High Pay Nurse or MD/DO

[ralegen]

PLEASE ADVISE:

I am 27, and I am currently in the beginning of my RN ASN program. My long term goal is to become a CRNA; however, after observing the theory concepts of a nurse, it is starting to bother me. I want to troubleshoot and fix problems. The nursing theory seems too basic for me.

I don't have a bachleors because I've been waiting for the RN program mad: ), but I am ready to transfer to a university. What do you all suggest? Med school or CRNA route? I'm seriously in the need of some advice. I want to become a general doctor in family practice, atleast. And I want my hard work to show. But I fear that I may be just a tad bit late since I don't even have a degree. This is a career change for me from being a network analyst for 7+ years, and I believe the troubleshooting urge is making me look one way while I walk another.

 

[[email protected]]

PLEASE ADVISE:

I am 27, and I am currently in the beginning of my RN ASN program. My long term goal is to become a CRNA; however, after observing the theory concepts of a nurse, it is starting to bother me. I want to troubleshoot and fix problems. The nursing theory seems too basic for me.

I don't have a bachleors because I've been waiting for the RN program mad: ), but I am ready to transfer to a university. What do you all suggest? Med school or CRNA route? I'm seriously in the need of some advice. I want to become a general doctor in family practice, atleast. And I want my hard work to show. But I fear that I may be just a tad bit late since I don't even have a degree. This is a career change for me from being a network analyst for 7+ years, and I believe the troubleshooting urge is making me look one way while I walk another.

Well medicine is not guaranteed. If you dont get good grades and MCAT you may end up with a bachelors degree without the possibility of med school. Also a bachelors will probably take at least 3 years+4 years of med school+at least 2 years of residency. Things to consider. Im sure others will post more in depth advice.

 

[Kuba]

do a BSN and then apply to med school.

 

[Doc Henry]

do a BSN and then apply to med school.

I agree with that this is a good option. However, a lot of DO programs don't require a bachelors degree, so if you wanted to just do the pre-reqs (and you probably already have some out of the way) and take the mcat it wouldn't take you 4 years. DO schools also look very kindly at non traditional students and are forgiving of lower GPAs with good upward trends. So assuming your GPA isn't too horrible and you get a semi-decent (~27) mcat you probably would have a good chance.

 

[NonTradMed]

I agree with that this is a good option. However, a lot of DO programs don't require a bachelors degree, so if you wanted to just do the pre-reqs (and you probably already have some out of the way) and take the mcat it wouldn't take you 4 years. DO schools also look very kindly at non traditional students and are forgiving of lower GPAs with good upward trends. So assuming your GPA isn't too horrible and you get a semi-decent (~27) mcat you probably would have a good chance.

Many MD schools also don't "require" a bachelors degree but leafing through the MSAR, you will see that this is *extremely* rare. Therefore, I am somewhat doubtful that applying to DO schools without a BS is going to be any better.

 

[Vvandenn]

Don't sell nursing short just yet. Remember that in an ASN program, as in any program, the curriculum teaches to the lower common denominator. Many of those getting their associate's degree in nursing are looking for a low-thought clinic job taking vital signs, not shooting for something higher like you are.

What probably most of the pre-meds on this forum don't realize is that nursing, far more than medicine, has a ridiculously broad range of skill sets and intellectual requirements depending on your job. An ASN RN in a clinic may not know anything, but an APRN or CRNA will often function just like an MD in terms of "troubleshooting and fixing problems."

For what it's worth, I'd stick to nursing. I'm guessing you're male, and so are experiencing the initial disappointment with the field that so many male nurses get at first. But remember that things are much better down the road, when you start talking about things like ED, transport, APRN, NP, or CRNA. The money, if you want it, is just as good as primary care MDs make (and in many places better than general Peds).

If I could do it over again, I'd have avoided medicine like the plague and done something similar to you.

Why is that?

 

[soeagerun2or]

Just get your CRNA

You're 27 and you don't have a degree. If your motivation is to "help people" or "cure diseases" medicine is all the same regardless of the degree. Look for the highest paying degree with the lowest amount of school you have to go through.

However, if you don't care about money; you want to make the betterment of mankind your life through research or devoted human-service then medicine is your ticket --go get an MD!

 

[Nomemory]

My top 5, in no particular order, off the top of my head:

1) Because my wife is an RN, works three days a week, and grossed 85k last year. I will be 34yo before my salary beats hers, and she's been making that kind of money since she was 23yo.

2) Because I'm not gay, but I can't shake the feeling that I've been sucking c*ck every day since I started med school.

3) Because I am judged on sets of qualities that have little to no bearing on my skills and knowledge.

4) Because I fill out more paperwork and forms as a sub-i than the Charge Nurse does on every f*cking ward I work on, and I know it only gets worse from here.

5) Because when the resident or attending is being an a$$hole, even the lowliest nurse or tech can tell them to shove it up their a$$, but I, as a 28yo sub-i who is already matched to one of the most competitive fields around, have to sit and take it and say, "Thank you for teaching me" after they're done.

I could keep going, but it would turn into a book.

Your bitterness is beautiful.

 

[daeojkim]

"Twenty years from now, you will be more dissappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did. So throw away the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER." -Mark Twain-

Call me an idealist, but I think this statement is so true. If you want to do medicine and be a physician, stop wasting time asking people whether you should do it or not.

I am 31, and by the time I am done with med school I will be 34. By the time I am done with residency in the field that I want to be in, I will be 40. So what!!. This is what I want to do and I am happier now than I have ever been in my life. Sure there will be a lot of crap that I have to put up with before I get to where I want to be, then I will have to put up with more crap while I work in the field that I want to do for the next 30-40 years. If medicine is REALLY REALLY what you want to do and you believe that you have what it takes to get there, go ahead and do it.

 

[Scottish Chap]

PLEASE ADVISE:

I am 27, and I am currently in the beginning of my RN ASN program. My long term goal is to become a CRNA; however, after observing the theory concepts of a nurse, it is starting to bother me. I want to troubleshoot and fix problems. The nursing theory seems too basic for me.

I don't have a bachleors because I've been waiting for the RN program mad: ), but I am ready to transfer to a university. What do you all suggest? Med school or CRNA route? I'm seriously in the need of some advice. I want to become a general doctor in family practice, atleast. And I want my hard work to show. But I fear that I may be just a tad bit late since I don't even have a degree. This is a career change for me from being a network analyst for 7+ years, and I believe the troubleshooting urge is making me look one way while I walk another.

There really is no such thing as "too late" in America. Medical school classes usually include several career changers. My own class has an ordained minister, a high-powered ex-CEO, a few Ph.Ds, pharmacists, engineers, and paramedics. If you have the desire, the persistence, and the work ethic, and a good support system, you should follow your heart. However, physicians and nurses really are very different careers and very different angles of delivering health care and so I would be sure that this alone is what influence your decision.

In any career, the grass will always look greener on the other side. Be aware that a nursing degree will not be the best preparation for medical school. In fact, I recently read that they have the lowest acceptance rate (sorry - I don't have the source, so consider it anecdotal).

 

[Law2Doc]

"Twenty years from now, you will be more dissappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did. So throw away the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER." -Mark Twain-

Call me an idealist, but I think this statement is so true.

Bear in mind that Mark Twain was fairly critical and suspicious of doctors and would not have considered one's failure to become a doctor particularly disappointing. "He has been a doctor a year now and has had two patients, no, three, I think -- yes, it was three; I attended their funerals." - Mark Twain

 

[Wizard of Oz]

If I could do it over again, I'd have avoided medicine like the plague and done something similar to you.

Agree with Tired here. Only problem was that there was no way I could make up my undergrad/grad debt as a med tech.

Everybody already knows I had been rejected from PA school which is how I wound up as a wannabe doc.

Be aware that a nursing degree will not be the best preparation for medical school. In fact, I recently read that they have the lowest acceptance rate (sorry - I don't have the source, so consider it anecdotal).

Often true, but I think it's just because they are least likely to know what they are getting into with all of the required basic science knowledge. Definitely agree about nursing being poor preparation for M1/M2.

We have one 22-year-old female who went straight from BSN to med school. She is doing well so far.

 

[NonTradMed]

Grass is always greener. Go to www.allnurses.com and see what the nurses has to say about their fields. I was over there to gather some info for my cousin and there's quite a lot of people who are burned out and/or upset about the field of nursing as well. People gripe about their fields no matter what it is. You just have to figure out what jobs would make you feel the most comfortable/happy with.

 

[help79]

PLEASE ADVISE:

I am 27, and I am currently in the beginning of my RN ASN program. My long term goal is to become a CRNA; however, after observing the theory concepts of a nurse, it is starting to bother me. I want to troubleshoot and fix problems. The nursing theory seems too basic for me.

I don't have a bachleors because I've been waiting for the RN program mad: ), but I am ready to transfer to a university. What do you all suggest? Med school or CRNA route? I'm seriously in the need of some advice. I want to become a general doctor in family practice, atleast. And I want my hard work to show. But I fear that I may be just a tad bit late since I don't even have a degree. This is a career change for me from being a network analyst for 7+ years, and I believe the troubleshooting urge is making me look one way while I walk another.

hi, i'm also 27 and took the "long route" to medical school. i went to undergrad, then nursing school, then got my N.P., then completed 2 years of post bacc. having spoken with nursing professors and with physicians i have worked with, i can tell you that if you want to be a general practitioner (i.e. family medicine) you can do so through the CRNA route as easily as you can with an M.D. My doc friends tell me that lots of primary care physician jobs are being taken over by n.p.'s and they're not talking out of their as*es since i've seen it first hand in NYC. alot of people dog nursing education but if you want to "troubleshoot" you can do so through self-taught methods (reading current journals, continuing education classes, etc.). like medicine "learning" doesn't stop with a degree. any job in the health care profession truly emphasizes CONTINUOUS education. talk to as many people as you can, but ultimately search your heart and try to uncover your genuine and sincere motives for going to med school. if you have any other questions feel free to p.m. me. i've struggled with this decision also and finally have some peace.

 

[Dr JPH]

However, a lot of DO programs don't require a bachelors degree,

Check your sources.

 

[lilnoelle]

If I could do it over again, I'd have avoided medicine like the plague and done something similar to you.

Yep, I think I agree too. The sad thing is I'm an M1, not an M4, and I'll probably be much more embittered before all of this is over.

The problem is that premed "itch". If I had known that I'd be better off leaving the itch alone, I think I would have. However, if I hadn't done it, I would've always thought "what if". [email protected] itch. Now I know "what if" and wish I could just walk away.

Not that I don't like medicine. I do. Its just that now I know I'd be perfectly happy doing something that didn't require so much sacrifice.

 

[mrs_lady]

Just a quick thought -- it sounds like a lot of people here are dissuading you from becoming a doc, which is probably good advice in terms of sheer practicality. However, with your age and background, if you DO decide to go to med school, BUY A HOUSE and sink as much $$ as you can into it before you go. They will take every bit of money you have saved in med school before they start giving you financial aid, the only exception being your primary residence. Excellent advice someone gave to me. Can't swear to it, but it made sense to me. Others are free to disagree if I'm off base here.

 

[lilnoelle]

Just a quick thought -- it sounds like a lot of people here are dissuading you from becoming a doc, which is probably good advice in terms of sheer practicality. However, with your age and background, if you DO decide to go to med school, BUY A HOUSE and sink as much $$ as you can into it before you go. They will take every bit of money you have saved in med school before they start giving you financial aid, the only exception being your primary residence. Excellent advice someone gave to me. Can't swear to it, but it made sense to me. Others are free to disagree if I'm off base here.

?
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think your off base.
In general, need based loans are based on your parents income, no matter your age.
Your own assets will not affect your financial aid as far as loans are concerned.

 

[ralegen]

Don't sell nursing short just yet. For what it's worth, I'd stick to nursing... I'm guessing you're male, and so are experiencing the initial disappointment with the field that so many male nurses get at first. But remember that things are much better down the road, when you start talking about things like ED, transport, APRN, NP, or CRNA.

First, thanks for all your responses thus far.

LOL. TIRED, you guessed it, I am male. Although, I have been able to tolerate the jokes and comments, I know that they'll still be coming. I usually roll my eyes, ignore, or assertively talk back. But, I still "sigh" when I think about the scope of practice a nurse is allowed to do. There are many pros and cons about my choices, but I'll search for the route my heart truly desires.

Really, everyone has given excellent responses. Please keep them coming! I'm sure there are others in this position.

 

[baylormed]

First, thanks for all your responses thus far.

LOL. TIRED, you guessed it, I am male. Although, I have been able to tolerate the jokes and comments, I know that they'll still be coming. I usually roll my eyes, ignore, or assertively talk back. But, I still "sigh" when I think about the scope of practice a nurse is allowed to do. There are many pros and cons about my choices, but I'll search for the route my heart truly desires.

Really, everyone has given excellent responses. Please keep them coming! I'm sure there are others in this position.

I'm going to suggest another profession, although I'm not sure if you've already thought about it and discarded it.

Why not think about becoming a PA?

It's a 2 or 2.5 years program, and male PA's probably don't get made fun of too often. You can still have a good salary, and considering your age, you will finish school sooner and be able to earn money sooner as well.

 

[brightness]

There is nothing wrong with being a PA, but I don't think you should quit nursing just because of gender issues, if thats the field you want to be in. That just seems silly to me!

 

[Critical Mass]

I've been the lone male in a class full of nursing students before. Can't say that I cared for it much. The sentiment was that I was taking someone else's spot since I already had a Master's degree in a science.