Seeking guidance

[nurse2be79]

Hi all, I'm a 24 year old who is making an important decision as to whether or not to pursue the NP route vs. medical school.

I am looking to have an honest assessment if I am making a rational choice based on my life goals so I'm looking for your inputs.

I am leaning heavily towards nursing primarily because of the lifestyle I hope to have in the future - one that is not consumed by my job and that places a high importance on family (I want to be as present as I can be as a father to my future children) and having time to discover new hobbies and interests outside of my work. From my limited knowledge of the NP profession, this is a route that can give me a good compromise between an intellectually stimulating environment and family life.

Personally I view life as much more than just being about professional career so I don't fear any resentment for not being able to maximize my potential as long as I have a great family life/life in general.

However, recently I've been reading that NP's often have similar workloads as physicians, similar stress levels and also take call but with a fraction of the pay.

I'm hoping some of you can shed some light on your experiences!!

[serenitylove14]

Do you have children? Do you plan on having children? Are you married? Do you plan to get married? Do you have a strong support system?

One of the important things that guided me towards NP was the amount of time it took to achieve my degree/ cost/ life balance. Although your pay may be less than an MD, your student loans will be too, unless you borrow frivolously, I suggest paying out of pocket...

I often get asked why i didnt go to medical school, my answer is that I value my children/freetime/being debt free more than a being a MD.

I would suggest you google search both positions and jobs in your area to see what the requirements are and salary, also check out the hours associated with the position, I would choose which path works best for you and your future goals for work/family/etc...

Good luck.

[Oldmahubbard]

I have been a Psych NP for 15 years, and have never worked more than 40 hours a week. Most of the physicians I know who work ridiculous hours are doing so, entirely voluntarily for more money. They have 2 and 3 jobs. Of course, some have big loans. Even as an NP, 120 or even 150k won't seem like much if you have big loans.

I also think the intensity of the two training programs is very, very different. If you go the NP route, you can date, or even get married and start a family any time. That would be much more difficult with the MD until you are completely out of training.

Most NP programs are at least partly on-line, whereas with Medical School, you would have to move wherever you are lucky enough to get in. I have known more than one individual graduating with a 4.0, who could not get into an American Medical School.

The stress level is a matter of perception. Different people are stressed by different things. Most of the NP's I have known are fairly well balanced individuals.

If your goal as a physician is to live in a gated community and send the kids to private school in Switzerland, if that doesn't happen, it can be very stressful.

In my private psych practice, we actually had a surgeon that was coming in for counseling because he was promised 600k, but they only paid him 550k. And he lived in a low cost area.

So overall, I have been very satisfied with my career, but I do know some NP's who are not.