working under docs or seeing patients in clinics for mostly flu, cold and sore throat. Good luck!!!

As a PMHNP in New Mexico, physicians have nothing to say about my practice, although I would have no problem working with one if he passed my interview. And I certainly see more than "minor" cases!

bibibi · Feb 19, 2011

As a PMHNP in New Mexico, physicians have nothing to say about my practice, although I would have no problem working with one if he passed my interview. And I certainly see more than "minor" cases!

My post was a general statement. I had no intention of undervaluing NPs whotsoever. Usually NPs will work under a physicians in acute care settings, except for ERs where they will see easier cases and docs will see more complicated cases. In other settings they can be pretty independent depending on state laws.

TJFRN · Feb 19, 2011

NP's are great! As a nurse I usually request NP's or a PA (when there is a choice) for my yearly physical... My husband finally seen his first NP couple of years ago as his PCP and he was thrilled by the attention he received... so there is a benefit to being an NP most patients appreciate your attentiveness!

zenman · Feb 19, 2011

Little background on myself,
I have always wanted to be in the Healthcare field, it was always nursing or becoming a doctor. I was leaning more towards becoming an MD earlier on, and after my mother had a sub arachnoid hemmorage and was saved by a Neurosurgeon, I knew I had to become an MD, work my butt off, and earn a spot in the NS residency....
Fast forward to now, I have done a lot of research on Nursing as I have friends and family in the field, and I must say nursing practitioner looks like a competitor for a multitude of reasons, potential more time with the patient, ability to move to where I am needed, ability to be a 'mini doc' where I can go where I am needed. etc It is almost like a pulling of sorts, something in my gut telling me I need to do nursing...
Anywhoo, it all comes down to this, I LOVE helping others, if I make one persons life that much better, that makes me that much more happier; however; my ego comes into check where I want to be the best at what I do, so I can provide the best possible help. I am not saying NP is less that a physician, what I mean is, I want to know it all, and I am afraid that if I do not go the MD route, that I will regret it later, but at the same time, and I can't explain it, it's almost like I am getting 'called' into nursing. In the end, I think I am just afraid that if I became an NP, that the profession just stops there, I guess I want to be able to always continue to push my knowledge to better SERVE OTHERS.
Simply put, I am stuck, and after tons of soul searching, I need some objective advice. I know the responsibilities of an NP have GREATLY increased over the years, do you in the profession see it as something that will continue to grow, being able to gain the knowledge, to gain more responsibilities?
Appreciate it.

Let me address the bold parts. Your heart knows the direction to go more so than your brain.

People in my profession can help you with that ego, lol! Ego is the least reason you should follow a certain path.

As a physician you will have lot's of information but not necessarily a lot of knowledge. As a physician you will go into great debt. My master's in psych nursing was paid for, $800 a month in spending money, all tuition and books paid for. I paid cash for my post-master's program and took calls from recruiters all hours of the day and night before I went to work at over $10k a month, plus other benefits. As a physician you'll probably have to see 40 patients a day just to break even. Your "helping" will mostly consist of quick medical intervention, then on to the next patient. You might also want to talk with physicians who have been in practice a few years.

I can assure that, as an NP, it doesn't just stop here. At almost any point in my house I have literature within an arm's length that I'm reading, trying to keep up with changes. I almost failed a zoology course in college. I had 1 general chemistry and 2 general math courses in college (I barely made it through algebra in high school). Breaking the human body down into it's smallest part become boring after awhile. Now I look through the other end of the microscope and study the human condition.

Toss a coin and observe your immediate reaction to the results.

This is of course just my path.

MissDoodaw · Feb 23, 2011

Wow, I am continually challenged by the new things I learn every day being a np. It will never become dull or lack challenge for me and I a surprised to hear others say so.

I think the great benefit we have in the becoming a NP vs DR question is that as a N you can spend years in any specialty and then move into another without more education or training, and then another. Dr's train in one specialty and then they are stuck pretty much!

PS I am A FNP - I am proud to be a RN and I love my job!