Nursing school vs medical school?

DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2013

I wanted to be a doctor for as far back as I remember. I have pictures of 3 year old me with my Fisher Price doctor kit taking care of everyone. I was pre-med when my mom got sick with cancer. I got thoroughly disgusted with doctors, and their care for my mother, and I was in awe of the nurses. I began to see nurses in a different light from that experience. I realized that nurses were intelligent, efficient, and that they had the one-on-one with a patient that I crave. I knew from that minute on, that being a doctor was not for me.

Being a nurse you can be caring for patients in approximately 2-3 years, while most of the pre-med kids haven't even applied to medical school! You could be bedside working on your masters while the medical students are starting to cut into their first cadaver. You could have your Dr. of Nursing buy the time they are residents. Consider the loans you will have to take and the time that it will take you to get to your goal.

I think it is smart that you are thinking of shadowing, ask yourself what kind of care do you want to provide and that might give you a clue. Also Nurse Practitioners seem like they have the best of both worlds, as do nurse anesthetists.

DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2013

PLEASE ALSO LET ME STATE THAT I KNOW NOT ALL DOCTORS ARE BAD!! My mom sure did have a couple of bad ones, but there are a great many that are good!!!

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2013

I never wanted to be a doctor.

First, I told my mother out of the blue when I was 3 that I was going to be a nurse.

I used to visit the hospital when I was a kid. It was the nurses who were always there, caring for the patients and showing me what they could of their profession (it was an OB ward, so they showed me how to do hearing tests, give babies their baths, etc).

While I find science fascinating and excelled in it, med school and medicine was not the career I wanted for myself. I have been naturally drawn to the personable, holistic, highly intellectual nature of the nursing profession since I was a child.

undecided13 · Aug 9, 2013

Thank you guys so much for your perspectives. Lots to think about.

Do you ever get bothered by the fact that you don't get to make the ultimate decisions in terms of the patient's management or care? I'm a bit of a control freak and I wonder if it would bother me to have someone tell me what to do even when I disagree...does that ever bug you? Do you feel like the profession is really respected as well?

Thanks again for your insight! I do love the idea of being with the patient 24/7...

Ansumana · Aug 9, 2013

Thank you guys so much for your perspectives. Lots to think about.
Do you ever get bothered by the fact that you don't get to make the ultimate decisions in terms of the patient's management or care? I'm a bit of a control freak and I wonder if it would bother me to have someone tell me what to do even when I disagree...does that ever bug you? Do you feel like the profession is really respected as well?
Thanks again for your insight! I do love the idea of being with the patient 24/7...

Unless you're head boss, even doctors, unless the have their own private practice, takes orders from higher ups. As a nurse, I think if you want to tell other nurses what to do, become a DON.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2013

The schooling to become a physician would be, for me, too rigorous and lengthy:

1. An undergrad GPA with all the prerequisites and an impeccable GPA (4 years)

2. Medical school (another 4 years)

3. Residency (another 3 to 7 years, depending on the specialty)

-----------------------------

Grand total = Anywhere from 11 to 15 years to become a physician

The length of time is not worth it to me. I do not want 24 hour responsibility and liability for my patients. I do not want to be targeted for lawsuits. I do not want to be awakened at all hours of the night by phone calls.

Being a physician is more than a job. It is a lifestyle to which I would never acclimate because I am not a shot caller. I just want to get my shift over with and go home.

benegesserit · Aug 9, 2013

Basically the same as TheCommuter. While I'm smart enough and had always been drawn towards medicine, I've never been that fabulous a student, wasn't encouraged in that direction, and I was burnt out on school when I graduated high school. And anyways, I thought I wanted to be a teacher. By the time I discovered nursing, I was 28, and broke with two little kids, so it would have been beyond impractical. And being on-call isn't appealing in the slightest, at least at this point in my life - one reason I'm waiting until the kids are older to think about the possibility of NP.

Plus, I like the nursing model of care better. If I could go back in time and do it over, I'm still not certain I'd choose the doctor route.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Aug 9, 2013

Do you ever get bothered by the fact that you don't get to make the ultimate decisions in terms of the patient's management or care? I'm a bit of a control freak and I wonder if it would bother me to have someone tell me what to do even when I disagree...does that ever bug you? Do you feel like the profession is really respected as well?

As I nurse, I have guided and guide many decisions in my patients care; what I mean is, I empower individuals to choose what works for them in order to stay healthy; I work with them, because in the time period I am with them, I make them understand that I want them to maximize their health. If they are unable to speak, talk, comatose, I am on the front lines making decisions based on my assessments; investigating what us going in with them in order to provide the best care for them and collaborating with providers to provide the best care for the individual.

The patient has the ultimate choice. The only thing I can control is my expectations on my nursing practice and my ability to empower; sometimes within reason. I "manage" their care just fine. :yes:

I wanted to be a nurse since the age of five...my older sister was ill and we had to go to the ER in the middle of the night. Since my sister had a fear of doctors, one of the nurses told me to come with her. I sat outside a treatment room where she had to give a man who was in a bar fight a tetorifice shot. He was cursing something fierce, lol....and she was very calm throughout the whole ordeal...he REALLY calmed down after the shot.

I wanted to be a nurse since then...if she is on AN I would thank her and make her proud.

As far as being a doctor, I flirted around with the idea, but didn't stay with it long...once I learned of NPs, then it sold me on the possibilities of nursing.

I enjoy being a nurse...I was never great at retail, or any other job...I became a Tech/unit secretary at my local community ER at 19...13 years later, I'm still here, and LOVING it.

MultiTasker33 · Aug 9, 2013

My original route was pre-med with a BA in microbiology. I started the appropriate classes and was presented with an opportunity to job shadow a nurse anesthetist in the process. After getting to physically be in the operating room and ER was very eye opening. The doctors perform the actual surgeries, but the nurses are what makes everything work/flow efficiently. The nurses were involved in anything and everything you could think of. Pre-op, intra-op, post-op, scrubbing in with the doctor, administering meds, interacting with the patient and the family, etc. I loved what I saw so I did some more research and decided that nursing was a much more appropriate fit. Besides loving the nursing role, another major consideration to take in is that doctors must obtain a bachelors degree, take the MCAT, and get accepted into medical school. Then, they must successfully complete four years of medical school. After completion they much choose a specialty, which is an additional four years of training in that area. Also, once a doctor chooses their specialty, in order to switch to a different specialty, they have to go back and complete additional YEARS of re-training in that area. With nursing, you can make lateral moves all over the place. You could start out in the ER, switch to orthopedics, switch to labor and delivery, to surgical, to critical care, to flight nurse, to trauma, to school nurse, to CDC, to pediatrics, to administration....the list goes on and on. Not to mention you can also continue your education into advanced practice nursing such as practitioner or nurse anesthetist. When I first made the switch to nursing some people would jokingly say some comments like, "I couldn't do that. I don't want to spend my life changing bed pans." That old school view of nursing is no longer accurate. Medical advancements demand that nurses perform at a higher level. You will be dressing wounds, inserting catheters, running central lines, running crash carts, performing triage, administering meds, saving lives. Whatever you end up choosing, just make sure that you have a full understanding of what lies ahead. Both have their pros and cons and you find one that fits you. I'm glad that you are going to job shadow both because that helped me a lot in my decision. If possible, try to shadow a nurse that isn't strictly "doctors office" style. Getting to see a nurse anesthetist, surgical nurses, and ER nurses was very beneficial. This was just my personal experience, but I hope it is helpful. Best of luck!

MrsStudentNurse · Aug 9, 2013

Thought of med school for a bit but spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and many years of the best years if my life especially in the specialties I'd be interested in wasn't worth it. I'd rather be an advanced practice nurse with way less schooling, more patient focused and making a good living.

besaangel, ASN, BSN, MSN, CNA, RN, APRN, NP · Aug 18, 2013

Thought of it. Came down to a matter of being with my hubby and future kids. Im now 25 (been out of high school 9 years) and had so many onstacles with going to college as a International student here in the states that I didnt start til after my 19th bday. Long story short; got married at 22, house at 24, want to start a fam by 30-33 so at this point residency would keep me away from my future kids(unacceptable). Also NP is a better fit as I wont have the constant on-call and 20 hr days... nope... not for me... Maybe if I started earlier like my friend (28 yrs old - 3rd year resident) then MAYBE I'd think different...