Doctor vs Nurse... Doctor is easier to be?

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So this "know it all" biology major has told me that she wants to be a doctor, yes, an MD, because it is far easier than being a nurse. She's told me that nurses have a far harder job, and work far more, and get paid far less and she could never do it because she wants a family and a life... And that doctors don't have to worry about keeping people alive... she said, and I quote..

"i dont want to be a nurse. i dont want to do chemistry my whole life and then have people's lives resting in my power like that.
never will i be a nurse. i'd rather be the doctor."

"nurses keep track of the patients and do more of the dirty work
i dont have to worry about that
thats your job. its like you work for me see? i'll have my own office and i'll pay you and tell you when to work while i make my own schedule and tell you when i wont be there
you can do the blood pressures and the blood drawing and respiration rates and heat beats
i'll diagnose and write the prescriptions. and advise them on what they should probably do in the future."

But that's wrong, isn't it? Doctors ARE the ones that have people lives resting in their power... Doctors are the ones who do all the math and chemistry, aren't they? And how could being a doctor POSSIBLY be easier than being a nurse? Wouldn't everyone just go be a doctor then?

All in all, she's basically making claims that being a doctor is easier, less demanding, and you don't have to have responsibility for the lives of your patients.

Originally Posted by xilc

So this "know it all" biology major has told me that she wants to be a doctor, yes, an MD, because it is far easier than being a nurse. She's told me that nurses have a far harder job, and work far more, and get paid far less and she could never do it because she wants a family and a life... And that doctors don't have to worry about keeping people alive... she said, and I quote..

"i dont want to be a nurse. i dont want to do chemistry my whole life and then have people's lives resting in my power like that.
never will i be a nurse. i'd rather be the doctor."

"nurses keep track of the patients and do more of the dirty work
i dont have to worry about that
thats your job. its like you work for me see? i'll have my own office and i'll pay you and tell you when to work while i make my own schedule and tell you when i wont be there
you can do the blood pressures and the blood drawing and respiration rates and heat beats
i'll diagnose and write the prescriptions. and advise them on what they should probably do in the future."

But that's wrong, isn't it? Doctors ARE the ones that have people lives resting in their power... Doctors are the ones who do all the math and chemistry, aren't they? And how could being a doctor POSSIBLY be easier than being a nurse? Wouldn't everyone just go be a doctor then?

All in all, she's basically making claims that being a doctor is easier, less demanding, and you don't have to have responsibility for the lives of your patients.

Based on this post I wouldn't want you as my doctor OR my nurse.

Here we go..

Originally Posted by Neurocentric

Here we go..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q

Originally Posted by idontcaureuknow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q

I love this song!

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

Based on this post I wouldn't want you as my doctor OR my nurse.

it's a discussion, gtfo troll.

Originally Posted by xilc

it's a discussion, gtfo troll.

There is no discussion. There are no valid points.

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

Based on this post I wouldn't want you as my doctor OR my nurse.

That's a scary thought.

Originally Posted by Neurocentric

I love this song!

Haha, I felt it summed up this day of SDN time killing quite well.

As for the OP:
It's a team effort. If a nurse messes up, a patient can die. If a doctor messes up, a patient can die. Such is the business. With respect to chemistry, I'm not really sure most doctors have to practice chemistry while providing patient care. The closest thing to a chemist at a hospital is a pharmacist.

Oh, and your biology friend is a nutcase with a skewed view of practice. There, my pre-allo douchery in full form!

I just rofld

Originally Posted by idontcaureuknow

haha, i felt it summed up this day of sdn time killing quite well.

As for the op:
It's a team effort. If a nurse messes up, a patient can die. If a doctor messes up, a patient can die. Such is the business. With respect to chemistry, i'm not really sure most doctors have to practice chemistry while providing patient care. The closest thing to a chemist at a hospital is a pharmacist.

Oh, and your biology friend is a nutcase with a skewed view of practice. There, my pre-allo douchery in full form!

+1

Originally Posted by idontcaureuknow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q

To be fair, my ex is a nurse, and there's no way I could do some of the crap that she has to deal with on a daily basis. Each profession has its ups and downs.

and right now many believe nursing has more ups than doctors

Originally Posted by idontcaureuknow

Haha, I felt it summed up this day of SDN time killing quite well.

As for the OP:
It's a team effort. If a nurse messes up, a patient can die. If a doctor messes up, a patient can die. Such is the business. With respect to chemistry, I'm not really sure most doctors have to practice chemistry while providing patient care. The closest thing to a chemist at a hospital is a pharmacist.

Oh, and your biology friend is a nutcase with a skewed view of practice. There, my pre-allo douchery in full form!

Agreed 100%.

I have seen many doctors that let the nurse do all the paperwork and treatment and they ( the doctor) just reviews and signs off.

Who has it harder:

The manager with 120 people who he has to direct, guide, mentor and take responsibility for....
OR
The hourly employee that packs boxes and moves crap with a forklift for 10hrs/day.

The manager may spend most of their time in an office with A/C and a nice chair; but their job requires a Master's degree and stress that most hourly employees can't fathom.

The hourly employee does a menial job with physical labor for lousy pay.

They are BOTH hard, but in very different ways. Just like nursing and medicine.

ITT: OP gets butthurt, comes to SDN for reassurance.

Originally Posted by xilc

So this "know it all" biology major has told me that she wants to be a doctor, yes, an MD, because it is far easier than being a nurse. She's told me that nurses have a far harder job, and work far more, and get paid far less and she could never do it because she wants a family and a life... And that doctors don't have to worry about keeping people alive... she said, and I quote..

"i dont want to be a nurse. i dont want to do chemistry my whole life and then have people's lives resting in my power like that.
never will i be a nurse. i'd rather be the doctor."

"nurses keep track of the patients and do more of the dirty work
i dont have to worry about that
thats your job. its like you work for me see? i'll have my own office and i'll pay you and tell you when to work while i make my own schedule and tell you when i wont be there
you can do the blood pressures and the blood drawing and respiration rates and heat beats
i'll diagnose and write the prescriptions. and advise them on what they should probably do in the future."

But that's wrong, isn't it? Doctors ARE the ones that have people lives resting in their power... Doctors are the ones who do all the math and chemistry, aren't they? And how could being a doctor POSSIBLY be easier than being a nurse? Wouldn't everyone just go be a doctor then?

All in all, she's basically making claims that being a doctor is easier, less demanding, and you don't have to have responsibility for the lives of your patients.

If you hate cleaning up poop/piss/blood on people, then nursing will be a difficult job no matter what.

Originally Posted by liveyourdreams2

My days of growing up on a diary farm was a lot harder work than working in the healthcare field. That 300 pound patient you have help moving. On the farm you may have a heavy object to move and nobody around to help.

Have a good day.

I think the OP is funny and ridiculous. But so? I see your point, but so what? We are not comparing dairy farmers to healthcare work.

Well getting through/into a nursing program is definitely easier than the MD route. Doesn't mean that people in the nursing program aren't smart as well...some of them probably chose the route to achieve a better work/life balance.

I think the OP's comment is valid. I've heard that sh*t before too. Your classmate is a NUTJOB and I hope she snaps out of it before she makes it to medical school. The last thing we need is another generation full of arrogant doctors who have no respect for other healthcare workers.

Originally Posted by liveyourdreams2

My point is a nurse labors, a doctor orders. Just like I labored growing up on the farm.

So shouldn't you be respecting the nurse for his/her work instead of being like "well, farm work is harder. So IDC." I mean the same argument applies if you grew up working construction, "construction work is harder, so nursing is easy."

I believe in respecting every profession and not diminishing their roles in society. Without farmers, construction workers, cooks, chefs, ect. society would fall apart. Each profession requires a different set of skills, and if you just wanna get by in life certain jobs are easier to hold than others. For that, I'll agree that nursing is easier to sleepwalk and collect a paycheck when compared to farming. But in the case of this thread, I see very little reason to reference farming except "hey, I used to work really hard."

Originally Posted by akszp4

I just LOL'ed in the library so hard everybody looked at me like I was having a seizure.

Originally Posted by happymedium

>doctor
>math and chemistry
Pick one

we can do greentext on here?

Originally Posted by LifeTake2

Who has it harder:

The manager with 120 people who he has to direct, guide, mentor and take responsibility for....
OR
The hourly employee that packs boxes and moves crap with a forklift for 10hrs/day.

The manager may spend most of their time in an office with A/C and a nice chair; but their job requires a Master's degree and stress that most hourly employees can't fathom.

The hourly employee does a menial job with physical labor for lousy pay.

They are BOTH hard, but in very different ways. Just like nursing and medicine.

Plus doctors are smarter!

Originally Posted by Bl4ckout

Plus doctors are smarter!

And sexier.

Originally Posted by liveyourdreams2

Who said anything about not respecting nurses? You are putting words in your own mouth.

Maybe I am reading the tone of your first post wrong, but I view your first comment as: "Hey, I know what hard work is, so do not complain because nursing is not." Which I find slightly disrespectful.

Originally Posted by xilc

So this "know it all" biology major has told me that she wants to be a doctor, yes, an MD, because it is far easier than being a nurse. She's told me that nurses have a far harder job, and work far more, and get paid far less and she could never do it because she wants a family and a life... And that doctors don't have to worry about keeping people alive... she said, and I quote..

"i dont want to be a nurse. i dont want to do chemistry my whole life and then have people's lives resting in my power like that.
never will i be a nurse. i'd rather be the doctor."

"nurses keep track of the patients and do more of the dirty work
i dont have to worry about that
thats your job. its like you work for me see? i'll have my own office and i'll pay you and tell you when to work while i make my own schedule and tell you when i wont be there
you can do the blood pressures and the blood drawing and respiration rates and heat beats
i'll diagnose and write the prescriptions. and advise them on what they should probably do in the future."

But that's wrong, isn't it? Doctors ARE the ones that have people lives resting in their power... Doctors are the ones who do all the math and chemistry, aren't they? And how could being a doctor POSSIBLY be easier than being a nurse? Wouldn't everyone just go be a doctor then?

All in all, she's basically making claims that being a doctor is easier, less demanding, and you don't have to have responsibility for the lives of your patients.

This is such a stupid post. Doctors have more value and worth than nurses - its a part of the 10 years of schooling with rigorous standards that nurses don't go through. Nurses are important (being good looking wouldn't hurt either lol) in healthcare, but doctors are much higher up the ladder. Nurses do not have all the same responsibilities a physician has.

Originally Posted by LifeTake2

Who has it harder:

The manager with 120 people who he has to direct, guide, mentor and take responsibility for....
OR
The hourly employee that packs boxes and moves crap with a forklift for 10hrs/day.

The manager may spend most of their time in an office with A/C and a nice chair; but their job requires a Master's degree and stress that most hourly employees can't fathom.

The hourly employee does a menial job with physical labor for lousy pay.

They are BOTH hard, but in very different ways. Just like nursing and medicine.

This...and I'm glad you used the "forklift" metaphor. A forklift is a dangerous piece of machinery to operate, and can cause serious death and dismemberment if used improperly. A good forklift operator is a valuable employee, can have a stressful job at times, but is making good hourly $$ and gets to go home and kick back when the shift ends.

This is my life as an RN. Awesome pay, with a job that is challenging enough that I have to stay on my toes. Doing my job well benefits a whole spectrum of people, from the patient, to their family, to my physicians, the corporation, etc. For those suited to it, I recommend it without hesitation.

Lets see, from every possible definition of "harder":

Reasons why it's harder to be a doctor:

It's harder to get into medical school.
It takes longer to complete your MD/DO.
Medical school costs more.
Doctors have more responsibility.
Doctors make life/death decisions.
Doctors lead, nurses follow.
Doctors teach, nurses learn.
When a patient dies, the doctor tells the family.
Doctors operate, nurses assist.
Doctors interpret tests, nurses collect specimens for testing.


Reasons why it's harder to be a nurse:
Nurses make less money.
Nurses get told what to do all day long.
Nurses might have to deal with cleaning up blood/vomit/stool/urine.
Nurses don't get the respect doctors do.
There is a stigma about male nurses.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against nurses. They are an important part of patient care and sometimes their job is difficult, just like sometimes a physician's job is easy. However, I disagree that it is harder to be a nurse. That doesn't mean nursing is easy, or unimportant, it just means it is harder to be a physician.

Also, whether or not a doctor is worth more than a nurse I don't know. I do think that it is easier to replace a good nurse than it is to replace a good doctor simply because there are way more nurses in the world than doctors, so statistically there must be more good nurses than good doctors.

In b4

(First time I've gotten to do this woohoo!)

I don't see this thread getting locked. It's a legitimate discussion imo. Some nurses are going to think they are more important than doctors, and some doctors are going to think they are more important than nurses.

Originally Posted by DeterminedDoc

This is such a stupid post. Doctors have more value and worth than nurses - its a part of the 10 years of schooling with rigorous standards that nurses don't go through. Nurses are important (being good looking wouldn't hurt either lol) in healthcare, but doctors are much higher up the ladder. Nurses do not have all the same responsibilities a physician has.

Losing all doctors probably wouldn't be as bad as losing all nurses.

Originally Posted by dreamweaver1988

Losing all doctors probably wouldn't be as bad as losing all nurses.

Agreed!

I volunteered at a Cancer Agency in the hospital and it disgusted me seeing how the oncologists treated the chemo nurses. If I ever make it through medical school I vow never to turn into an egotistical jerk (hopefully)

Originally Posted by dreamweaver1988

Losing all doctors probably wouldn't be as bad as losing all nurses.

Originally Posted by xilc

it's a discussion, gtfo troll.

haha..I laughed hard at this. This is a dumb thread though. I don't think it's up for debate on which is harder. Med school is more school, more stress and more money than nursing school. Nurses get paid less sure and that is stressful if they are trying to make ends meet and they might work longer hours from time to time but all in all being a physician is going to be harder. You're biology major friend should stop talking.

Originally Posted by MedPR

Lets see, from every possible definition of "harder":

Reasons why it's harder to be a doctor:

It's harder to get into medical school.
It takes longer to complete your MD/DO.
Medical school costs more.
Doctors have more responsibility.
Doctors make life/death decisions.
Doctors lead, nurses follow.
Doctors teach, nurses learn.
When a patient dies, the doctor tells the family.
Doctors operate, nurses assist.
Doctors interpret tests, nurses collect specimens for testing.


Reasons why it's harder to be a nurse:
Nurses make less money.
Nurses get told what to do all day long.
Nurses might have to deal with cleaning up blood/vomit/stool/urine.
Nurses don't get the respect doctors do.
There is a stigma about male nurses.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against nurses. They are an important part of patient care and sometimes their job is difficult, just like sometimes a physician's job is easy. However, I disagree that it is harder to be a nurse. That doesn't mean nursing is easy, or unimportant, it just means it is harder to be a physician.

Also, whether or not a doctor is worth more than a nurse I don't know. I do think that it is easier to replace a good nurse than it is to replace a good doctor simply because there are way more nurses in the world than doctors, so statistically there must be more good nurses than good doctors.

The stigma I am assuming pertains to some feminine characteristics of male nurses? I don't think this is necessarily true. Maybe it is and I don't realize it but I am a third year male nursing student who has also played two years of Junior A hockey and been a personal trainer for five years has a girlfriend and has never been questioned about any type of femininity. haha One of my good buddies is also in my class and he plays Division I college hockey. I would say that around 25% of the nurses I work with at the hospital are male and they are guys that I would never associate with that stigma. If there was/is a stigma I think it is changing as nursing has become a profession and not just a menial job for women.

[QUOTE=DeterminedDoc;12012249]
This is such a stupid post. Doctors have more value and worth than nurses - its a part of the 10 years of schooling with rigorous standards that nurses don't go through. Nurses are important (being good looking wouldn't hurt either lol) in healthcare, but doctors are much higher up the ladder. Nurses do not have all the same responsibilities a physician has.

I don't think you have enough clinical experience (I am not talking about shadowing, I am talking real clinical experience)... First off, alluding to the fact that you view nurses as sex objects is pretty demeaning and offensive (especially considering I am a male nursing student haha). But seriously you need to grow up. Secondly, yes medical school is harder than nursing school I don't think that is even an argument. However, to debate the "worth" of nurses as not being as essential... dude are you kidding me? They are completely different professions, and as such, one without the other results in poor health care. Nurses are responsible for the life of patients minute by minute, performing assessments, administering medications, dealing with psychosocial issues, looking at the patient as a whole not just looking at the pathology. Now, yes the doctors have a higher degree of responsibility as they have the decision making ability, that if done with negligence can kill the patient. Being a doctor requires much more knowledge than being a nurse does but that does not mean that nurses are not equally as smart (i.e. critical thinking), if all you think nurses do is start IV's, draw blood, and clean patients up after they have been incontinent you are poorly mistaken. Otherwise, if that is all it was I don't know why it takes four years to complete my degree...

Originally Posted by xilc

So this "know it all" biology major has told me that she wants to be a doctor, yes, an MD, because it is far easier than being a nurse. She's told me that nurses have a far harder job, and work far more, and get paid far less and she could never do it because she wants a family and a life... And that doctors don't have to worry about keeping people alive... she said, and I quote..

"i dont want to be a nurse. i dont want to do chemistry my whole life and then have people's lives resting in my power like that.
never will i be a nurse. i'd rather be the doctor."

"nurses keep track of the patients and do more of the dirty work
i dont have to worry about that
thats your job. its like you work for me see? i'll have my own office and i'll pay you and tell you when to work while i make my own schedule and tell you when i wont be there
you can do the blood pressures and the blood drawing and respiration rates and heat beats
i'll diagnose and write the prescriptions. and advise them on what they should probably do in the future."

But that's wrong, isn't it? Doctors ARE the ones that have people lives resting in their power... Doctors are the ones who do all the math and chemistry, aren't they? And how could being a doctor POSSIBLY be easier than being a nurse? Wouldn't everyone just go be a doctor then?

All in all, she's basically making claims that being a doctor is easier, less demanding, and you don't have to have responsibility for the lives of your patients.

Part of being mature includes realizing that there are people who will disagree with your world view and not caring. I guess that kind of confidence comes with experience.

Originally Posted by jtdMU2010

haha..I laughed hard at this. This is a dumb thread though. I don't think it's up for debate on which is harder. Med school is more school, more stress and more money than nursing school. Nurses get paid less sure and that is stressful if they are trying to make ends meet and they might work longer hours from time to time but all in all being a physician is going to be harder. You're biology major friend should stop talking.

Nurses make enough money to not have trouble making ends meet, unless they are living beyond their means, but that's another story. Nurses don't make as much as doctors, but they make more than the national average.

Originally Posted by Aaron151

The stigma I am assuming pertains to some feminine characteristics of male nurses? I don't think this is necessarily true. Maybe it is and I don't realize it but I am a third year male nursing student who has also played two years of Junior A hockey and been a personal trainer for five years has a girlfriend and has never been questioned about any type of femininity. haha One of my good buddies is also in my class and he plays Division I college hockey. I would say that around 25% of the nurses I work with at the hospital are male and they are guys that I would never associate with that stigma. If there was/is a stigma I think it is changing as nursing has become a profession and not just a menial job for women.

I'm not talking about male nurses necessarily being feminine, I'm talking about nursing typically being viewed as a female profession. Hypothetically, if someone asked about a certain man's job, and that man happened to be a nurse, the person answering might say "Oh, he's a male nurse." I think the term/phrase "male nurse" is something we've all heard without thinking anything of it. However, I've never heard someone say "she's a female plumber," or "she's a female truck driver," despite plumbing and trucking typically being viewed as male professions.

I don't care if a guy is a nurse, but I'd rather have a woman as my nurse.

[QUOTE=Aaron151;12016637]The stigma I am assuming pertains to some feminine characteristics of male nurses? I don't think this is necessarily true. Maybe it is and I don't realize it but I am a third year male nursing student who has also played two years of Junior A hockey and been a personal trainer for five years has a girlfriend and has never been questioned about any type of femininity. haha One of my good buddies is also in my class and he plays Division I college hockey. I would say that around 25% of the nurses I work with at the hospital are male and they are guys that I would never associate with that stigma. If there was/is a stigma I think it is changing as nursing has become a profession and not just a menial job for women.

Originally Posted by DeterminedDoc

This is such a stupid post. Doctors have more value and worth than nurses - its a part of the 10 years of schooling with rigorous standards that nurses don't go through. Nurses are important (being good looking wouldn't hurt either lol) in healthcare, but doctors are much higher up the ladder. Nurses do not have all the same responsibilities a physician has.

I don't think you have enough clinical experience (I am not talking about shadowing, I am talking real clinical experience)... First off, alluding to the fact that you view nurses as sex objects is pretty demeaning and offensive (especially considering I am a male nursing student haha). But seriously you need to grow up. Secondly, yes medical school is harder than nursing school I don't think that is even an argument. However, to debate the "worth" of nurses as not being as essential... dude are you kidding me? They are completely different professions, and as such, one without the other results in poor health care. Nurses are responsible for the life of patients minute by minute, performing assessments, administering medications, dealing with psychosocial issues, looking at the patient as a whole not just looking at the pathology. Now, yes the doctors have a higher degree of responsibility as they have the decision making ability, that if done with negligence can kill the patient. Being a doctor requires much more knowledge than being a nurse does but that does not mean that nurses are not equally as smart (i.e. critical thinking), if all you think nurses do is start IV's, draw blood, and clean patients up after they have been incontinent you are poorly mistaken. Otherwise, if that is all it was I don't know why it takes four years to complete my degree...

What degree is that? You can get a BSN in 1 year.

And obviously that's not all nurses do, but since you obviously have more "real" clinical experience than I do, when is the last time you saw a doctor (not a resident) start an IV or clean up after a patient? When's the last time you heard a nurse give instructions to a doctor?

Doctors are more valuable than nurses. Nurses can't write prescriptions, hell more than half of the nurses I've dealt with in my hospital lab job don't even know how to pronounce the meds their patient is taking and I work at one of the top 15 hospitals in the country. Doctors know more and do more than nurses do. The purpose of health care is to improve and save lives. Nurses might save the odd life by being the first to see a patient code, but what's one of the first things they do? Call a doctor for help.

Originally Posted by akszp4

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

I just LOL'ed in the library so hard everybody looked at me like I was having a seizure.

Same here, think I woke everyone in the house, rofl!

Originally Posted by Aaron151

Otherwise, if that is all it was I don't know why it takes four years to complete my degree...

Your degree takes four years because you have to take a bunch of stupid college classes that have nothing to do with your future profession...just like the rest of us did.

I was hoping you'd look like this though

[QUOTE=MedPR;12020043]

Originally Posted by Aaron151

The stigma I am assuming pertains to some feminine characteristics of male nurses? I don't think this is necessarily true. Maybe it is and I don't realize it but I am a third year male nursing student who has also played two years of Junior A hockey and been a personal trainer for five years has a girlfriend and has never been questioned about any type of femininity. haha One of my good buddies is also in my class and he plays Division I college hockey. I would say that around 25% of the nurses I work with at the hospital are male and they are guys that I would never associate with that stigma. If there was/is a stigma I think it is changing as nursing has become a profession and not just a menial job for women.



What degree is that? You can get a BSN in 1 year.

And obviously that's not all nurses do, but since you obviously have more "real" clinical experience than I do, when is the last time you saw a doctor (not a resident) start an IV or clean up after a patient? When's the last time you heard a nurse give instructions to a doctor?

Doctors are more valuable than nurses. Nurses can't write prescriptions, hell more than half of the nurses I've dealt with in my hospital lab job don't even know how to pronounce the meds their patient is taking and I work at one of the top 15 hospitals in the country. Doctors know more and do more than nurses do. The purpose of health care is to improve and save lives. Nurses might save the odd life by being the first to see a patient code, but what's one of the first things they do? Call a doctor for help.

Since when can you get a

[QUOTE=MedPR;12020043]

Originally Posted by Aaron151

The stigma I am assuming pertains to some feminine characteristics of male nurses? I don't think this is necessarily true. Maybe it is and I don't realize it but I am a third year male nursing student who has also played two years of Junior A hockey and been a personal trainer for five years has a girlfriend and has never been questioned about any type of femininity. haha One of my good buddies is also in my class and he plays Division I college hockey. I would say that around 25% of the nurses I work with at the hospital are male and they are guys that I would never associate with that stigma. If there was/is a stigma I think it is changing as nursing has become a profession and not just a menial job for women.



What degree is that? You can get a BSN in 1 year.

And obviously that's not all nurses do, but since you obviously have more "real" clinical experience than I do, when is the last time you saw a doctor (not a resident) start an IV or clean up after a patient? When's the last time you heard a nurse give instructions to a doctor?

Doctors are more valuable than nurses. Nurses can't write prescriptions, hell more than half of the nurses I've dealt with in my hospital lab job don't even know how to pronounce the meds their patient is taking and I work at one of the top 15 hospitals in the country. Doctors know more and do more than nurses do. The purpose of health care is to improve and save lives. Nurses might save the odd life by being the first to see a patient code, but what's one of the first things they do? Call a doctor for help.

A BSN is a four year degree. There are RN to BSN programs but they are not as popular as a four year track program. So, because nurses start IVs and clean up after patients and take orders from doctors they are worth less? As I said previously, you cannot compare nurses and doctors. You are comparing apples and oranges. The roles are different, Medical school is four more years plus three years of residency, so seven more years of education than RN so yes they are going to know more and if anyone argues this they are ignorant. That is not my argument. RNs are taught how to work with people and their families. Yes, we are taught about many of the common disease processes and how to do health assessments but it is not nearly as detailed as a physician, it does not even come close. Does that mean that RNs are ignorant? I don’t think so. It varies from nurse to nurse and for you to make blanket statements such as “half the nurses cannot pronounce the medications that their patients are on,” demonstrates your lack of maturity and experience. I don’t know what working in a “top 15” hospital has to do with anything… That does not mean that you have top nurses, but I am sure that many of them are quite competent, regardless of what you think. Yes, “saving the odd life,” by being a first responder to a code and calling the doctor is not really a big deal, to know what to do during a code, and the advanced cardiac life support that is performed when waiting for the doctor to respond. That is what they are supposed to do, call the doctor! Again, this is not in their scope of practice.

RN education is much broader than the hard science based education that physicians receive. We are responsible for patient education and recognizing barriers to effective health promotion. Nurses are involved in leading community health initiatives that help promote preventative health care such as screenings and immunizations. Nurses are trained to look at the person as a whole, looking at the context and circumstance that each individual is in, recognizing obstacles that the patients face, providing resources and support when they return home, etc. Nurses are usually people who love working and spending time with other people, yes it requires some very difficult work, sometimes cleaning up after patients and starting IVs. These are essential aspects to patient care. It is a very humbling occupation in many ways, I learn a lot from the patients that I work with and for you to look down on nurses because they do menial tasks such as cleaning up after people after they have been incontinent, is very sad. No, nurses do not write prescriptions, that is a terrible argument. They are not trained to do so, it is not in the scope of practice of a nurse. Medical school is much harder, longer, and stressful than nursing school you cannot even compare them. Does that make the worth of nurses less? If patients were not cleaned after they have been incontinent, physicians would be dealing with infected ulcers all day. So, yes I would say they are valuable.

I am not a nursing student with an inferiority complex. I just get very upset when individuals disrespect others based on their role in health care. I will do the same for the physicians, if I hear nurses bashing physicians I do not tolerate it. My best friend is an internist, whom I highly respect. It is disgusting to see the disrespect between the two occupations. Doctors need to respect the nurses and the nurses need to respect the doctors and it is this collaboration that best benefits the patient which is why I am in health care in the first place. I love working with patients, I cannot imagine doing anything else. I also highly respect the doctors that I work with and we work as a team performing each of our roles to give the patients the best care possible, THAT IS WHAT HEALTH CARE IS ABOUT. I am applying to medical school because I DO want to expand my scope of practice and feel that I would do a good job in that scope of practice; and if I do get the opportunity to become a physician one day you can bet your bottom dollar that I will treat my nurses with the respect that they deserve. I really hope you receive some humility and maturity, because if one day you do become a doctor and treat your nurses poorly, you will have a hard time holding onto a job, even if you are a doctor.

Originally Posted by dreamweaver1988

Losing all doctors probably wouldn't be as bad as losing all nurses.

because there are way more nurses than there are doctors. it still means that doctors have a higher inherent value than nurses.

It depends on who you are and if you like getting told what to do all day long. I personally don't.

Originally Posted by DeterminedDoc

because there are way more nurses than there are doctors. it still means that doctors have a higher inherent value than nurses.

It depends on who you are and if you like getting told what to do all day long. I personally don't.

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.
Saint Augustine

Originally Posted by Aaron151

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.
Saint Augustine

Whoa chill on the grass there buddy, smoking too much can be bad for you - I'm living proof. I didn't say I have no respect for nurses (i mean it would help for them to be hot lol), i just meant that doctors have a higher inherent value than nurses which isn't wrong for me to say. I mean at the end of the day I wouldn't want a job where I told what to do all day long, but thats just me. nurses are definitely needed in the healthcare system, doctors can't treat and do all the manual labor themselves - thats overkill.