NP to MD

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I have been a CNM/FNP for 7 years and "fell" into the role of and Oncology NP. I am loving it but am quickly seeing the invisible glass ceiling. I originally was going to go to Med School but became enamored with the NP role. Does anyone now of any reciprocity agreement with MD programs? Or anything about this possibility?

YUp, Got the books to study for the MCAT which i plan to take early 2012 and Apply May 2012.

I always wanted to be a Doc and thought I would be satisfied as a NP. I am very satisfied as a FNP if it doesn't work out.

Reasons:

More knowledge.

People listen to you and believe what you say.

Midlevels put up with a lot of crap that Docs just don't/won't tolerate

Ability to work overseas, my BF is from Germany and we want to eventually live there and NPs don't exist.

My life:

BS Biology/Chem minor (pre-med)

MCAT #1 --> didn't study, bad...

Accepted to German Med school (I speak german) -->decided FNP route instead.

BSN accelerated

MS FNP (3 years Peds RN while in Masters program)

re-took PHysics last spring (i had taken it in Germany and med schools don't take out of country classes) All other classes are taken.

Working 3 years as locum tenens FNP mostly UC/ED.

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I think if you are dying to do it then you need to. Unfortunately, a family member of mine went through medical school ahead of me and took away ANY desire to go through what he did! While I enjoy learning new things, I also enjoy leaving the office and not having to deal wth a practice of my own and I enjoy being home with my family. I'm not willing to pay that high of a price...giving up the next 8 years of my life, going about $300K into debt and seeing my husband and child for a few hours of my week just wouldn't be worth it to me.

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I think if you are dying to do it then you need to. Unfortunately, a family member of mine went through medical school ahead of me and took away ANY desire to go through what he did! While I enjoy learning new things, I also enjoy leaving the office and not having to deal wth a practice of my own and I enjoy being home with my family. I'm not willing to pay that high of a price...giving up the next 8 years of my life, going about $300K into debt and seeing my husband and child for a few hours of my week just wouldn't be worth it to me.

well.. just med school ist 4 yrs. If you are a NP you might have some of the pre-reqs done but def. do not need more then 1-2 years to do them. You could do them at a community college etc while you work as a NP.

So you really then have 4 years med school which if you are already a NP part of will be easier (examining pt etc.. most likely the last 2 yrs) and the first 2 years are like a FT job with extra studying time wise.

You don't have to go 300k in debt? you don't have to go to harvard...

I plan on going to med school in TX where its 6000-10000/year, money i can save before I ever start. So really you can avoid a lot of debt.

And you can choose which field you go into. You don't have to open your own practice.

I like EM and those docs work ~10 shifts/month. No on call, and don't take the work home.. And they make good money. Doesn't sound that bad to me.

There are also other fields that are family friendly.

I also don't plan on working FT or 5 days/week, so you have choices.

Lots of Docs choose to work their guts out. Its a choice. You can do this in any job/profession.

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well.. just med school ist 4 yrs. If you are a NP you might have some of the pre-reqs done but def. do not need more then 1-2 years to do them. You could do them at a community college etc while you work as a NP.

So you really then have 4 years med school which if you are already a NP part of will be easier (examining pt etc.. most likely the last 2 yrs) and the first 2 years are like a FT job with extra studying time wise.

You don't have to go 300k in debt? you don't have to go to harvard...

I plan on going to med school in TX where its 6000-10000/year, money i can save before I ever start. So really you can avoid a lot of debt.

And you can choose which field you go into. You don't have to open your own practice.

I like EM and those docs work ~10 shifts/month. No on call, and don't take the work home.. And they make good money. Doesn't sound that bad to me.

There are also other fields that are family friendly.

I also don't plan on working FT or 5 days/week, so you have choices.

Lots of Docs choose to work their guts out. Its a choice. You can do this in any job/profession.

Watch out about doing your pre-recs in a community college... many med schools will outright not accept them and most view them as inferior to 4 year programs. Since the competition for acceptance to med school is fierce, taking your pre-recs at a community college could put you at a disadvantage, especially if you don't have upper level science classes to back it up. The average stats for matriculation are 3.7 GPA and 31 MCAT currently.

Med school tuition is pretty bad. Texas is a nice exception but most schools charge over $20,000 if you are instate and 40-60K if you are out of state (for public schools, private schools tend to run in the 40-60K range regardless). Average debt is $158,000 for med school graduates. Unfortunately you can no longer defer your payments (another great change the gov't made recently) so you start compounding that interest the day you graduate. So during your 3-7 years of residency, you have to make payments yet you don't actually make enough to make payments so the interest just compounds.

So, make the decision carefully. If you have questions, PM me. I worked with an admission committee during medical school.

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well.. just med school ist 4 yrs. If you are a NP you might have some of the pre-reqs done but def. do not need more then 1-2 years to do them. You could do them at a community college etc while you work as a NP.

So you really then have 4 years med school which if you are already a NP part of will be easier (examining pt etc.. most likely the last 2 yrs) and the first 2 years are like a FT job with extra studying time wise.

You don't have to go 300k in debt? you don't have to go to harvard...

I plan on going to med school in TX where its 6000-10000/year, money i can save before I ever start. So really you can avoid a lot of debt.

And you can choose which field you go into. You don't have to open your own practice.

I like EM and those docs work ~10 shifts/month. No on call, and don't take the work home.. And they make good money. Doesn't sound that bad to me.

There are also other fields that are family friendly.

I also don't plan on working FT or 5 days/week, so you have choices.

Lots of Docs choose to work their guts out. Its a choice. You can do this in any job/profession.

Your numbers for Texas medical schools don't add up. My brother graduated from a public Texas medical school about 12 years ago and he was $100,000 in debt. A good friend JUST finished a fellowship (which I realize will vary according to specialty) and his debt load (again, from a public medical school in Texas) is close to $350,00K. I have no idea if your tuition quotes are accurate or not, but you need to factor in living expenses, books, etc. Not to mention all of the spendy flights to interviews so you can match to a program.

I have no idea if you are male or female. I know I ::::shudder::::: to read the posts on "Mothers in Medicine." Gawd, the stories there are just heart wrenching. Mom/docs barely having any time with their kids. Very sad. I couldn't do it and many choose not to do so.

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There are quite a few ways to do it. For me, I'm going back to school full-time and I'm enrolled in a one year formal premedical post-baccalaureate program at a well-recognized 4 year university. The medical schools I'm interested in do not like to see community college courses on the transcript.. especially BCPM courses.

Medical school is definitely not for everyone. Re: the mention about Mothers in Medicine... I follow this forum and I have the opposite reaction. I find the majority of the stories are inspiring (although for me, I'm pretty undecided about having kids). These women are strong, intelligent, and have chosen to fulfill their career dreams as well as have a family. I've never been the type to put the mere idea of having a family at the top of my priority list. Right now for me, loving my work is what takes precedence.

The idea of a $350k debt load makes me want to puke, lol. Hopefully I will get into the 3 year program I'm looking at (*fingers crossed*). I'm thinking when all is said and done, I'll enter into my residency with $100-150k debt (which is still scary). But the satisfaction of having the career of my dreams: PRICELESS. :D

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Your numbers for Texas medical schools don't add up. My brother graduated from a public Texas medical school about 12 years ago and he was $100,000 in debt. A good friend JUST finished a fellowship (which I realize will vary according to specialty) and his debt load (again, from a public medical school in Texas) is close to $350,00K. I have no idea if your tuition quotes are accurate or not, but you need to factor in living expenses, books, etc. Not to mention all of the spendy flights to interviews so you can match to a program.

No, her numbers were right. Texas public med school tuitions are pretty low, about $16,000 a year, and you typically get a little bit of grant money too. It's the living expenses that increase the final debt.

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No, her numbers were right. Texas public med school tuitions are pretty low, about $16,000 a year, and you typically get a little bit of grant money too. It's the living expenses that increase the final debt.

Ok, her numbers are right BUT they don't include living, travel and book expenses. Doesn't matter either way, does it really ? You STILL aren't going to have the initials MD after your name with barely a $50K student loan tally.

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Specializes in critical care.

If there were 28-30 hours in a day, I would go to med school in an instant. Circadian rhythms being what they are, however, I chose nursing. :)

This may be slightly off-topic, but I recently read an interesting article that suggested it is socially irresponsible for women to go into medicine with the intention of taking time off to raise a family. Med school and residencies are highly subsidized, and the government can't afford to educate doctors who aren't going to work, full-time, as doctors--especially with the growing PCP shortage.

I won't comment on the article any further except to say it's nice reading things that further justify your decisions. :nurse:

Edited to add: I'm not an NP, just a BSN student.

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Specializes in SICU, CCU, MICU, Academics, Primary Care.

Umm, so has the thought of residency barely crossed anyone thoughts? My fiancee is just finishing up his first year as an attending in EM. Those 3 years (his residency didn't have a research year) were brutal. When I worked in the SICU as a nurse our residents and interns calculated their hourly wage...needless to say they made more at McDonalds.

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Specializes in Emergency,.
Umm, so has the thought of residency barely crossed anyone thoughts? My fiancee is just finishing up his first year as an attending in EM. Those 3 years (his residency didn't have a research year) were brutal. When I worked in the SICU as a nurse our residents and interns calculated their hourly wage...needless to say they made more at McDonalds.

I have thought of it! i am doing a residency for MLPs in emergency medicine. As for the pay, i was lucky and my group pays me well. not as good as a full time experienced NP/PA but better than the family practice residents MDs.

NPs need more formal education after graduation.

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This is a really interesting thread - I'm an RN at the moment (first degree biochem) and I'm heavily debating if I want to go back for NP, PA or medical school. The quality of life issue worries me a bit for the MD route, but I am concerned if I go NP or PA that I will have put in those 2 years and at the end of the day still want more. It's a tough call so it's good to hear other people in similar boats.

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