Becoming a BSN/NP is harder than MD/DO

[SpideyMD]

A current BSN student recently told me that becoming a nurse is actually harder than becoming a doctor. I asked why she said that, and she said because often times the nursing students at her school are the ones teaching the medical students.

What is your opinion on this, or how do you handle this kind of conversation? I just smiled and changed the subject..

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[LizzyM]

You handled it well. I do think that it is true that it would be harder for some people to be nursing students than to be medical students given the amount of bu115it involved in nursing courses. If you have a low tolerance for that sort of thing, you won't do well and thus medical school is actually easier.

 

[M&L]

I tutor all the medical specialties right now - PAs, pathology assistants, etc etc, and honestly, the DEPTH of MD education is deeper (we learn stuff that no one else does). But every health professional program has other aspects that make it very hard. So, honestly, I stopped comparing a while ago.

 

[obiwan]

I am currently precepting a NP student. The knowledge deficit that they start out with is truly staggering and to expect them to fully practice clinical medicine after one year of preceptorship compared to our schooling and training is beyond comprehension. This is a fact that my student is fully cognizant of

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I absolutely can see BSN students teaching med students. As a NA in college over 4 summers, you learn how a hospital is run. How are orders placed in the chart, how does a patient request and receive meds, how to assess a patient's daily needs, taking vital signs, etc.. Many med students have never set foot in a hospital, unless it's to visit a sick relative. So advantage BSN. To agree with @LizzyM , I have been told horror stories by RNs and BSN students about how toxic some nursing ed classes were. I have heard these stories for years, so I believe there is some validity. Knowledge base cannot compare. Also remember, NP's are physician extenders and don't have the breadth of knowledge to be physician scientists. No need to enter into such discussions with non physicians . Nobody leaves such discussions satisfied.

 

[IntoTheStorm]

I am currently precepting a NP student. The knowledge deficit that they start out with is truly staggering and to expect them to fully practice clinical medicine after one year of preceptorship compared to our schooling and training is beyond comprehension. This is a fact that my student is fully cognizant of

This is a huge reason I abandoned NP school to pursue medicine.

Nursing (BSN) has its different challenges and difficulties (as any specialty does) but so far, the premedical requirements have been far more difficult than my BSN and even the year of my MSN-NP that I began.

It’s very hard to compare unless you are comparing very specific things. Prerequisites, board exams, entry exams, med school/nursing school classes…? Both difficult in their own unique ways.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

It's relative. I like to say, "suffering isn't a competition." What's hard for one group of people may be easy for another, etc.

 

[RN-2-Medicine]

This is a huge reason I abandoned NP school to pursue medicine.

Nursing (BSN) has its different challenges and difficulties (as any specialty does) but so far, the premedical requirements have been far more difficult than my BSN and even the year of my MSN-NP that I began.

It’s very hard to compare unless you are comparing very specific things. Prerequisites, board exams, entry exams, med school/nursing school classes…? Both difficult in their own unique ways.

I can speak to this, I started a Family NP masters program in which the first semester focused entirely on writing and theory, and biostatistics.

The rigor of my BSN was definitely more challenging.

 

[Sky1.3]

Everyone has things they can teach others. I as a medical scribe taught a physician how to order an ultrasound for an uninsured patient yesterday because I am more familiar with local nonprofits than him. I routinely show new providers and MAs how to use Epic. I can understand tools without having a deeper understanding of medicine. There are lots of 18 year olds in BSN programs, and there's no reason to take it personally if they don't see this nuance.

 

[imidazzle92]

Though they cover the pre-clinical basic sciences to a lesser degree, nurses still learn skills that aren't taught in medical school. After finishing MS2, I was surprised my sister (who was an undergrad pursuing a BSN) knew a lot more about the hospital and general patient care than I did.

I personally didn't struggle much in the pre-clinical portion of medical school because lectures were mostly optional and I just had to show up to take exams. Whereas my sister and family members struggled quite a bit in nursing school because of mandatory projects, homework, etc. That's not to say medical school is easier but that difficulty is often relative to the person and their capabilities with various skills (i.e., test-taking, direct patient care, etc.)

I don't think it really matters if one person thinks medical school is supposedly easier than nursing school. Most of society, as well as many patients you will see, will always have the bias that doctors are superior intellectually and that their training was more difficult. Imagine always being seen as lesser despite all the work you may put in.

 

[Rachapkis]

Different people have different strengths and different jobs require different strengths. I am reminded of an adage sometimes attributed to Einstein: "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

 

[Splenda88]

A current BSN student recently told me that becoming a nurse is actually harder than becoming a doctor. I asked why she said that, and she said because often times the nursing students at her school are the ones teaching the medical students.

What is your opinion on this, or how do you handle this kind of conversation? I just smiled and changed the subject..

I was a BSN who is a MD (hospitalist) now and it's not even close.

On average, the caliber of nursing students in term of drive and "IQ" is not even close to that of medical students.