"Why didn't you go to medical school?"

[shannonFNP]

Sorry for the provocative title :)

I'm mostly curious what your responses are when a patient asks you:

• "Why did you become an NP instead of a doctor?"
  
• & "What's the difference between a NP and a MD?"
  

During my clinical rotations (which are now COMPLETE!! Just waiting for that diploma), I've answered these questions ad nauseum to patients who were interested in my training. After giving a clever, premeditated answer that is both thorough and informative, it is still followed up by, "so you were an RN and now will be a nurse practitioner soon: are you going to go to medical school next?" & "what's the difference?" DOH!

Maybe my response isn't as clear as I'd like. Or maybe I'm just fighting the good fight against misinformation of NPs and it's just going to take more time. Either way, I'd love to hear how you respond to these questions!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I love Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio's answer-- she was accepted to med school but she wanted to save lives, so she went to nursing school instead.

I used to tell people who asked me why I didn't go to med school because I was so smart that I liked what nurses did with people more than what doctors did, and people need smart nurses too.

[CountyRat]

I am "just a regular nurse," but because I am a guy, I have often been asked if I am planning to "go on" to medical school, or, why didn't I go to medical school. I usually respond by saying, "because they don't teach you how to be a nurse in medical school." I admire doctors, but I like being a nurse. I used to try to change people's stereotypical thinking, but I do not any more. People are people; I no longer need to change their minds about anything. I am proud and happy to be a nurse, and no longer need to justify it.

Just me.

[WesClinicRN, MSN, NP]

I have to admit, I am still just a "regular nurse" as CountyRat said, but as a male nurse in a predominantly female profession, I often get this question. As I am currently continueing my education (finish BSN this semester and starting NP next fall), I constantly get asked whether i will continue on to medical school. Most people do not mean any offense by this nor do they mean to question your intelligence or drive to succeed. In answering their query, I usually respond with a serious but semi-jovial response stating "No, I prefer being a nurse. Nurses, including nurse practitioners, have a different view of patients and tend to look more at the patient, their feelings, their wants and needs, their goals, and their whole outlook on the situation and treat the person instead of the disease. Not to say anything negative about physicians, but in a family practice setting, most nurse practitioners (as well as family physicians of course) tend to make patients happier about their treatment and more satisfied with their treatment results." Since I work in a family practice setting as a RN, most people can understand this idea, but if they continue, I simply ask them whether they would prefer to go to someone that treats them as a person or a disease.... Then they tend to understand better. ;P Thanks.

[jsawyer]

Would it be wrong to answer these questions by stating.....a nurse practitioner is like a Physicians Assistant but more independent and in some states totally independent of a physician.

[Annaiya, NP]

Would it be wrong to answer these questions by stating.....a nurse practitioner is like a Physicians Assistant but more independent and in some states totally independent of a physician.

If someone doesn't know what an NP is, they aren't going to understand what a PA is. There are a lot more NPs than the are PAs. So that answer isn't likely to explain the role to them very well.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Would it be wrong to answer these questions by stating.....a nurse practitioner is like a Physicians Assistant but more independent and in some states totally independent of a physician.

Don't define the profession based on another profession.

[NJprisonrn]

How is the term midlevel provider offensive? You have more responsibility/liability than an nurse but less than a doctor (in my state, at least). That seems pretty mid level to me.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

How is the term midlevel provider offensive? You have more responsibility/liability than an nurse but less than a doctor (in my state at least). That seems pretty mid level to me.[/quote']

NPs are not a hybrid provider that is midway between a physician and a nurse. We are advanced practice nurses that are held to the same standards as our physician colleagues and are educated under an entirely different model.

[NJprisonrn]

Perhaps, but it doesn't seem demeaning to me. I wouldn't take offense to it, as if it were a derogatory term. It seems like more of an umbrella term for providers like NPs and PAs. I've heard the term when talking with plenty of NPs and not one of them said anything negative about it.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Perhaps but it doesn't seem demeaning to me. I wouldn't take offense to it, as if it were a derogatory term. It seems like more of an umbrella term for providers like NPs and PAs. I've heard the term when talking with plenty of NPs and not one of them said anything negative about it.[/quote']

It doesn't particularly bother me, but some NPs and PAs get very upset about it. Think about the connotation: if a NP is a midlevel, does that imply that RNs are "low levels"?

[NJprisonrn]

It doesn't particularly bother me, but some NPs and PAs get very upset about it. Think about the connotation: if a NP is a midlevel, does that imply that RNs are "low levels"?

Ha! I never thought of it that way. A good point.

[PatMac10,RN, RN]

I am “just a regular nurse,” but because I am a guy, I have often been asked if I am planning to “go on” to medical school, or, why didn’t I go to medical school. I usually respond by saying, “because they don’t teach you how to be a nurse in medical school." I admire doctors, but I like being a nurse. I used to try to change people’s stereotypical thinking, but I do not any more. People are people; I no longer need to change their minds about anything. I am proud and happy to be a nurse, and no longer need to justify it.

Just me.

Great answer.