Nurse Practitioner vs. Medical School, subjects covered?

trendz80 · Apr 27, 2011

I agree with Sunny life will bring you curve balls because I for sure had them and still do. I am an RN and when I worked awhile in nursing I went to medical school for two years. I have the basic sciences done and all I would have to do is clinicals but my daughter was diagnosed with a learning disability. I went to a foreign medical school and clinicals will not be in the state of NY where I am from, they are mostly in Florida, Georgia and Chicago at this time. I choose not to leave my daughter because of her problems because I know she need me around she is only 7 years old. I am so glad that I have my nursing experience under my belt as well as doing 2 semesters of my NP program before I left for medical school. All I am doing now is finishing up my NP program so that I can be around for my two children especially the little one. I really feel so much better in my decision because for my situation, my family comes first and if I cannot finish what I have started then it is alright with me. I just want my family happy.

All I am saying is do your research and do the best you can with the information that has been put in front of you. We all have hopes and dreams and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. I don't feel that what happened is a bad thing, it just makes me stronger and makes me think about what is more important in life.

Good luck in your endeavors and I know you will make the right decision and if you find out it is not what you want to do, there is still time to change your mind and do what is right for you. :)

Take care!!

jcadler82, BSN · Apr 27, 2011

I skimmed the above replys, so I'm not sure if this was already said, but I would say that you should consider taking a CNA class, getting certified, and get some patient care experience. If you can handle that part of patient care and still have a smile on your face, then consider going into nursing.

PatMac10,RN, RN · Apr 27, 2011

I used to be in your position. I am only one year older than you and am finishing my first year of community college and waiting to get into nursing school. You are right the medical school route includes a much more in depth study of the biological, chemical, and even physical sciences. If that's really what excites you then just maybe Medicine could be for you. Of course, that could mean you would be a great biologist, chemist, or physicists, but that's besides the point. You are the only who will be able to really figure out which way to do. I advice you to Google medical school prerequisites and thoroughly examine them and then compare them to nursing school prerequisites. Also compare and contrast in a Venn diagram or something the job responsibilities of a Physician and a Nurse, a Physician and a Nurse Practitioner, and even A Physician Assistant and a Nurse Practitioner. Since you can't physically shadow someone at this time I think you would find it advantageous to research some doctors, NPs, and RNs at a healthcare facility or office near your area and call an interview them and ask their personal opinion of what they do and how they differ from other practitioners.

I applaud you for your persistence and focus because so many people our age could care less about the future, they live care free. Don't feel you are alone , or weird for doing what your doing and being as concerned as you are. However, do listen to some of these experienced ones advice because there only so much worrying you can do. Sometimes we just have to wait and see how things are going to turn out. I was a lot like you. I graduated at 17 enrolled in summer school at a community college the week of my High School graduation. I had previous taken 2 college courses the previous summer and during my senior year and I was absolutely tired, but it has been worth it so far. I enter college and after my first semester I was considered a Sophomore because I came into college with 14 credit hours and was a semester ahead. I took an allied health course in High School so by the time I graduated I was a C.N.A and started a job at a local hospital on the day I turned 18 on October 11th.

Keep on trucking and try to worry at least a pinch less, but sit and really think about what you want to do for a long term job. I compared the requirements,job descriptions and responsibilities, length, costs, enjoyment, salaries, and my own personal situations and realized that nursing was really what I wanted to do, just like when I was 8 years old. I even compared whether I wanted to go straight for a BSN or go ADN then a BSN or MSN bridge program. I personally decided that I wanted to be a nurse sooner and went with ADN, but others may be able to stand the wait to go ahead and get BSN out of the way. It is totally up to you and what research you do.

Butterfliesnroses · Apr 27, 2011

Sunny is SO right! My ultimate goal was to be a RN (and still is). However I realized that my daughter is only young once and was working and going to school and found myself being gone 7 days a week (with a few of those days being 12 hours at a time or more). So I got my LPN and then bowed out of the nursing program. Now I work 3 12s a week and at one point was working 2 jobs (gone 6 days a week), so I quit that second job and now I have 4 days off a week. Eventually (when my daughter is a little older and doesn't WANT to spend as much time with her mama or when she is in school) I plan to go back and get my RN. But you just never know what life will throw your way. You are young! So my advice is to get your CNA and take a good look at if nursing is your path! Then take the pre-req classes but don't worry soooo much!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Apr 28, 2011

"I'd love patient interaction and all that but I also want to go into something more science and 'scholarly' related and learn more about that....I haven't heard much about nursing specialties in Neuroscience but do they exist? And what are the subjects covered in Nursing Graduate schools? Anything like Human Anatomy and Physiology? I know we have to take the basic classes A&P but I mean...is that covered in depth in Practitioner school too? I know that I would love either profession, and I also know that I can do whatever I set my mind to. So it's not a matter of how hard which ever one is, it's more a matter of the subjects and science differences in each profession."

Your decision will be based on a much more basic issue: Do you want to care for people (well or ill) in the medical model or the nursing model? The difference is that, in my opinion, nursing is a much richer field. We look at human response to injury and illness and help people reach the best level of health and function they can, using the nursing process as what they call a conceptual framework in the ed biz:). Believe it or not, this is a way different approach than making a medical diagnosis and treating the illness. It's the difference between helping people reach their best potential in all areas of their lives, even if we see them for a particular problem, and just treating their disease or doing that surgical repair.

There's a lot of great research that shows that advanced practice nurses (NPs, with MNs or DNSs) in primary care have better outcomes, lower costs, fewer rehospitalizations, and higher patient satisfaction than physicians with the biggest groups of patients: diabetes, congestive heart failure, well-woman and -child care among them. You can absolutely specialize in neuroscience nursing -- or endocrinology, or oncology, or public health, or behavioral health, or gerontology, or hospice, or infectious disease, or any of a million others-- and get a PhD or DNS in it, and work in research, teaching, and/or patient care.

Suggest you make an appointment with some nurses with advanced degrees. Ask them why they do what they do, and (perhaps more importantly) why they DON'T do what they DON'T do. Do not rely on media presentations-- read Sandy Summers' excellent book called "Saving Lives" and see what you think.

Good luck! Hope you have fun with it! Stay in touch.

Moogie · Apr 28, 2011

Moving this out of the General Nursing Discussions to the Career Advice forum.

OP, I admire you for having a plan and an idea of what you want to do with your life. But I am also worried that you're so anxious about this that you run the risk of burning out before you even get started. From reading your previous posts, I know you have a lot on your shoulders at a very young age. But please---take a little time to explore your options and to engage in some self-discovery. At this point, you've only experienced high school science courses. You may find that you shine---or don't---in college level courses. My sons are a little older than you. The older one had his heart set on becoming an art teacher until he had did a semester in another country and decided to go into the ministry. The younger one, who isn't really sure yet what he wants, is finding he loves philosophy, something he had not even discovered when he was in high school.

I know you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself but please try to let life unfold and give you the answers you're seeking.

Skylarslaughter · May 14, 2011

It's been a while since I replied on here...I think...lol but anyway thanks guys for all your comments and for taking time out to give me advice. I tend to get very stressed out when I start trying to figure my whole life out...which I try to do alot, it's a problem of mine. And then it takes someone to say "slow down!" until I finally realize I'm freaking out over my whole life and I should be focusing on the present. I'm going to start working on that....I get stressed out and frustrated when I read countless threads of nurses that can't find jobs and the economy and all that but I guess none of that will change so I just have to work harder and do what I like no matter what. I'm taking a couple prereqs right now in summer classes and I just need to focus and getting them done. I find my Science of Nutrition class so interesting! But I've decided that I'm going to get my CNA before anything, and that will be my deciding factor on what I want to do. I also figure that if I go to medical school ever....if will be when I'm far more mature and mentally capable of handling the stress that comes with that intense training. I mean if I can't get through nursing school, then I will not ever make it to medical. Plus, as much as a bookworm and research nerd as I am....I'm not nenitely sure I could handle devoting so much of my time to being a doctor so early in my youth. Life takes time, I'm starting to learn that the more I converse with mature adults and realize how much I'm really not aware of. I DO need to chillax and just focus on my GPA right now. And I love this website and so far about 98% of the nurses on here are helpful and intelligent and make me want to be a nurse (: But we'll see how it goes, I still got a year of prereqs before I can apply to the ADN program and two years if I want to go the BSN route first. Thanks again for all your advice.