why a nurse and not a doctor

chaosRN, ASN, RN · Oct 3, 2004

I like what beckymcrn said. But also for me, I though about med school after nursing only because I loved learning (I'm a nerd! :chuckle ). But, I don't want to be on call 24/7. I like spending time with my family without a pager (or cell phone).

jen42 · Oct 3, 2004

I was heading for med school for a long time... I come from a family full of PhDs and MDs, and felt like if I didn't have a "Dr" in front of my name I was useless! Then had some long talks with some of the family doctors, all of whom were frustrated at what medicine had become. They all recommended NOT to go into medicine, since you never see your patients and spend all your time fighting with insurance companies... Felt lost... I didn't know any nurses, and I too thought of it as a "blue-collar" profession. I had a college degree in biochemistry, and didn't like the lab at all! Then I met a nurse-midwife... then I met some nurses... nursing is a lot closer to what I thought being a doctor was! The doctors I work with have very little time with their patients. I do want to be an ARNP, but if I decided to remain a working RN for the rest of my life I would still have tons of learning to do and challenges to overcome.. I just had a conversation with a friend at how pissed off I am that nursing is considered an easy, non-intellectual job... none of the nursing I've seen is!

And after watching what the docs go through in their training... I am VERY thankful I didn't go to med school. I would have dropped out due to stress and lack of sleep. I do want a life! :)

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2004

Why would anyone want to be a Doctor, if they can be a nurse??????

angel337, MSN, RN · Oct 3, 2004

i am very proud of my accomplishment of being a rn. i am surprised that people consider nursing to be a blue collar, non-intellectual, easy career (like some other posters said) because it wasn't easy for me. it took me 3 years to get a 4 year degree, and i sacrificed alot to get there. i love being a nurse, i feel respected by md's and other coworkers, my opinion is valued and i could not think of a better career right now that would fit my schedule. sure, i have seen nurses be disrespected by md's and probably unappreciated by patients, but i have also seen it the other way around too where md's disrespect each other and patients disprespect docs. it sort of comes with the territory. it doesn't make it right, but overall i really can't complain about my career choice. and last but not least, the money is awesome. i can plan what bills i want to pay off or plan a trip by picking up shifts at an agency or my job. i never had this kind of flexibilty before in other careers and i plan to stay in nursing. i will be going back for my masters next year, but i think i will always do bedside, even if it is only per diem. nursing isn't for evryone, but if it works for you i say God bless you because not many careers have what we have.