MD vs FNP(or PA or another MSN)

[nikibean]

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Totally out of curiosity- how many of you here have thought about the FNP/PA route and then decided to go for the MD? Or are you still considering those routes while applying? I'm especially interested in what the 26yo+ group has to say, but I'm simply curious if anyone has either waivered on their pathway or has chosen MD for a particular reason over FNP... and what that reasoning is? Or conversely, they want to be an FNP now instead of an MD.
I've gone back and forth over the years; this reason is why I'm curious as to other people's feelings/ideas/thoughts. I have my own reasons for why I chose MD, and have been asked extensively about it in interviews. Anyone else?


Discuss.

 

[nibrocli]

my backup plan was crna if md/do didn't work out. i never considered fnp because i don't think i'd enjoy primary care, either as a doc or an np.

also my age has something to do with the decision. i feel i can pay back my loans in a decent amount of time if i start med school in my early 30s. if i were 10 years older, i'm not so sure it would be worth it. advanced practice nursing (such as crna) would've made more sense for me if i were, say, 45-ish.

 

[i61164]

Luckily, I never got asked why be an MD instead of a nurse during interviews because I probably would have said "because I can," and I don't know how it would have gone over. Also, the less people that can tell me what to do, the better. Physicians do not have the total autonomy that they used to, but it's still more than most professions. I will be 33 when I finish med school, so age did not dissuade me from going for the MD. I think a lot of it is how you see yourself. I see myself as a doctor, not a nurse.

 

[OctoDoc]

I'll be 36 when I matriculate this fall. I am a career changer, and was "stuck" in my previous job until recently. I was a professor with a research group, and I wouldn't leave the job until I graduated all of my grad students (yeah, I'm too nice). I always considered medicine if (or when, as it turned out) I realized I didn't want to be a professor.

However, at the time I decided I no longer wanted to stay in academia, my fiancee was just finishing her degree. I didn't want her to compromise her career for my pursuit of being a physician. That wouldn't be fair to her. After all, I already had my shot, she should have hers. Plus, considering my age and the amount of time it takes to get through med school, residency and perhaps (most likely, now) fellowship, I considered being a PA.

Fortunately I am engaged to the most wonderful woman on this planet. She encouraged me to go for the MD, saying that I won't be happy as a PA (she's right, less challenging and autonomy), and we'll make sure to work things out. She got an incredible job in Orange County, CA, and so I concentrated my applications to CA schools. When the dust settled, I got into UCI, which is a stone's throw from her workplace. Thank goodness, as I think living apart from her for so long would have been too great of a sacrifice.

 

[NonTradMed]

I'm 27 here, and I have always known it was MD or DO for me! Age is not a huge issue for me because I figure the few years delay isn't going to put me in the poorhouse when you think about how long my working life will be (~30 years) and the fact that I had worked and paid off my undergrad debt already...so I start clean again for med school. Also, I figured that a physician still has the most autonomy in the health field, not a FNP or a PA, so why not bother with the extra years of schooling to achieve that? After all, the degree will determine my ability to work for the next three decades. Also, I guess it helped that I knew my stats was definitely good enough to get into DO schools so I wasn't worried that I wouldn't get into med school. My biggest issue was getting into my instate med school. I didn't want to pay the extra $$ for out of state med school. Debt doesn't sit well with me.

 

[CibaoMD]

My story is little different from all of you. I am actually a PA who has been practicing in pediatrics for the past 6 yrs, but has decided to go MD. I must say that autonomy is a relative condition that varies greatly among PAs. In my practice I have no one looking over my shoulder, "holding my hand" as I see patients or questioning my clinical judgement looking thru my charts. Its completely up to me whether or not I choose to get some "help" so to speak. I'd say thru the years I'm at the point that 90+% of the time I don't need any such help. Its a wonderful position to be in...... I'm also very well compensated...... Getting paid 100+k with a few extra hrs a wk.......

It still isn't enough. I will never be able to grow...... decide how to run the practice... What new technology are we going to incorporate into everyday use.... How should we dissminate information to our patients..... I will never be able to have my own patients... Pick them up since birth in the Nursery...... Admit patients to my service and not take crap from EM physicians (no offense) who don't know anything about my patient....... It would have to always be under the umbrella of someone else. One too many patients have tried to look me up as a provider on a lot of the HMO panels to sign up......but couldn't find me. They were disappointed b/c didn't want to be seen by anyone else or be really someone else's patient........

The moral of the story is ..... If this is you really want..... Don't settle or be afraid to go for it.... You may never be truly happy if don't at least try to pursue ur dreams....... Being a PA/NP are very viable options.... But only something to be considered carefully........After other avenues have been exhausted.....