Choices

[C.La]

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Hello all,

I am new to this site as I stumbled across it this morning while doing to some research to prepare for a clinical on Thursday. I am writing this thread to see what advice if out there for someone in my position...

Currently I am in nursing school, with graduation anticipated in May, 2017. At that point I will have and ADN. As a student I work a few part time jobs to support myself: paid-on-call EMT, ER Patient Care Assistant, and occasional shifts as farm hand. 🙂

While I recognize that I am still quite young and grand career goals can, in fact, change I would really appreciate some advice. Of all the classes I have taken up to this point, the hands-on "no nonsense" ones have by far been my favorite. I love learning how the human body works and how it can be manipulated to treat various illnesses. The training I completed to become an EMT was like that. I love being able to see the result of giving patients a breathing treatment or watching as they go from unconscious to talking because of the interventions performed. All of this being said, I am still very new to the medical field and lack the certain confidence my coworkers have that must come with time and experience.

Since I was a child I have wanted to "be a doctor," though I'm realizing now that what I really want is the knowledge and skills to perform aggressive treatments, which I think is what had drawn me into emergency medicine. I hope that makes sense. I'm not desperate for the status that comes from having MD after my name, nor do I fear the implications of being a physician and having that responsibility. There is so much to learn in the medical field and it fascinates me but I do not know the best way to apply myself. Since having the opportunity to work in the ER I have become particularly interested in flight nursing and Physician's Assistant. Those two positions are very different but they both require a sound knowledge of medicine and merit some autonomy. Others have suggested pursuing a Nurse Practitioner degree or Advanced Practice Nurse degree but I am not very clear about the differences between those and PA.

If those of you reading this post care to share some advice or have anything to add I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
C.La

 

[cantankerous]

Not to be bitchy, but what exactly is your point?

 

[Dreamofmd23]

I think the best thing for you do at this point is shadow, PA's, MD's, NP's. You need to explore any profession that you may be interested in and ask yourself, "Could I do this? Does it fit the lifestyle I want? How flexible am I? Am I willing to learn the rest of my career?". Otherwise you'll continue as an EMT or ADN and wonder what if I would've pursued medical school, or PA school etc. Whatever you decide, make sure you are 100% comfortable with it and know the sacrifices, pros and cons etc. Make sure you have some support and most importantly believe in your decision, because it is only yours to make.

 

[Catalystik]

If those of you reading this post care to share some advice or have anything to add I would greatly appreciate it!

While you are gathering information and experience that will help you decide on an ultimate career goal, keep your GPA as high as possible so that you won't limit your choices.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hello all,

I am new to this site as I stumbled across it this morning while doing to some research to prepare for a clinical on Thursday. I am writing this thread to see what advice if out there for someone in my position...

Currently I am in nursing school, with graduation anticipated in May, 2017. At that point I will have and ADN. As a student I work a few part time jobs to support myself: paid-on-call EMT, ER Patient Care Assistant, and occasional shifts as farm hand. 🙂

While I recognize that I am still quite young and grand career goals can, in fact, change I would really appreciate some advice. Of all the classes I have taken up to this point, the hands-on "no nonsense" ones have by far been my favorite. I love learning how the human body works and how it can be manipulated to treat various illnesses. The training I completed to become an EMT was like that. I love being able to see the result of giving patients a breathing treatment or watching as they go from unconscious to talking because of the interventions performed. All of this being said, I am still very new to the medical field and lack the certain confidence my coworkers have that must come with time and experience.

Since I was a child I have wanted to "be a doctor," though I'm realizing now that what I really want is the knowledge and skills to perform aggressive treatments, which I think is what had drawn me into emergency medicine. I hope that makes sense. I'm not desperate for the status that comes from having MD after my name, nor do I fear the implications of being a physician and having that responsibility. There is so much to learn in the medical field and it fascinates me but I do not know the best way to apply myself. Since having the opportunity to work in the ER I have become particularly interested in flight nursing and Physician's Assistant. Those two positions are very different but they both require a sound knowledge of medicine and merit some autonomy. Others have suggested pursuing a Nurse Practitioner degree or Advanced Practice Nurse degree but I am not very clear about the differences between those and PA.

If those of you reading this post care to share some advice or have anything to add I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
C.La

There is going to be a LOT of nonsense to deal with, regardless of field. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. And don't forget the patients lol- the good ones are good, but the bad ones'll drive you crazy.

You develop competence as a physician during your training. That's one of the big differences between being a physician and being an NP or a PA- physicians have a much broader understanding of all of medicine, and that foundation allows you to develop a certain degree of confidence in your competence over time. As a PA or NP, you might frequently be wondering how much you don't know that you don't know.

I'd recommend allnurses if you have questions about becoming an NP. They're much more knowledgable and can give you the nitty gritty. But most NP programs are 3-4 years, have approximately 600 clinical training hours at the graduate level, and can be completed part-time. In contrast, medical school is a 4 year full-time endeavor during which you'll rack up around 4,000 clinical hours, followed by a 3-7 year paid residency (EM is 3 or 4 years, but you'll probably change your mind in regard to specialty several times) during which you'll work 2,000-4,000 hours per year, depending on specialty, with an average coming out to around 12,000 hours for a four-year program on top of your 4,000 hours as a student. So, the real difference is you'll have a whole lot better of an idea of what you're doing with 16,000 hours of training compared to the 600 hours you'll get in NP school.

NP school locks you into a track with a specific scope of practice. Adult acute care NPs do adult acute care, neonatal NPs do neonatal care, psych NPs do psych. Want to switch fields? Gotta retrain, sink a few more years in (physicians have this same issue with completing a new residency being required for many career changes). PAs, on the other hand, have 24-30 month training programs that typically give them 2,000-3,000 clinical hours in general medicine, similar to a 3rd year medical student. This allows them to enter any field, where they are trained for the specialty by their supervising physician. Get sick of the ER as a PA and want to do outpatient peds, surgery, or ICU? Call around and see if you can find someone interested in hiring you. Make enough calls and you can probably make a career change without retraining.

You'll make about two to four times as much as a physician than as an NP or PA, but the road is long and expensive. Keep an open mind, keep your grades up, and don't sell yourself short. I was a community college grad that never finished high school, and now I'm well on my way to being a licensed physician. Do what you truly want, once you decide what that is, and don't worry about the ifs, ands, or buts- everything sorts itself out along the way.

 

[C.La]

Mad Jack, Catalystik, and Dreamofmd 23

Thank you so much for the advice! I appreciate the reminder about my GPA, as well as the encouragement to shadow all the different disciplines. I know it's a long road no matter which road I choose and I'm a little overwhelmed with where to start but I greatly appreciate your replies. Mad Jack, thank you very much for the breakdown of the road to becoming an MD, PA, or NP. I'm willing to put in the hard work but didn't know which position to pursue and your explanation is very helpful!

Thank you!

C.La

 

[prettyNURSEtoMD]

I'm an RN, you can PM me with specific questions. I'd be glad to help


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Mad Jack]

Mad Jack, Catalystik, and Dreamofmd 23

Thank you so much for the advice! I appreciate the reminder about my GPA, as well as the encouragement to shadow all the different disciplines. I know it's a long road no matter which road I choose and I'm a little overwhelmed with where to start but I greatly appreciate your replies. Mad Jack, thank you very much for the breakdown of the road to becoming an MD, PA, or NP. I'm willing to put in the hard work but didn't know which position to pursue and your explanation is very helpful!

Thank you!

C.La

I eventually got sick of flip-flopping between PA and physician and just flipped a damn coin. You'll find in life that the decisions are less important than the journey. Plus I've got a trick for telling which path is the right one, but I can't tell it to you until you do three things:

1: Narrow it down to two choices.
2: Flip a coin once you are committed to 100% following through with what the coin says.
3: Tell me how the flip made you feel when you found out what you'd be doing.