NP to DO?

[pedsnurse]

Hello,

This is my first post on this community, and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to read it.

Background for my story: I am a 26 year old registered nurse about to graduate from a brick and mortar family nurse practitioner program with a 3.91 GPA. My undergraduate GPA unfortunately was 3.1 due to immaturity and laziness. I have a total of five years experience in medical-surgical, pediatric and emergency nursing. I paid my graduate tuition completely out of pocket and it is paid in full. I only have $6,000 left in my undergraduate student loans.

The problem: As I'm approaching graduation, I am seriously concerned about my level of education and that I will be able to practice independently. I do not feel confident at all in my skills despite receiving high reviews on my clinical rotations. I've exceeded all the required clinical rotations hours by 100 hours each, but still feel very unprepared. I do not want to harm any of my patients, and I always research any decision prior to prescribing medications or treatment. I honestly thought my education was going to be more rigorous, because we were always told that we were going to get an thorough education in pathophysiology, pharmacology and advanced practice skills, but those classes were not rigorous at all. I want the best for my patients, and if I'm not going to provide the best care, then I won't practice as an NP.

The question: Should I take the pre-requisites and apply for medical school? I was leaning towards DO, because their philosophy seems more aligned with what an NP touts about. I would absolutely love to go to PCOM, but understand they're very selective. Or, should I try to work as an NP, or go back to regular nursing? I'm not afraid of commitment, hard work, sacrifice or the financial strain.

Please give me your honest opinion. Thank you.

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[femmegoblue]

The part about your program not equipping you to be a high-quality NP is actually very concerning, I've never heard someone be so candid about that. However, before you jump to pursing medical school, do you like nursing? Clearly you went to nursing school and an NP program because you like the model of care that nursing provides. My ob/gyn provider all through college was an NP, as was my PCP, so I don't think NP's have a problem practicing independently in a lot of specialties. I think in this scenario you should first reach out to other NP's, maybe a mentor or someone who has specifically gone through your program, and ask if they ever felt this way or if it's just a "getting scared because I'm nearing graduation and I'm going to be on my own" thing. Also, aren't there residency programs for NP's that can provide further training?

If you like nursing and want to be an NP, I don't think going to medical school is a good idea.

 

[pedsnurse]

Thank you so much for your post. I do like nursing, but I feel its education is lacking in terms of the sciences. I enjoy science very much, and would like to know more as far as the pathophysiology behind the disease/illness. My program does produce high-quality NPs, and has a history of doing so, so maybe it is more so my apprehension towards graduation? As far as residency programs go, there are several but they are mostly specialized, and I would like to do family practice.

 

[popopopop]

This is not an uncommon complaint among NPs. It gets brought up at allnurses frequently and you should go research there. My take is that since you already know the limitations of your education, that you should give being an NP a chance and study by reading articles/journals on your own time. Unless it's your dream to be a physician, being an NP (at least for now) hits the sweet spot in terms of lifestyle and money in healthcare.

If you still want to go to medical school, you're looking at a two years minimum of classes and extracurricular activities to make you a competitive applicant.

 

[Newtonian21]

Hello,

This is my first post on this community, and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to read it.

Background for my story: I am a 26 year old registered nurse about to graduate from a brick and mortar family nurse practitioner program with a 3.91 GPA. My undergraduate GPA unfortunately was 3.1 due to immaturity and laziness. I have a total of five years experience in medical-surgical, pediatric and emergency nursing. I paid my graduate tuition completely out of pocket and it is paid in full. I only have $6,000 left in my undergraduate student loans.

The problem: As I'm approaching graduation, I am seriously concerned about my level of education and that I will be able to practice independently. I do not feel confident at all in my skills despite receiving high reviews on my clinical rotations. I've exceeded all the required clinical rotations hours by 100 hours each, but still feel very unprepared. I do not want to harm any of my patients, and I always research any decision prior to prescribing medications or treatment. I honestly thought my education was going to be more rigorous, because we were always told that we were going to get an thorough education in pathophysiology, pharmacology and advanced practice skills, but those classes were not rigorous at all. I want the best for my patients, and if I'm not going to provide the best care, then I won't practice as an NP.

The question: Should I take the pre-requisites and apply for medical school? I was leaning towards DO, because their philosophy seems more aligned with what an NP touts about. I would absolutely love to go to PCOM, but understand they're very selective. Or, should I try to work as an NP, or go back to regular nursing? I'm not afraid of commitment, hard work, sacrifice or the financial strain.

Please give me your honest opinion. Thank you.

Why didn't you make the decision before pursuing np? Since you're still young you can still do it overall. Nursing is not science.

 

[femmegoblue]

Why didn't you make the decision before pursuing np? Since you're still young you can still do it overall. Nursing is not science.

Troll 0/10

 

[pedsnurse]

This is not an uncommon complaint among NPs. It gets brought up at allnurses frequently and you should go research there. My take is that since you already know the limitations of your education, that you should give being an NP a chance and study by reading articles/journals on your own time. Unless it's your dream to be a physician, being an NP (at least for now) hits the sweet spot in terms of lifestyle and money in healthcare.

If you still want to go to medical school, you're looking at a two years minimum of classes and extracurricular activities to make you a competitive applicant.

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your input. It is my dream to be a physician, but perhaps in this situation it is better to try to be the best NP and provider I can be by maximizing my own personal education. The timeline and effort to apply to medical school does not bother me; I am more than willing to put the time to be the best provider I can be.

Why didn't you make the decision before pursuing np? Since you're still young you can still do it overall. Nursing is not science.

Thank you for your input. I did think about this before pursuing my NP, and discussed it with colleagues (physicians and nurses alike). Both sides recommended I'd continue my education to NP since my undergraduate was lacking in the prerequisites for medical school. I was also doubting my ability to learn and perform well compared to others who were probably much smarter than me. Immature and insecure, I guess you could say is the answer? But, since we can't undo the past, I'd like to know what you think I should do in the present time. Thank you!

 

[Dr. Rafiki]

No dig on OP whatsoever, but this thread is alarming as it validates what I always feared about most NP programs. Give you some non-rigorous science classes and sub-par rotations then slap NP behind your name and bam! start prescribing baby

 

[Newtonian21]

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your input. It is my dream to be a physician, but perhaps in this situation it is better to try to be the best NP and provider I can be by maximizing my own personal education. The timeline and effort to apply to medical school does not bother me; I am more than willing to put the time to be the best provider I can be.



Thank you for your input. I did think about this before pursuing my NP, and discussed it with colleagues (physicians and nurses alike). Both sides recommended I'd continue my education to NP since my undergraduate was lacking in the prerequisites for medical school. I was also doubting my ability to learn and perform well compared to others who were probably much smarter than me. Immature and insecure, I guess you could say is the answer? But, since we can't undo the past, I'd like to know what you think I should do in the present time. Thank you!

If really you want to be a doctor then take the prereqs, sit for MCAT and apply.

 

[DoctorCrush]

If really you want to be a doctor then take the prereqs, sit for MCAT and apply.

I think you're missing the point. Like others have suggested, OP should look into whether or not they want to BE and give NP a try first. From my understanding, it's not that OP wants to be a doctor, he/she feels as though becoming a doctor would've prepared her much better for clinical practice.

OP, I agree with the others. You've come this far, how about giving it a try first? Maybe look into the NP residency in your desired field and see how you feel then. If you feel as though you're still unprepared and becoming a doctor is what you want, then you should go for it.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Regarding your confidence level, it's probably imposter syndrome.
Aside from that, I've met a ton of nurses that wish they were doctors, but I've never met a doctor that wished they were a nurse. Chew on that.

 

[deleted480308]

Just don't practice independently if the top priority is patient care. If the top priority is money, do the math on tuition/salary. If the top priority is knowledge go to med school.

 

[pedsnurse]

Thank you everyone for your post, and especially DoctorCrush for explaining my predicament probably more accurately than I could. I think I'll go with the majority of everyone's advice and work as an NP and try to study, learn and apply as much as I can.

 

[DoctorCrush]

Thank you everyone for your post, and especially DoctorCrush for explaining my predicament probably more accurately than I could. I think I'll go with the majority of everyone's advice and work as an NP and try to study, learn and apply as much as I can.

I wish you luck and I hope it all works out for you. I've been a nurse for close to a decade now and have contemplated the path that you've taken for so long now, but decided that medicine is the path I want to take.