NP Student, highly wanting to do med school?

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Before becoming an RN, I was debating MD vs. PA vs. RN and eventually get my masters degree. I decided to go the RN route because at the time, nursing seemed like it had a lot of opportunities and it is a highly respected and flexible field. 8 or so months after working as an RN, I jumped the gun and joined on an online NP Program for FNP. Just two years later, I am realizing what a mistake that was.

The first year I was so busy with fluff assignments and truly just doing my best while also gaining nursing experience (I have worked full time through most of the program, just went down to part time a few months ago). I did not realize the lack of depth I was receiving and what they weren't teaching me. The past few months, I have realized how insufficient NP education is (not sure how it took me this long to wake up, I guess just not having time to think about it because I was still busting my butt with the readings). Nonetheless, this has put me into a mental spiral if this is what I even want to do now. I've taken it upon myself to basically do the bare minimum for the fluff work and spend extra time on patho, pharm, sciences, etc. and do med school style questions (using Osmosis, Human Dx, anki flash cards). I'm a pretty good self-learner and I know my limitations and what I am weak on. But I feel like I am just in too deep and there's too much to learn out there. I'm around 8 months from graduating, starting OB and peds clinical next semester and at this point I'd feel it idiotic not to just finish.

But how ridiculous would it be to go to med school after I graduate? I am burning to really, really, learn the details on medicine in a proper fashion. Ideally, I'd love to find a great doc to work with who will know my limitations, be willing to teach me and utilize me as his/her extender of care, but I know that isn't always promised and I don't want to end up working without physician supervision and see cases I was never taught in NP school. But I also am like, why the hell didn't I realize this a year ago and just quit the program then? I think I was just so excited to become a provider. 

I'm 26 years old. I know if I did do med school I'd be in a hell of a lot of debt and pretty poor for awhile, and I do want to have a family with my fiance, so that would definitely take the back burner. I also know it will be extremely difficult from the application process to residency. He also is applying to med schools now. Any advice or anything would be appreciated. I already know what I did was a mistake, so no need for lectures. 

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Well... If you go to Med school you are looking at about 7-9 years of your life taken away for schooling and residency and at that point you would have more health risks from pregnancy but people do it. As for the debt... I've seen it first hand... Go to state schools, not private. Educational value in terms of jobs later really won't have a substantial impact. My father went in when he was in mid thirties and did fine but he went private and is still paying off large debt years later.  Med school is a real challenge but if you can do it, its worth it. DO is an option too which is maybe a little less intense but still worth it. 

You can always weigh your debt you have now and see if you can legitimately afford to go back to school after finishing the program...

Alternatively if you find a decent doc to work with/for you can really learn tons from them never go higher. Some states require oversight, you could work in one of those states till you feel competent at your skills as well. 

 

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Specializes in Trauma ICU.

It sounds like medical school is what you really want to do. I say go for it. Your experience as a nurse will make you a stronger physician. Your awareness of the nurse workflow and what they actually do at the bedside will help you when crafting treatment plans. Good luck to you!

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I know people who started medical school in their late 20s/early 30s. It is totally doable.

Your desires are valid and totally understandable. The MD community, in my opinion, is much stronger and I hear way more stories about strong MD mentors vs strong NP/RN mentors. 

There is no point in being miserable, underchallenged, and unhappy at your job. If you know you'd rather be an MD than an NP, then go for it. 

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Specializes in psych/medical-surgical.

Here is the reason I didn't go to med school: You have to go back to undergrad to get those pre-reqs you didn't do as a BSN. That's 1 year. Then you take the MCAT. Depending on your score you will get into a school maybe some money maybe not. Most people take 1 year off to apply since the process is so intense and you have to take MCAT and build your resume. Then you get in and it's 4 years of clinic and class. Then you do a residency, if you find a field you like. Sometimes you have to relocate for that and it's another 3-5 years depending till you are on your own and feel like you know what you are doing. A buddy of mine deferred residency for several years bc he couldn't get in where he wanted. Not accounting for that, if you started that now you would be an attending at what? 9-11 years. You will be at least 35.

If I did med school now, I would be 40 by the time I was done if everything went well. No thanks... I can learn just as much on my own by reading every night. Not worth the debt or stress. I can spend time doing other things like hobbies or having a family.

What is the difference between a nurse practitioner with 4 years of practice and a MD/DO after residency? ... medical school.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

It comes down to whether the stress of med school is worth the satisfaction. Also, your view could very well change after a year or two practicing as an NP.

Financially speaking, being a physician should still put you ahead of a lifetime of working as an NP, especially for specialists. You probably won't break even 'til you're in your 40s, but after that, you'll earn much more than NPs. Furthermore, NP saturation is real but unlikely to be an issue with physicians.

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Specializes in psych/medical-surgical.

I'm curious how you think my view will change? 

I am working under an NP that owns her own practice. She has taught and shown me she can make 20-30k a month. Sure, it will take me some time to get there for me. I can get indorsed in IP states and practice there as well. And do telehealth with them. CMS is impelmenting law changes due to COVID19... so there will only be a shortage of patients if I don't hustle. 

What is the point for me to do med school? Considering to do the job of a psychiatrist, you don't really need to go. You learn the most in practice and by staying up on current literature. The only point is the training is more extensive and you spend more time in clinicals. It is not practical for everyone to do MD.

At this point in my life, I would rather spend my energy on my other interests like stocks and fitness and doing my job well rather than worry about whether I'm a DNP or MD which it seems every other nurse wants to do on this forum.

I feel like this forum is surreal. In the real world, I don't encounter nurses with the types of thoughts and hate and shade you do on here about the profession trying to increase standards and requirements.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.
4 hours ago, adammRN said:

I'm curious how you think my view will change? 

The post was for OP. Also, I meant that OP's view as a student might not be the same as what it will be after working a year or two as an NP, and that OP might actually find satisfaction in working as an NP.

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On 11/25/2020 at 8:42 AM, Soloist said:

Well... If you go to Med school you are looking at about 7-9 years of your life taken away for schooling and residency and at that point you would have more health risks from pregnancy but people do it. As for the debt... I've seen it first hand... Go to state schools, not private. Educational value in terms of jobs later really won't have a substantial impact. My father went in when he was in mid thirties and did fine but he went private and is still paying off large debt years later.  Med school is a real challenge but if you can do it, its worth it. DO is an option too which is maybe a little less intense but still worth it. 

You can always weigh your debt you have now and see if you can legitimately afford to go back to school after finishing the program...

Alternatively if you find a decent doc to work with/for you can really learn tons from them never go higher. Some states require oversight, you could work in one of those states till you feel competent at your skills as well. 

 

Yeah, I have to take into account every aspect. With my fiance applying to med schools next year, we would have literally zero income until one of us starts residency. I agree that it is probably one of the most challenging careers in terms of rigorous application and education, but it is very rewarding. Hence my struggle. Not that nursing and APRN is not rewarding, it's just a different depth of education, expertise and pay off compared to MD.

Hopefully I can find a good mentor and provider to work under when I am new. I know a lot of physicians appreciate the collaborative aspect that NPs offer, so seeking that will be the goal. Thank you for your reply and insight. Any sort of feedback I can get on this is great.

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6 hours ago, adammRN said:

I'm curious how you think my view will change? 

I am working under an NP that owns her own practice. She has taught and shown me she can make 20-30k a month. Sure, it will take me some time to get there for me. I can get indorsed in IP states and practice there as well. And do telehealth with them. CMS is impelmenting law changes due to COVID19... so there will only be a shortage of patients if I don't hustle. 

What is the point for me to do med school? Considering to do the job of a psychiatrist, you don't really need to go. You learn the most in practice and by staying up on current literature. The only point is the training is more extensive and you spend more time in clinicals. It is not practical for everyone to do MD.

At this point in my life, I would rather spend my energy on my other interests like stocks and fitness and doing my job well rather than worry about whether I'm a DNP or MD which it seems every other nurse wants to do on this forum.

I feel like this forum is surreal. In the real world, I don't encounter nurses with the types of thoughts and hate and shade you do on here about the profession trying to increase standards and requirements.

I also have a lot of your same thoughts when debating the issue. I've spent the last 8 years since from undergrad to now being in some form of formal education. I'd love to just be in my career and invest in hobbies, traveling, and family like you said. Doing another 8-10 years of school kind of makes me sick, but also not doing what I am really passionate about because I'm scared, not motivated enough, or whatever else makes me sick. But I also know I absolutely am equipping myself by getting my APRN to fulfill that passion, which is why I started NP school in the first place. It'll just take a lot of self sufficiency, continuing learning and education to fill in those gaps.

I will admit that ever since getting into the online forums comparing NP, PA, and MD education, I have had this struggle and doubted NP education being able to prepare myself for practice. A big fear of mine is being incompetent and putting patients at risk, but I also will do everything I can to overcome that (isn't that what we are always doing as nurses?). Part of this comes with my short 3 year RN experience. And also just being in a new career. I don't doubt this is what new residents and new attendings feel as well. I guess med school is a way to just ensure I will be as qualified as I can feel and to take that doubt away as much as I can. But then again, a lengthy education and a title doesn't always mean you'll be the most competent to care for a patient. And whether or not people want to believe the BS that nursing background, education, and experience doesn't help to become an APRN, I believe it absolutely does. 

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9 hours ago, umbdude said:

It comes down to whether the stress of med school is worth the satisfaction. Also, your view could very well change after a year or two practicing as an NP.

Financially speaking, being a physician should still put you ahead of a lifetime of working as an NP, especially for specialists. You probably won't break even 'til you're in your 40s, but after that, you'll earn much more than NPs. Furthermore, NP saturation is real but unlikely to be an issue with physicians.

Yeah, I am kind of doing just an internal debate and struggle. There are so many factors that go into what tugs me one way or the other. Like you said, I have to give NP profession a chance, and my abilities to be a competent provider a chance. Right now I am just putting as much as I can into my education to get the most out of it. I can't just do the bare minimum, start as an NP, and then say it wasn't for me (even though I doubt I'd pass the boards doing the bare minimum). The money of an NP does not bother me, that's probably last on the list of why I would choose MD over NP. But for job saturation and availability, NP definitely worries me as I know schools are pumping out NPs like crazy. And I also do have this guilt for leaving the bedside when RNs are so needed. But a perk of NP is you don't really have to leave the bedside. with med school, you'd have to. See how my mind goes crazy about this decision....

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22 hours ago, adammRN said:

Here is the reason I didn't go to med school: You have to go back to undergrad to get those pre-reqs you didn't do as a BSN. That's 1 year. Then you take the MCAT. Depending on your score you will get into a school maybe some money maybe not. Most people take 1 year off to apply since the process is so intense and you have to take MCAT and build your resume. Then you get in and it's 4 years of clinic and class. Then you do a residency, if you find a field you like. Sometimes you have to relocate for that and it's another 3-5 years depending till you are on your own and feel like you know what you are doing. A buddy of mine deferred residency for several years bc he couldn't get in where he wanted. Not accounting for that, if you started that now you would be an attending at what? 9-11 years. You will be at least 35.

If I did med school now, I would be 40 by the time I was done if everything went well. No thanks... I can learn just as much on my own by reading every night. Not worth the debt or stress. I can spend time doing other things like hobbies or having a family.

What is the difference between a nurse practitioner with 4 years of practice and a MD/DO after residency? ... medical school.

Sorry, I didn't realize you posted this as well. But yeah, you hit the nail on the head with that first paragraph. My fiance was studying for the MCAT today. I picked up one of the organic chem books (I took organic 1 and 2 in undergrad, don't remember a lot), and the thought of having to relearn all that kind of got me down & feeling it was unrealistic for me to purse med school. And then another 300-500 hours to study for the MCAT. It really is a question of "would all that be worth it already being 26 years old?" And that's not even the actual schooling to become a doctor. If I was 22 or 23, I'd say more likely. 

I guess the difference between a resident and a new NP is I think the thought of being a new NP is more terrifying to me because residents aren't autonomous. They make medical decisions but as first years they are making minor ones and always work with a senior/higher residents. I know NPs in many states aren't *technically* autonomous and work under MDs, but that supervision is rather loose and you are making a lot of decisions and managing patients on your own with much less formal clinical hours and less in depth physiology, patho, and pharm education. I just pray for a good training and finding a good NP/MD that will help me transition. It's kind of just me doubting my abilities to be a competent provider given my watered down education. It doesn't help that I've only had 3 years RN experience. I am doing everything I can to amend that and learn on my own like you said we should be doing anyway, and that won't ever stop because of my fear of being inadequate. I appreciate your input! You definitely reiterated lot of what I've been thinking. 

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