Thinking of going to medical school vs. nursing school?

[gybe]

I just graduated high school and am currently in a 2 year nursing program and just started this fall. I know it's a bit early to consider switching majors, but I am not enjoying my classes, teacher or environment. I do admit that the nursing course load is hard. I am putting in the effort and am doing okay (passing- but not as well as I used to do), but I just feel as if I don't have the passion or interest for the material I'm learning, which makes studying a bit of a struggle for me. I honestly enjoyed my prereqs (anatomy, bioethics, microbio, chem, etc) a lot more than I'm enjoying the actual program. It's just that I worked hard to get into this program and now I'm questioning whether I really want to be a nurse. For some reason I'm more interested in going to medical school and becoming a physician- but if I find the nursing class hard now, I'm scared I'll fail if I try to go for a different degree. Not to mention the staggering debt. I'm just kind of stuck on what to do. I'm just scared of being this unhappy and working so hard towards something I'm not meant to do...

Advice??

[RN403, BSN, RN]

Since you just started I would give it some time. It is a difficult course load and can be hard to get used to. The first semester especially is more the basics of nursing and you might find that when you start getting into specialities you might like it and find that it gets better as you go on.

You might try shadowing a physician and a nurse to see which career you fine better suited for you. You can also pick their brain for their advice/comments.

Do do you have an academic advisor? I would reach out to them as well regarding your concerns.

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

What makes you think that med school would be more suitable for you?

[anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP]

I agree with PP about shadowing before you make any decisions.

Also: the first semester of nursing school is just the basics of nursing. Bathing patients, ADL's, nursing theory, etc. isn't very science and critical thinking heavy. Once you get into med surg and beyond do you get into more anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, etc.