Aspiring Nurses: Why not Med School??

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Many of the courses required for Nursing Schools and Medical Schools are the same, as many of you are aware. What made you choose the Nursing route over the MD? They are both challenging and require lots of commitment, but MD gets more prestige. So why Nursing? Enlighten me! :idea:

Second career for me. Didn't want to start such a long program in my 30s, but after looking at the requirements and my ultimate goal, I just might.:idea:

Many of the courses required for Nursing Schools and Medical Schools are the same, as many of you are aware. What made you choose the Nursing route over the MD? They are both challenging and require lots of commitment, but MD gets more prestige. So why Nursing? Enlighten me! :idea:

A lot of us didn't decide until we were already 20 or 30 something (or older). A lot of us either have kids or want to have some soon, and don't want to work a 36 hour shift with a 3 year old at home. Nursing allows people to get a variety of degrees over time and work their way up (LPN > RN > BSN...) or to do accelerated and direct entry masters programs. For me personally, I'm 27 (28 next week) already and just started NS 2 weeks ago. I had a previous bachelors, but I took very few hard science courses. I'm married and haven't had kids yet. We're waiting until I graduate, which is only 14.5 months away with the ABSN program that I'm in. I'll go back for a masters a few years later, probably to become an NP. I can take those classes part-time while I work and raise a family. If I had known what I wanted to do 10 years ago, I might have already graduated med school, but I didn't and I just don't have the time to go now.

Specializes in Utilization Management.

I never wanted to be a doc.

Doctors treat the disease.

Nurses treat the whole patient, physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually. The science--giving pills, doing treatments--is only a small part of what a nurse does. To me, that is a better model, because the patient's state of health has components that affect the whole person.

Nurses are still the best when it comes to non-medicinal forms of intervention, and sometimes that's the best therapy.

Specializes in ED, Cardiac Medicine, Retail Health.

Never wanted to be a doctor. Like the nursing aspect of health care. Second career for me. Started nursing school when I was 40. If I wanted to become a doc at this point in my life, which I never considered, I would be close to social security age before it would become economically viable for me (paying off school loan and all). And I would not put my family thru the stress! Nursing school was tough enough for the family!!!!

Specializes in LTC/Skilled Care/Rehab.

I don't want to be a doctor. I like that I can work only 40 hours or less with nursing and get to spend lots of time with my family. I also like that nurses have more direct contact with their patients.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

My father was a physician as were many of his close friends. They are chained to their careers. Docs have very little career mobility and flexibility. It's next to impossible to switch specialties. Moving to another town in difficult. It's difficult to "take a break" and work part time for a while, etc.

Also, in medicine, only the super-stars who have sacrificed their personal lives get a chance to teach, do research, start new programs, etc. Most just see patients -- "grinding out a living" doing the same type of work over and over again, year after year.

I like the variety and flexibility that nursing offers. A nurse can move around geographically -- and also move around to different types of nursing roles, functions, and patient populations.

My father always told me that if I were interested in a health career, I should choose to be a nurse with an advanced degree because it would offer lots of different career possibilities that I could choose from throughout my life. A medical degree would box me in a lot more. I think he was right.

I'm actually am going to attend Med school. I just wanted to get my foot in the door and be more up to date with informatin before I get there. I feel that if I go for my BSN first, once I get into Med school I can possible work PRN and a RN during the summer or something not to include I won;t feel too lost once I'm in Med school.

Specializes in Neuro.
buzz off already, we wanted to be nurses and that's what we did.

that was such a nice comment to someone who is on this site for the very first time. way to go, canoehead. remind me to run if i see you coming my way. i don't think that i would want a nurse seeing me with an attitude like yours.

muurman,

i apologize for the rude and very insensitive comment made by a premium member. please know that most everyone on this site is not like this. most of us are very kind and helpful to everyone, and are welcoming to first timers. as far as his/her comment, that may true in their case, but not others.

now, back to the original question- why not med school? i would love to go to med school and become a doctor. i am fascinated with the human body and everything that i can learn about it. my problem is that i waited until i was 37 years old to start school and with having 4 kids, i want to be with them and my husband as much as i can while i can. nursing school will take up my days while still allowing me to be home with them in the evenings. i have taken most of my pre reqs online so that i could be home and my school is implementing online classes with nursing classes for the first time this fall when i start. i am so psyched about online classes while in nursing school!! i plan to go on and get a masters to become a nurse practioner when i am finished with my adn, simply because it will give me a way to fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse plus allow me to make diagnosis, prescribe meds and do simple things that docs do like stitch wounds. so in a few more years, i can actually have the best of both worlds!! secondly, where i live, i would have to go away to go to medical school and i will not leave my family to do that, nor ask my family to move just for me to go. the university here partners with texas tech for the nurse practioner program, so i will actually receive my degree from tt but will take all of my classes here. the best part is that all of the rn to masters program is online, except clinicals!! so, even though i would love to go to med school, i feel that i am too old (even though my doc told me that he went to med school with a 57 year old woman and many men and women in their 40's!!) and i don't want to have to "go away" from home to accomplish it.

so that is my reason! i too partied my way through my teens and was married at 18 and didn't decide what i wanted to do when i grew up until my mid 30's (sorry, i grew up too late, i guess!! :lol2: . by then, i had a 7, 9, 11 and 12 y/o. now that i have "grown up," i am excited to start nursing school in a few months and look forward to learning all i can about nursing and beyond...

take care, welcome to allnurses, and please, do not let rude comments like the one above keep you from asking any more questions. we are here to help and enlighten, and most folks on here have very, very good advice and are very encouraging.

take care~

Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

I took that comment to be a cute and effective use of humor. Just look at Canoehead's signature line. She uses humor. Funny!

I would imagine that it could get tiresome to be questioned repeatedly over the years, "Why didn't you go to med school?"

Specializes in Neuro.

It may be funny to someone who knows her, but to someone new to this site, I'm sure that it isn't, and it could very well have hurt their feelings.

Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

It could also hurt nurses' feelings to be asked "Why not med school?" so much. Do physicians have people coming up to them and constantly asking "Why didn't you go to nursing school?"

:idea:

I still say it was cute and effective humor. Well, that's my opinion. I'll leave it at that. BTW, I don't know Canoehead and I laughed.

Specializes in Neuro.
well, that's my opinion. i'll leave it at that.

multi,

same here!!! lets just say we agree to disagree, okay?!? lol! i don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings or want to badmouth anyone, but i also don't want anyone who is new to feel like they asked a stupid question, when in fact they didn't. people are asked all the time what made them go into a certain profession. i'm sure that doctors are asked that too. and a lot, if not most people are proud to answer why they chose nursing. i know that i am!!

anyway, friends?!? :wink2:

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