Why medicine as opposed to nursing?

Started by Buttermellow
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Buttermellow

Buttermellow

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10+ Year Member
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I see a lot of threads on here of nursing majors or nurses with a degree that have decided to go the medicine route. Question is, why did you all choose medicine over nursing? It's something I've been asking myself recently.

Both my parents are nurses, but they both encouraged me to become a doctor instead of a nurse because I was "too smart for nursing" and "nurses get no respect." I don't want to put down nurses in any way and I respect them tremendously, but does everyone else tend to feel like nursing is sort of an easier way to be involved in healthcare?
 
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The deal breaker for me was wanting to be able to do transplants. as a nurse prac, I could do a whole lot (intubate, central lines, a lines, chest tubes, etc), but would still be limited in some procedural aspects.
 
Buttermellow, my mom is a nurse and has told me the same things as your parents for as long as I can remember. I did briefly consider an advanced practice nursing path about 2 years ago, and ultimately stuck with medical school. There were many reasons, but limited scope of practice and lack of autonomy were some of the biggest.
 
Having worked with nurses, I would never choose to go into the field. I'd rather be doing other things than giving pills / IV's all day and putting people on the commode. I bet most physicians, if they hadn't chosen medicine, would've picked something totally different than any kind of allied health job.
 
bucks2010 said:
Having worked with nurses, I would never choose to go into the field. I'd rather be doing other things than giving pills / IV's all day and putting people on the commode..
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I think a lot of pre-meds feel that way, myself included. However, I have a lot of friends that are nursing students, and they make fun of me for my lack of clinical knowledge, since they're currently learning how to treat patients while I'm learning about biochemistry and cell biology. A lot of nursing students here think they're pretty hot stuff...
 
Well i am a CNA and im pre-med,i wanted to major in nursing so bad until recentley a D.O.N fired me for having concerns for my residents.I guess im not suppose to stick up for my patients (sarcasm)! But yea i choose to go the M.D route because i see how the nursing field is and how rude and carless many Advanced Pract nurses are and can be. I'd rather tell them what to do, and treat my patients in the medicine approach aside of the Nursing aspect. Nursing is not all the glitz and glammer its just inconsistent on many different levels. But i will still be doin CNA work to keep up my exsperience in the healthcare field. As told by most M.D's becoming a doctor is Hard work but it is very well worth it! I hope this helped answer your Question🙂.
 
Buttermellow said:
Question is, why did you all choose medicine over nursing? It's something I've been asking myself recently.
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For me it has a lot to do with the problem solving aspect of medicine. I have a lot of respect for nurses-I've been saying for years that a hospital could work without doctors (at a greatly diminished capacity, of course) but without nurses it would fall apart. That being said, I've always been the kind of person who sees problems everywhere and reflexively tries to solve them. Having an attitude like that fits much better with being a doctor than a nurse. I still like being around people, or I would have gone for a Ph.D instead of an MD.

What's your answer, if you don't mind me asking? Or have you yet to make up your mind?
 
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Astarael said:
What's your answer, if you don't mind me asking? Or have you yet to make up your mind?
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I've definitely decided MD. Part of it had to do with my parents' encouragement to become a doctor instead of a nurse. Personally, I love to be intellectually challenged and solve complex puzzles. I think this fits very well with medicine, and I wouldn't get the same sort of challenge out of nursing.
 
damn, the nursing route never even crossed my mind. I think im going to have to do a lot of reevaluation now
 
Buttermellow said:
Both my parents are nurses, but they both encouraged me to become a doctor instead of a nurse because I was "too smart for nursing" and "nurses get no respect." I don't want to put down nurses in any way and I respect them tremendously, but does everyone else tend to feel like nursing is sort of an easier way to be involved in healthcare?
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you should listen to your parents, feeling like you are too smart for nursing while being a nurse is a pretty painful existence. it doesn't mean nursing is an easier way, but there are definite differences, intellectual demand being one of them.
 
Buttermellow said:
I see a lot of threads on here of nursing majors or nurses with a degree that have decided to go the medicine route. Question is, why did you all choose medicine over nursing? It's something I've been asking myself recently.

Both my parents are nurses, but they both encouraged me to become a doctor instead of a nurse because I was "too smart for nursing" and "nurses get no respect." I don't want to put down nurses in any way and I respect them tremendously, but does everyone else tend to feel like nursing is sort of an easier way to be involved in healthcare?
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Out of all the hospitals I worked at and all the nurses I worked with, they all had a huge population that made you think...What the hell? If she/he can be a nurse anyone can.(Not all but most) Even when I went to a large teaching hospital I noticed some lazy, rude and simply dumb nurses. The cna's/pca's/pct's did all the dam work. I wasnt bias, I figured hey I bet there are some dumb docs too, so when I got a position working mainly with medstudents/residents/attendings I noticed I was wrong. They dont bull*&^% around and do what they got to do. Yeah, some might me jerks are stuckup but they get the job done while (many) nurses chit chat at the nursing station and page the docs over a pt bp being 130/78.👎 I know basically everything the floor nurse knows tbh. Medicine is for the people who want more of a challenge and want to be more active in the real pt care (not just putting a bedpan under the pt in room 124). Medicine is for the people who are just a little bit more driven.
 
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Doctor246853 said:
Medicine is for the people who are just a little bit more driven.
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That was my general sentiment. I know of nursing students that are very driven and intelligent, but most of the nursing population tends to be the people that I cringe at when they tell me they're going to be a nurse.
 
I have deep respect for the nursing position, but frankly, I don't like wiping butts. 😉
 
bucks2010 said:
Having worked with nurses, I would never choose to go into the field. I'd rather be doing other things than giving pills / IV's all day and putting people on the commode. I bet most physicians, if they hadn't chosen medicine, would've picked something totally different than any kind of allied health job.
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That reminds me of my interview at MCW. My interviewer asked what I would do if I couldn't do medicine. She even said herself that she would not do nursing. Neither would I.
 
I work pt as a CNA, and so I work with people that are planning on applying or are already in nursing school. These individuals will make excellent nurses. One told me that she didn't want the the responsibility of being a Dr. Also, I think they're most interested in the practical. How do I treat this patient? Not everyone wants to go to school for 10 years, or wants to be the "top dog".

While I've never really considered nursing, I do like the personal/patient care aspect of nursing. But, ultimately, I'm more interested in being the "thinker" or decision maker.

From my brief experience in a nursing home and now in assisted living, the CNAs really do A LOT of work.
 
jmin said:
I have deep respect for the nursing position, but frankly, I don't like wiping butts. 😉
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Agree. Long ago I decided that if I'm going to get **** on my (gloved) hand, I'm going to get it from the source. Upon further research, I found that it was the MDs who bravely search out fecal matter from the dark side of the anus by hand, unlike nurses who foolishly content themselves with collecting it only after it has left the body. And that's why I applied to medical school.
 
StephenMaturin said:
Agree. Long ago I decided that if I'm going to get **** on my (gloved) hand, I'm going to get it from the source. Upon further research, I found that it was the MDs who bravely search out fecal matter from the dark side of the anus by hand, unlike nurses who foolishly content themselves with collecting it only after it has left the body. And that's why I applied to medical school.
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This. This right here is the best paragraph on SDN. :laugh:
 
StephenMaturin said:
Agree. Long ago I decided that if I'm going to get **** on my (gloved) hand, I'm going to get it from the source. Upon further research, I found that it was the MDs who bravely search out fecal matter from the dark side of the anus by hand, unlike nurses who foolishly content themselves with collecting it only after it has left the body. And that's why I applied to medical school.
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🤣 I literally just busted out laughing at the nurses station I'm sitting at.
 
I think of nursing as, for the most part, full-time scut work. Anybody can be a nurse. No special talent, dedication or intelligence is required.

Obviously there are some amazing nurses out there. Also obvious, the system would absolutely grind to a halt without them. But not the job for me.
 
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Doctor246853 said:
Nursing < Medicine
Out of all the hospitals I worked at and all the nurses I worked with, they all had a huge population that made you think...What the hell? If she/he can be a nurse anyone can.(Not all but most) Even when I went to a large teaching hospital I noticed some lazy, rude and simply dumb nurses. The cna's/pca's/pct's did all the dam work. I wasnt bias, I figured hey I bet there are some dumb docs too, so when I got a position working mainly with medstudents/residents/attendings I noticed I was wrong. They dont bull*&^% around and do what they got to do. Yeah, some might me jerks are stuckup but they get the job done while (many) nurses chit chat at the nursing station and page the docs over a pt bp being 130/78.👎 I know basically everything the floor nurse knows tbh. Medicine is for the people who want more of a challenge and want to be more active in the real pt care (not just putting a bedpan under the pt in room 124). Medicine is for the people who are just a little bit more driven.
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Next time I'm on an ECMO circuit I'll be sure to find my nearest CNA to take care of it!
 
Doctor246853 said:
Nursing < Medicine
Out of all the hospitals I worked at and all the nurses I worked with, they all had a huge population that made you think...What the hell? If she/he can be a nurse anyone can.(Not all but most) Even when I went to a large teaching hospital I noticed some lazy, rude and simply dumb nurses. The cna's/pca's/pct's did all the dam work. I wasnt bias, I figured hey I bet there are some dumb docs too, so when I got a position working mainly with medstudents/residents/attendings I noticed I was wrong. They dont bull*&^% around and do what they got to do. Yeah, some might me jerks are stuckup but they get the job done while (many) nurses chit chat at the nursing station and page the docs over a pt bp being 130/78.👎 I know basically everything the floor nurse knows tbh. Medicine is for the people who want more of a challenge and want to be more active in the real pt care (not just putting a bedpan under the pt in room 124). Medicine is for the people who are just a little bit more driven.
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Are you kidding me?! You are very ignorant my friend....you are pre med, how many pharmacology classes have you taken? Yeah I'm sure you could be a floor nurse.

I am a RN working in a CV/stroke ICU, please come up here an work circles around me :idea: . I am going to go to med school for my own reasons, not because I have to wipe butt (btw what do you think CNAs do?), that's pretty rare I do actually...a handful of posters have no respect for nurses but THEY ARE your eyes an ears at most times, an if you okay with saying they need no dedication/intelligence/ clinicals skills that is your own prerogative.

I will note that everyone that I saw spouting was pre meds...not med students/residents/MDs who actually have a clue and their whole world of hospital experience hasn't just been piecing charts together an answering phones 😴 .

Long story short you make yourself look incredibly stupid and it really gives us an early glimpse of what kind of physician :scared: you might be.
 
StephenMaturin said:
Agree. Long ago I decided that if I'm going to get **** on my (gloved) hand, I'm going to get it from the source. Upon further research, I found that it was the MDs who bravely search out fecal matter from the dark side of the anus by hand, unlike nurses who foolishly content themselves with collecting it only after it has left the body. And that's why I applied to medical school.
Click to expand...

Because this thread was bumped, I was able to read what is probably the best paragraph ever written on SDN. Thank you. :laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Yeah there is a little too much hating on nurses here - especially since only a few of you took the time to even consider how many different roles and types of nurses there are. How could you possibly equate an NP to a CNA or an LNA? "Nursing" is an extremely broad field. Not to mention, without nurses, we would be screwed.

Show some love! They will be your eyes and ears as an MD.
 
NH14 said:
Yeah there is a little too much hating on nurses here - especially since only a few of you took the time to even consider how many different roles and types of nurses there are. How could you possibly equate an NP to a CNA or an LNA? "Nursing" is an extremely broad field. Not to mention, without nurses, we would be screwed.

Show some love! They will be your eyes and ears as an MD.
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I really rely on the guys on those big lawnmowers to cut my grass -- doesn't mean I'd want to be one.
 
Buttermellow said:
I think a lot of pre-meds feel that way, myself included. However, I have a lot of friends that are nursing students, and they make fun of me for my lack of clinical knowledge, since they're currently learning how to treat patients while I'm learning about biochemistry and cell biology. A lot of nursing students here think they're pretty hot stuff...
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Im the only patient care tech at my job that's doing premed, everyone else is prenursing or nursing school. We all study at the nurses station and their work is no where as hard. Any pca/pct can get the same clinical experience as a nursing student minus pushing pills. Its nothing to brag about. Putting patients that's drinking "go-lightly" on the bedpan every ten mins and measuring their "booty food" is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. Much respect to you nursing students...much respect.
 
FCMike11 said:
Are you kidding me?! You are very ignorant my friend....you are pre med, how many pharmacology classes have you taken? Yeah I'm sure you could be a floor nurse.

I am a RN working in a CV/stroke ICU, please come up here an work circles around me :idea: . I am going to go to med school for my own reasons, not because I have to wipe butt (btw what do you think CNAs do?), that's pretty rare I do actually...a handful of posters have no respect for nurses but THEY ARE your eyes an ears at most times, an if you okay with saying they need no dedication/intelligence/ clinicals skills that is your own prerogative.

I will note that everyone that I saw spouting was pre meds...not med students/residents/MDs who actually have a clue and their whole world of hospital experience hasn't just been piecing charts together an answering phones 😴 .

Long story short you make yourself look incredibly stupid and it really gives us an early glimpse of what kind of physician :scared: you might be.
Click to expand...
*Just to let you know I edited my post because it started with "Nursing<Medicine" but I was quoting someone and it looked like I typed that. It pretty much set the tone for my post, which was not what it looked like*
Anywho, I wasnt dissing nurses nor saying I could run circles around them but I can pretty much do everything a floor nurse can do, honestly I can, truth not fiction. I have noticed the kickass nurses that really know their stuff are in the or,er,icu's and soforth. So Im pretty sure you are a good nurse, didnt mean to offend you.😕 PS. Yes I took medical pharmacology and cardiovascular science at TCOM last summer as part of their research program.(Not bragging, you asked) But again, my post wasnt a diss, I honestly know I can do what floor nurses do.😎 (flame me)
 
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Doctor246853 said:
*Just to let you know I edited my post because it started with "Nursing<Medicine" but I was quoting someone and it looked like I typed that. It pretty much set the tone for my post, which was not what it looked like*
Anywho, I wasnt dissing nurses nor saying I could run circles around them but I can pretty much do everything a floor nurse can do, honestly I can, truth not fiction. I have noticed the kickass nurses that really know their stuff are in the or,er,icu's and soforth. So Im pretty sure you are a good nurse, didnt mean to offend you.😕 PS. Yes I took medical pharmacology and cardiovascular science at TCOM last summer as part of their research program.(Not bragging, you asked) But again, my post wasnt a diss, I honestly know I can do what floor nurses do.😎 (flame me)
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I think your post was pretty disrespectful, but it's all good i think we all are allowed one moment of pure unadulterated flame/rage haha, and that was mine. Huzzah! 😛.
 
There are dumb and lazy people in every profession, even medicine. :gasp!:
 
FCMike11 said:
I will note that everyone that I saw spouting was pre meds...not med students/residents/MDs who actually have a clue and their whole world of hospital experience hasn't just been piecing charts together an answering phones 😴 .
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Don't worry, they'll all be put in their place first day on the wards😀. It is indeed interesting to see how the echo chamber of SDN elevates the misinformed opinions of pre-meds. For instance, I love having a pre-med tell me what med school is really like, or how I should prepare for residency.

To clarify, these kids don't realize how interdisciplinary medicine is becoming. In general, nurses are a physician's arms (fulfilling orders), eyes and ears (alerting us of the pt seems unwell), heart (because we're unfortunately too busy to provide compassionate care), and gut check (catching errors). In other specialized fields, the level of autonomy in nursing is huge.
 
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For instance, I love having a pre-med tell me what med school is really like, or how I should prepare for residency.
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Notsureifserious.jpg

good lord
 
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