To experienced nurses...

[LookForward]

After graduating with an AAS in Nursing, my aunt told me to consider medical school. She's been a nurse for more than 2 decades, working in several floors like ICU and medsurgical. She told me that at times, she wished she had more knowledge of disease processes.

Right now I'm in an RN-BsN program in a state uni. I can't help but brood over what she shared with me. I'm turning 23--and deeply hope I'm undertaking the right career.

So, my question is...do you share the same thoughts my aunt harbor? If you didnt ever wish to be a doctor, why? and if you think medicine should have been the path you took, why?

There were other posts here about choosing between Nursing and MD. I was quite stunned that most experienced nurses encouraged the OP to forgo nursing, underscoring the disappointments they have with the field....

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I have never been interested in being a physician b/c my family and leisure time are too important to me. I don't plan on getting a FT job, uh, ever, lol. And i am certainly not interested in an 80 hour work week! Further, giving up 12 years of my life is simply out of the question. Medical students and working physicians make tremendous personal sacrifices. I am glad some are willing, we need physicians to be sure. I am not willing, nor was I ever.

If you don't have a lot of hobbies that are important to you, don't plan on having a family, and are interested in science, you should look into it further. Only you understand your personal priorities.

[NurseStephRN]

You can always go back and get your MD. Finish up what you've got going and you can always use the money you make with that when you start saving up for your next adventure.

That's exactly the path I'm taking. I've regretted thinking that med school was going to take "sooo long that I'll be old when I finally finish!" I'm taking my sciences, etc and hoping to get into an MD program in the future or take the PA route.

[JLHSNP]

I agree with the others who have replied, this is a decision that you have to make for youself. As for me, I have been a nurse for 9 years. I am currently in a BSN to DNP program to become a FNP. I have been asked several times if I ever thought of going to be a doctor instead. I always respond by explaining that nursing and medicine are two separate fields that work together and compliment each other. My background is in nursing and that is the field that I have chosen to stay in. Once I become a NP, it will be within my scope of practice to make medical diagnoses, order tests and prescribe medications/treatments. It seems to me that working as a nurse and actually taking care of people at the bedside allows us to connect well with our patients and focus on the patient as a whole rather than just the disease process we are treating. I am very happy to have stayed with nursing and I hope you will be too. If you seem to be bored or are not being "challenged" enough at the bedside, maybe becoming a nurse practitioner is the path that is best suited for you. Good luck!