Second thoughts? Medicine calling me!

Nurses General Nursing

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hello. i posted this in the pre-nursing student forum as well and realized that i wouldn't be reaching many rns by that route. if any nurses out there have any insight i would certainly appreciate it!

i am hoping that someone here has experienced or is experiencing something like what i am. i am in my last semester of pre-requisites for my bsn program. i applied in february (with two in progress) and will find out around may 16th. i have a 4.0 and got a surprising 95.9 on the teas. sounds great right? well at first yes, but now i'm seriously questioning everything that i've worked so hard for. since last semester i've been trying to decide if i have the strength and time for med school. i have two kids and am separated from my husband. we are working on things now, going to counseling etc, and things are really getting a lot better. point there is that i don't know if i'll have to support system i'd need to go through 9 years of school and residency.

anyone out there have any insight? anyone regret not going to med school when it was your passion. i don't think either profession is better than the other and i do not think nursing is settling, i just don't know if i would be satisfied?? i have a huge curiosity about diagnosing, decision making, and possibly being a surgeon. i'm honestly more into the science of life than actual bedside care taking. is there any nursing filed this would be compatible with?

this got long! i haven't really told many people that i'm having second thoughts. i feel like i'm failing in a way by not wanting to follow though with what i've already sacrificed so much for....

Specializes in ER/SICU/Med-Surg/Ortho/Trauma/Flight.

Or if you dont want to do medicine have you thought about being a nurse practicioner or a Physicians assistant.:balloons: Good luck in all you do!:balloons:

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Physicians assistant

Surprised no one has mentioned that until now. GREAT option.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

Despite the fact that my childhood dream was to be the next Quincy M.E. - i ended up in nursing. I was a premed/ biology major in college when i realized that this probably wasn't going to happen for me. The transition to nursing school was fine, though i felt a bit like i was giving up on my dreams. Nursing school went fine - i enjoyed the classes and felt like it was really worthwhile. I am glad i'm a nurse. I don't feel like i'm missing out on anything. I like having the professional freedom to try different specialties without having to overhaul my entire career to do so.

I learned an important lesson through it all -sometimes it's okay to give up on a dream - as long as you don't stop dreaming.

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Wow! I just got home from school and see that there are so many nice and helpful folks on here! Thanks everyone. It really helps to hear your real life experiences and opinions. I did look a bit into PA but my local program requires two years of relevant health care experience, so I may be able to do that but down the road. I do think that would be a good option for me. I'm only 25 but I feel like I need to at least decide on what I'm doing pretty soon here. I'm ok with it taking a long time to get there though. =)

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Hi Spriess

I have never wanted to be a doctor but I can see the benefits in making an effort to do your training. You have so much more autonomy as a Dr and even though you have more responsibility and with it, liability, you are compensated well.

If you decided to have children you could have your own general practice where you worked your own hours.

I personally think it's worth putting in the extra years at your age, it's an investment in your future and you will have many more options in medicine than you will in nursing.

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Thanks for the encouragement! I already have two kids now, which is part of (well most of) where my indecision comes from. I want to be a present mom and worry that, especially during residency, I wouldn't be very present. I guess I just need to look into what a realistic schedule would be like and see if I can deal with it.

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my other option is to get my bachelors in biological science (pre med) then if i didn't get in to med school i could do the one year accelerated bsn that requires a degree to get into. either way i'd be done in 3 years with nursing school.

since it sounds like you haven't completed all the bio core courses (basically the pre-med requirments), would you seriously be able to finish up a bio degree in just two years? does that include some serious summer school?

if you did go that route, i'd suggest slowing down, taking a lighter class load, and using that time to explore your options. volunteer in a medical setting. get a related part-time job. take an emt class at night. also, if you get offered a position in a nursing program, maybe you could defer your acceptance for a year to decide if that's the direction you wan to head? a year can sound like forever sometimes, but if nails down what you want to do, you'll be that much more confident and motivated in whatever direction you head.

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since it sounds like you haven't completed all the bio core courses (basically the pre-med requirments), would you seriously be able to finish up a bio degree in just two years? does that include some serious summer school?

if you did go that route, i'd suggest slowing down, taking a lighter class load, and using that time to explore your options. volunteer in a medical setting. get a related part-time job. take an emt class at night. also, if you get offered a position in a nursing program, maybe you could defer your acceptance for a year to decide if that's the direction you wan to head? a year can sound like forever sometimes, but if nails down what you want to do, you'll be that much more confident and motivated in whatever direction you head.

yes, i'd be full time in the summers too. since i started back to school (after a long break of getting married, having kids, and being a realtor =d) i've been doing it this way. i tend to thrive on being overwhelmed and tend to be lazy if i don't have way too much to do. sick i know! i don't want to put my family out financially for any longer than i have to. the problem with working part time is that i wouldn't qualify for school provided daycare and would have to pay more than i'd make. part time daycare in my area is about $1000 a month, at least, for my two kids!

i have been wondering about deferring my acceptance (assuming i get it). i need to call the school and see if i can. i'll let them tell me that i got in first though. =)that would be ideal in the case that i can't figure this out by fall.

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