Why are you a nurse and not a doctor?

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Dec 21, 2015

Just curious but what are your reasons? Med school is very competitive as well and given your past posts your undergrad GPA may not be the most competitive out there.

I'm a nurse because I love the medical field. I considered MD but did not like the fact that it would take me 10+ years to get to independent practice. Due to this I went FNP route and am happy. I make good money and I'm not $200k in debt.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Dec 22, 2015

Probably not a lot of physicians reading threads on AllNurses. Just sayin'....

Upward_Bound · Dec 22, 2015

Thanks for asking.

My undergrad GPA was not good. But my current GPA is very good. Guess I just didnt know what I had in me until I started researching and trying really hard.

Honey Clover · Dec 22, 2015

That's good that you realize your potential. If you feel you can go and be a doctor, by all means, do it! Many people told me I have the potential to be much more than "just" a nurse and a lot of my mentors said to go the doctor route, but in my mind and heart, I feel that nursing gets more hands on care and time with patients which is what I want to do. It's not that one is better than the other, it's the unique role each plays and I feel nursing is my calling. I'm actually quite proud to be going in this field and I really admire and respect nurses in general. I have a somewhat nontraditional story why I ended up choosing nursing so it has been engraved in my heart and I'm pretty stubborn until I achieve it. Nurses are very flexible too. You can go many routes and settings with one degree and if you ever want independent practice, it's simply a matter of getting that masters degree and specializing.

In the end, only you can determine what's right for you to make you happy. If you have ambitions you wanna achieve, why not? For the last question, perhaps visit a doctor's or medical student forum to gain more insight about this topic.

TC3200 · Dec 22, 2015

I just read something the other day (actually, several articles online) that said med schools across the board were expanding to be able to admit larger classes. It you're interested, go for it. There's always an emphasis on family practice. I know several DOs who got admitted to med school by saying they wanted to be GPs in a rural area. Then they became specialists in large urban areas.

elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 25, 2015

You might get better responses from that student doctor forum

gere7404, BSN, RN · Dec 25, 2015

Just curious but what are your reasons? Med school is very competitive as well and given your past posts your undergrad GPA may not be the most competitive out there.
I'm a nurse because I love the medical field. I considered MD but did not like the fact that it would take me 10+ years to get to independent practice. Due to this I went FNP route and am happy. I make good money and I'm not $200k in debt.

Pretty much this. Before joining the Army, I left during a semester of college and didn't bother to drop properly. The nursing program doesn't judge on cumulative GPA, just prereq GPA. My cumulative GPA is 3.12, my prereq GPA is 3.93; it's a lot easier to get into a nursing program and work towards a masters than try to get into medical school later in life when you've made mistakes. A lot of medical schools are looking for candidates who have been preparing for it their entire lives.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 25, 2015

I didn't want to go the medical school route because it seemed like school forever. Now that I'm a nurse I kind of regret my decision. But it's too late now and nursing school made my GPA less competitive.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Dec 25, 2015

Why do you say "nursing school made my GPA less competitive"? Nursing school is not an automatic for poor grades. Nursing school is nursing school. Whatever grade you earn YOU earn. There are students at MIT who earn 4.0. and there are nursing students who earn 4.0. I am confused by this post.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 25, 2015

Why do you say "nursing school made my GPA less competitive"? Nursing school is not an automatic for poor grades. Nursing school is nursing school. Whatever grade you earn YOU earn. There are students at MIT who earn 4.0. and there are nursing students who earn 4.0. I am confused by this post.

I was used to a high GPA and studying at a certain level (study one night before the test and not read all the chapters).When I got to nursing school I continued to study at that level except when I needed to get my grade up. That it what I mean. The increased difficulty of nursing school without an increase in intensity of study is what caused my GPA to tank a little. Its still semi competitive for NP school and I did get an A in my advanced pharm class because I studied a lot.

AspiringNurseMW · Dec 25, 2015

Why do you say "nursing school made my GPA less competitive"? Nursing school is not an automatic for poor grades. Nursing school is nursing school. Whatever grade you earn YOU earn. There are students at MIT who earn 4.0. and there are nursing students who earn 4.0. I am confused by this post.

It's pretty clear to me. There was no indication that pp said nursing school WILL drop your GPA. They said nursing school dropped THEIR GPA, personal story, not a generalization.

As for the OP, if being a doctor is what you want go for it. Realize that the model of care can vary widely when it comes to NP vs MD. May I suggest shadowing both for a few days to see the difference and what jibes with you the best.

I want to be a Certified Nurse Midwife. I have not interest in becoming an OBGYN, just not into the medical model of care, I like that I can become a CNM in stepping stones of no more than 2 to 3 years at a time. I have a family, so being able to work while I continue my education is important to me, and in 2 years I can work as an RN, making twice what I do now, while I work on my BSN and then MSN.

So that's MY story, but your desires and circumstances are unique to you.