My attempt at comic relief...

[chiberian husky]

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So... it took me roughly 4 years to prepare for application to medical school & gain acceptance to a fine US MD school. Not a simple task for anyone, let alone a 30+ year old mother, as I'm sure many of my family friendly fellow non-trads can attest to.

During this process, one of the things that just drove me bonkers was when someone would ask about what I was up to and I would tell them I am planning on applying to medical school in a few years and in attempt to achieve that goal I have been doing X, Y, & Z. Then the person would almost always say something like "Have you ever considered becoming a PA? It doesn't take as long and the lifestyle is so much better. Blah, Blah, & Blah." in that little pity voice like they think you are totally stupid and are going to fail at getting into medical school.

ME: (thinking) *heavy sarcasm* Oh thank you so much person I barely know for your sage advice. No, I didn't know what a PA was, I must have forgotten after that last helpful person told me I should go to PA school a week ago. How could I be so stupid, here I am doing all this hard work, following my dreams garbage. You are so right, I should just give up on becoming a doctor because you obviously know what is best for me. *end sarcasm*

Okay fast forward to now. It's my last summer before the real storm. I'm mostly max relaxing with my family and getting my ducks in a row for when I start school this August. People ask me what I am up to and I say I'm not doing too much right at this moment because I'm starting medical school this fall and I don't want to be all stressed out, & la, la, la.

Then this is what they say: (no joke, it happened again today for like the 20th time) "Oh that is so nice. You must have worked so hard. You are gonna be a wonderful nurse."

GAAAHHHHH! I SAID M-E-D-I-C-A-L SCHOOL. WHHHYYYYY!

Why can't I just get a tiny drop of respect, is that too much ask. I'm about to start medical school and for the next 8+ years I'm gonna have to claw my way up from the bottom of the barrel. I know, I'm starting at ground zero, I'm an absolute nobody in the field of medicine, but gosh darn it if I TOLD YOU ONCE, I TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, I'm gonna be a doctor. MD, not a PA & not a nurse. Okay, now please leave me alone so I can cry out my frustration alone in a cave of pre-med shame. Peace.


***Disclaimer: I hope it was obvious by the title of the thread that I wrote this in attempt to be funny, I may not be funny, I donno. Honestly, I harbor no disrespect for the professions of PA & Nursing but I am fully aware that by posting this I might anger some sensitive souls (not unlike myself). Also, a little preemptive strike at the inevitable person who will try to call me out for humble bragging: HA-HA look at you Mother Teresa, don't you know this is SDN, the humble brag was invented and perfected here on these forums, deal. 🙂

 

[Straw Hat]

That is unfortunately funny. It won't be the last time someone tries to tell you what's better for you or mistake you for a nurse though. Tons of patients will do the same. I'm a male nurse atm and a lot of times patients think I'm some sort of doctor, call me doctor, etc.

 

[DrMidlife]

One time when this happened to me the person apologized and said "I've had nurses I've loved, but I've never loved a doctor, so of course I was thinking nurse." Hard to take too much offense at that.

It's really awkward when they finally understand you're going to be a doctor and then they say "oh good for you!" as if that wouldn't be a good response for a nurse. Nobody wins.

I have an ongoing conversation with a black classmate about how much we should object to commentary like this, vs. shaking it off. (People assume he's a janitor. Really. In white coat.) No easy answer, but so far we agree that a correction without emotional engagement is a good strategy. Also a sure bet: don't ever let them get under your skin.

Best of luck to you.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Congrats on the nursing acceptance, OP.

Bwahaha

 

[chiberian husky]

I think just writing this out has helped me grow some thicker skin. In real life I never would even bother correcting people because I'm pretty sure I would just come off as some kinda stuck up jerk. However, I will probably be correcting people when I actually have some real credentials 🙂

 

[QofQuimica]

You're a woman and people think you're going to be a nurse? Get used to it. Particularly for the older generation, it's hard for some of them to wrap their minds around the fact that they might have a female physician. I did my whole history and physical on this one patient, who, at the end, asked me when they were going to see the doctor. I said, "I am the doctor." Oh.

 

[chiberian husky]

You're a woman and people think you're going to be a nurse? Get used to it. Particularly for the older generation, it's hard for some of them to wrap their minds around the fact that they might have a female physician. I did my whole history and physical on this one patient, who, at the end, asked me when they were going to see the doctor. I said, "I am the doctor." Oh.

I understand & I really do try to approach these situations with humility. It does help to vent... because when it happens over and over and over, I just need a bit of an outlet so I don't lose it IRL.

 

[QofQuimica]

I understand & I really do try to approach these situations with humility. It does help to vent... because when it happens over and over and over, I just need a bit of an outlet so I don't lose it IRL.

One thing that really helps is that when I first enter the room, I always address the patient as Mr. or Ms. X, and introduce myself as Dr. Quimica. You obviously won't have that luxury for a few years, and the short white coat pegs you as not really a doctor anyway, so....like I said, get used to it happening over and over and over. As DrM said, just correct them factually and don't take it personally. Patients often have limited understanding of the roles played by the various members of the health care team. Considering how many people can be on a health care team, the patients' confusion is not really surprising when you think about it.

Interestingly, I don't think anyone has ever pegged me for a PA or NP. No idea why. Their role is a lot closer to mine than that of an RN is. In fact, plenty of the services at the main hospital where I did residency use midlevels and residents pretty much interchangeably in terms of the jobs we performed.

 

[jl lin]

So... it took me roughly 4 years to prepare for application to medical school & gain acceptance to a fine US MD school. Not a simple task for anyone, let alone a 30+ year old mother, as I'm sure many of my family friendly fellow non-trads can attest to.

During this process, one of the things that just drove me bonkers was when someone would ask about what I was up to and I would tell them I am planning on applying to medical school in a few years and in attempt to achieve that goal I have been doing X, Y, & Z. Then the person would almost always say something like "Have you ever considered becoming a PA? It doesn't take as long and the lifestyle is so much better. Blah, Blah, & Blah." in that little pity voice like they think you are totally stupid and are going to fail at getting into medical school.

ME: (thinking) *heavy sarcasm* Oh thank you so much person I barely know for your sage advice. No, I didn't know what a PA was, I must have forgotten after that last helpful person told me I should go to PA school a week ago. How could I be so stupid, here I am doing all this hard work, following my dreams garbage. You are so right, I should just give up on becoming a doctor because you obviously know what is best for me. *end sarcasm*

Okay fast forward to now. It's my last summer before the real storm. I'm mostly max relaxing with my family and getting my ducks in a row for when I start school this August. People ask me what I am up to and I say I'm not doing too much right at this moment because I'm starting medical school this fall and I don't want to be all stressed out, & la, la, la.

Then this is what they say: (no joke, it happened again today for like the 20th time) "Oh that is so nice. You must have worked so hard. You are gonna be a wonderful nurse."

GAAAHHHHH! I SAID M-E-D-I-C-A-L SCHOOL. WHHHYYYYY!

Why can't I just get a tiny drop of respect, is that too much ask. I'm about to start medical school and for the next 8+ years I'm gonna have to claw my way up from the bottom of the barrel. I know, I'm starting at ground zero, I'm an absolute nobody in the field of medicine, but gosh darn it if I TOLD YOU ONCE, I TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, I'm gonna be a doctor. MD, not a PA & not a nurse. Okay, now please leave me alone so I can cry out my frustration alone in a cave of pre-med shame. Peace.


***Disclaimer: I hope it was obvious by the title of the thread that I wrote this in attempt to be funny, I may not be funny, I donno. Honestly, I harbor no disrespect for the professions of PA & Nursing but I am fully aware that by posting this I might anger some sensitive souls (not unlike myself). Also, a little preemptive strike at the inevitable person who will try to call me out for humble bragging: HA-HA look at you Mother Teresa, don't you know this is SDN, the humble brag was invented and perfected here on these forums, deal. 🙂

Yes, it's as irksome to me as when people say, "Oh just become a CCRN or NP." As if I haven't been up close and personal with those roles. Yes I could make more money faster as a CRNA, and I meet all the requirements. Problem is, I know I'd ultimately hate myself for settling--especially just for the money. I think this is what makes the difference between others that really don't want to be physicians and those that do. For the most part, I think it's about more than the money--although I am not saying physicians should be paupers either--unless for some reason this is what they have chosen.

 

[jl lin]

BTW, I am a nurse, female and hard to miss that. Nonetheless, I've had some patients refer to me as doctor. ???? Even with my freaking name tag on??????

 

[chiberian husky]

BTW, I am a nurse, female and hard to miss that. Nonetheless, I've had some patients refer to me as doctor. ???? Even with my freaking name tag on??????

This happened to me a few times at one of my clinical ECs. & I was like OMG NO! I'm not a doctor, geez, I could have just walked in off the street.

 

[chiberian husky]

This happened to me a few times at one of my clinical ECs. & I was like OMG NO! I'm not a doctor, geez, I could have just walked in off the street.

& sadly I realize this was probably because of my age 🙁

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I think just writing this out has helped me grow some thicker skin. In real life I never would even bother correcting people because I'm pretty sure I would just come off as some kinda stuck up jerk. However, I will probably be correcting people when I actually have some real credentials 🙂

haha. I don't see an issue with just giving them a weird look and saying "I said medical school, not nursing."

 

[chiberian husky]

This is an interesting topic. It's really surprising since half or more than half of medical students are female.

Definitely interesting. I'm generally a pragmatic optimist when it comes to things like this & I think these "misunderstandings" will slowly fade out over time and some stubborn old stereotypes will still cling on long after their time is up. This is life.

Also, I don't know if it came off well in my original post, but much of my frustration stemmed from the almost constant passive-aggressive dissuasion from pursuit of medical school in lieu of the perceived easier path of PA school. This bothered me so much more than being confused with a nursing student. The female nurse thing is like, duh, I get it okay, people make mistakes. Just I wanted to say to all the doubters: step off my ambitions to become a doctor, I'm not a child... I already made my choices, I got married early & started a family first, & now I'm starting my career. I never figured out a nice way to tell people I seriously don't give a **** about "lifestyle" or "security" -> I'm ready to rumble 🙂

 

[Nasrudin]

Your talk of trials of mistaken identiy move me to speak,

From the moment I donned a scrub top I have been mistaken as a doctor. Were it a sharp suit--a lawyer or a CEO. It's only now after thousands of polite deflections that I can stop correcting, however uneasily.

It's just...not easy out here... for a 6'5" handsome white man with a graying beard.

Thanks. I needed to get that out.













.

 

[chiberian husky]

Your talk of trials of mistaken identiy move me to speak,

From the moment I donned a scrub top I have been mistaken as a doctor. Were it a sharp suit--a lawyer or a CEO. It's only now after thousands of polite deflections that I can stop correcting, however uneasily.

It's just...not easy out here... for a 6'5" handsome white man with a graying beard.

Thanks. I needed to get that out.













.

After I read your post, I started singing "everybody hurts" by REM in my head. Nice work.

 

[Nasrudin]

After I read your post, I started singing "everybody hurts" by REM in my head. Nice work.

Oh god, me and REM associated in the same thought, my work here is finished. 🙂

The great thing about medical training is that it reduces you to your position in the ecology of knowledge. I may look a certain way but I'll be the new intern just like anybody else.

But first impressions of patients or anybody really, not so much. Unfortunately. But when the orders flow from you and the team responds accordingly people will see you differently.

 

[CW 2010]

"Have you ever considered becoming a PA? It doesn't take as long and the lifestyle is so much better. Blah, Blah, & Blah." in that little pity voice like they think you are totally stupid and are going to fail at getting into medical school.

ME: (thinking) *heavy sarcasm* Oh thank you so much person I barely know for your sage advice. No, I didn't know what a PA was, I must have forgotten after that last helpful person told me I should go to PA school a week ago. How could I be so stupid, here I am doing all this hard work, following my dreams garbage. You are so right, I should just give up on becoming a doctor because you obviously know what is best for me. *end sarcasm*

LOL, the story of my life! I've had this happened to me a million times.
Btw, I found your post very funny. It brought a smile to my face.
Congrats on being accepted and good luck! 🙂

 

[chiberian husky]

This thread is really making my day... I have to get away from the computer now 🙁 but I would like to encourage others to write mistaken identity or general pre-med frustration stories here. I would love to read about any of your funny experiences too.

 

[CW 2010]

I have an ongoing conversation with a black classmate about how much we should object to commentary like this, vs. shaking it off. (People assume he's a janitor. Really. In white coat.)

In the hospital where I work everybody, including housekeeping staff, wears scrubs (we all have different colors, but some patients/relatives are apparently color blind) and our black and Hispanic residents get confused with janitors all the time. At the same time, respiratory techs are often thought of being physicians because they have a stethoscope and a white coat...

 

[Nasrudin]

In the hospital where I work everybody, including housekeeping staff, wears scrubs (we all have different colors, but some patients/relatives are apparently color blind) and our black and Hispanic residents get confused with janitors all the time. At the same time, respiratory techs are often thought of being physicians because they have a stethoscope and a white coat...

Yes. This is one of the things that allows people's baser assumptions to take over. In a society that is uncomfortable with earned authority and eschews it in favor of making everyone feel special we have completely blurred any professional distinctions in the hospital.

A uniform that used to signify something would have done significant work towards allowing people to see your function in their care.

 

[akinetopsia]

Does anyone run into the opposite thing? If you're an older medical student, when you hit the wards, do any of the ancillary staff or patients automatically assume you're a new attending, until they see how clueless you are? (Not considering your name badge and/or short white coat identifies you as a medical student)

 

[Member004422]

.

 

[Nasrudin]

I completely understand what you are saying OP. I have had multiple instances where I tell someone I'm in medical school.. and then theyy are like "oh ok, so are you going to be a nurse or a doctor when you're finished?"

I don't understand what they think "medical school" means. But luckily I don't care and just laugh it off and say I'm going to be a doctor.. hahaha 😉

Anytime you find yourself underestimating the stupidity of the Public...go lower...and still be surprised. People say their person is in medical school when they're going to the online thing for medical assistant training that they advertise on Maury.

 

[Member004422]

.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Maybe just start saying "I'm going to school to become a medical doctor" to avoid confusions?

 

[jl lin]

Yes. This is one of the things that allows people's baser assumptions to take over. In a society that is uncomfortable with earned authority and eschews it in favor of making everyone feel special we have completely blurred any professional distinctions in the hospital.

A uniform that used to signify something would have done significant work towards allowing people to see your function in their care.

OK, but unless people are illiterate, why not read the name tag or lab coat? I have to literally introduce myself and point to the tag or name on the lab coat at the same time as I am speaking--like an audio-visual demo. And it had nothing to do with age--I'm lucky that way; but it happened also in my 20's--b/c in critical care you always have your Littman Cardiology with you, and you are usually wearing hospital scrubs.

 

[Elewynne]

I completely understand what you are saying OP. I have had multiple instances where I tell someone I'm in medical school.. and then theyy are like "oh ok, so are you going to be a nurse or a doctor when you're finished?"

I don't understand what they think "medical school" means. But luckily I don't care and just laugh it off and say I'm going to be a doctor.. hahaha 😉

This, I've gotten this exact response so many times... "So are you going to be a nurse?" or even better: "Are you going to be a nurse or doctor?" As if you could choose once you're there...

 

[DrCharlemagne]

This thread is really making my day... I have to get away from the computer now 🙁 but I would like to encourage others to write mistaken identity or general pre-med frustration stories here. I would love to read about any of your funny experiences too.

I worked as a vet tech throughout high school and college, and I wore scrubs covered in cartoon animals. The veterinary clinic was next door to a grocery store, and periodically I would head over there to buy change for our register or snag a cheap lunch. Every single time I had people either giving me deeply personal accounts of their medical problems while standing in line at customer service, or asking me for medical advice as we waited to check out. All I could think is "I'm fifteen, I'm wearing the most childish scrubs in existence, and I can't even drive. How the f*ck would I know that answer to what you're asking?"

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

"I'm fifteen, I'm wearing the most childish scrubs in existence, and I can't even drive. How the f*ck would I know that answer to what you're asking?"

Yes, but what do I do about my diabeetus?

 

[Nasrudin]

OK, but unless people are illiterate, why not read the name tag or lab coat? I have to literally introduce myself and point to the tag or name on the lab coat at the same time as I am speaking--like an audio-visual demo. And it had nothing to do with age--I'm lucky that way; but it happened also in my 20's--b/c in critical care you always have your Littman Cardiology with you, and you are usually wearing hospital scrubs.

You're overestimating people's ability or desire or inclination while ill to take note of details and remember them amidst the confusing array of new stimuli around them.

So the scrubs, steth, and confidence and competence of an experienced ICU nurse says person in charge. Dr.Ladywhoknowswtfisgoingonaroundhere. Like that.

When I worked briefly on weekend nights in another department outside the ED their manager told me to wear their lovely Lilac scrubs to signify their particular *****ic function in the hospital. I showed up in my usual blues. What office person works nights to say otherwise.

So I contributed to patient confusion myself. By refusing to wear lilac.

I'm referring more to everyone wearing white coats. Which secretly I love. Because I hate the hot horribleness of them. And am looking forward to dressing to my own tastes. Slipping out of the expectations of any label whatsoever with the ease of walking off my unit where my role is known.

I was thinking more about the diminutive female forms in the trenches of medicine. Where identifying who is in charge quickly and consistently would be more important.

 

[jl lin]

Just so WHOMEVER and Nas knows, the reply about Kermit and "Not easy being green" was simply a joke--meant to be nicely humorous. *scratching* How did anyone mistake that for anything but what it was?

 

[Nasrudin]

Just so WHOMEVER and Nas knows, the reply about Kermit and "Not easy being green" was simply a joke--meant to be nicely humorous. *scratching* How did anyone mistake that for anything but what it was?

Oh...or...uh...yeah..I mean I like the song. And the frog obviously. And his creator, perhaps one of the greatest artists of all time. So...I didn't...yeah it's a joke...no worries.

 

[chiberian husky]

I wore scrubs covered in cartoon animals.

This is crackin' me up. No way in hell I'd ever ever disclose any personal details to a rando person wearing animal scrubs. *facepalm*

 

[Leslie_Knope]

Love this post.

At the hospital where I volunteer I'm routinely asked which program I'm doing my volunteering for. It's assumed I'm volunteering to fulfill a requirement and as soon as I'm done I'll be gone.

The top two guesses people have are nurse then PA.

 

[Doctor Bob]

or even better: "Are you going to be a nurse or doctor?" As if you could choose once you're there...

"Actually I'm going to be a veterinarian. That's why they sent me in to your room."

 

[Doctor Bob]

It's just...not easy out here... for a 6'5" handsome white man with a graying beard.

The biggest problem is not walking into the spotlights a few times per shift.

But as another tall white guy, balding at an early age... even as an ER tech the patients would ask if I was the doctor. It also helps that I look almost exactly like Anthony Edwards from his time on ER... back at the beginning of my medical career that helped because I fit with people's preconceived notions and the subconscious popular culture referencing only worked in my favor.

Although once I had an interaction with a patient which gave me pause... "you don't look like a doctor... you look like a dentist."

 

[wholeheartedly]

Lol, these are kind of funny. Not a doc one, but one of the nurses at my hospital (where I am NOT a nurse and the person I was talking to knew my role) asked what I was going to grad school for and I said I was working on a masters in public health in epidemiology. She goes, " and after that you'll be what? A nurse?"

I know nobody knows what the heck an epidemiologist actually is, but with an RN I would think she has a good handle on the training to become a nurse. So I explained that, no, public health is a great field because it encompasses so many professions from social workers, to nurses, dietitians, vet med, mds, and policy people, etc. then I explained what epidemiology was. But the general public tends to be clueless about healthcare training.

Also most people in healthcare are completely clueless about my field. I have docs that range from thinking I have a high school diploma to docs that ask how they should manage their patient based on x test result.... So people in general tend to know their own path and not much else.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

"Actually I'm going to be a veterinarian. That's why they sent me in to your room."

I've tried "Well, Doctors go to Medical School, Nurses go to Nursing School" and then walk off wondering "Who's the a$$hole here?". Can't win, it feels like.

 

[Nasrudin]

The biggest problem is not walking into the spotlights a few times per shift.

But as another tall white guy, balding at an early age... even as an ER tech the patients would ask if I was the doctor. It also helps that I look almost exactly like Anthony Edwards from his time on ER... back at the beginning of my medical career that helped because I fit with people's preconceived notions and the subconscious popular culture referencing only worked in my favor.

Although once I had an interaction with a patient which gave me pause... "you don't look like a doctor... you look like a dentist."

. What? I didn't even know dentists had a look. But Ian Edwards was a sexy beast. So I feel your pain. "Everybody hurts..." . I love that.

But in all seriousness I've lackeyed and squired myself through life, where disguising my natural abilities and being extra sensitive to any of my inspired insecurities in my bosses has become all to unconscious and automatic.

I won't apologize or feel guilty for any of the obvious advantages of walking around in this delicious looking vanilla meat wagon.

But we should perhaps move this off line and into our meeting next Thursday. It's probably not good that "they" know how f'n good this **** is. .

 

[chiberian husky]

So after thinking about all these stories, I'm now kind of worried... So what happens during M3 when you are switching locations every few weeks, you are totally disorientated, and you have to figure out who's who among a brand new medical team? I guess, what I mean is, I can totally see myself getting techs, the range of nurses, midlevels, residents, really anyone, mixed up & I'll prolly make an a** of myself on a daily, if not hourly basis. Does anyone have good methods of introduction or ways of avoiding these awkward "misunderstandings"?

 

[Nasrudin]

So after thinking about all these stories, I'm now kind of worried... So what happens during M3 when you are switching locations every few weeks, you are totally disorientated, and you have to figure out who's who among a brand new medical team? I guess, what I mean is, I can totally see myself getting techs, the range of nurses, midlevels, residents, really anyone, mixed up & I'll prolly make an a** of myself on a daily, if not hourly basis. Does anyone have good methods of introduction or ways of avoiding these awkward "misunderstandings"?

Well. They probably see the short white and know you're a babe in the woods. So you just smile big and treat everybody graciously and it usually works out fine. The person sitting at the desk is the unit clerk. There's a charge nurse who may or may not be obvious but s/he's usually looks a bit more seasoned. The nurses assistants usually have the trappings of less education and wealth and intelligence--I'm not being PC here obviously. They might have a different color scrubs but not always. There may be a social worker wearing office clothes and running around talking a lot on phones and trying to avoid being overwhelmed by requests.

RT's will be obvious. As will the Rad techs. Transport personnel will look like ex-cons with scrubs. The non or barely English speakers will be the housekeeping staff.

Just say ma'am and sir a lot. And if you're going to need something or to relay the team's orders introduce yourself first and explain that you're acting as the footman for Dr Whatshisnutz. Mention an attending as much as possible. Helps move things along.

You'll get the hang of it. The main thing is to roll with punches, learn to take them, and always be nice under all circumstances.

If it gets bad. Find an errand to run like going to talk to the radiologist about a wet read or something and just keep telling yourself that it's only for a couple weeks. The best thing about it is it always keeps moving.

 

[Doctor Bob]

But we should perhaps move this off line and into our meeting next Thursday. It's probably not good that "they" know how f'n good this **** is. .

Word to your mother.
(drops the mic)

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

"Actually I'm going to be a veterinarian. That's why they sent me in to your room."

I'm an idiot. I just got this joke. You sir, are hilarious. Big fat fatties.

 

[SpaceLeftBlank]

You're a woman and people think you're going to be a nurse? Get used to it. Particularly for the older generation, it's hard for some of them to wrap their minds around the fact that they might have a female physician.

Could be worse. When I graduated from law school, my family had a small party for me, and one of my high-school friends, who is now an interventional cardiologist but back then was an IM attending not too far out of residency, was at the party. She was on call, and so had her pager with her. My grandma, however, did the following equation in her head: "young woman my grandson's age + pager" and got the answer "drug dealer." It took some fairly heavy insistence from my dad and from me to convince her that no, she's a doctor. I'm not positive she was ever really convinced.

 

[Fedaykin]

I once told a cabbie that I was a researcher who worked with HIV. Cabbie then told me all about a risky sexual encounter he'd had with a prostitute earlier in the week and wanted to know if he was at risk.

 

[popopopop]

BTW, I am a nurse, female and hard to miss that. Nonetheless, I've had some patients refer to me as doctor. ???? Even with my freaking name tag on??????

I'm a male nurse. I get asked if I'm going to be a doctor probably once every other week. They say it's how I explain things to them and how I talk (also because I'm a dude, duh). You should know role confusion occurs in the hospital with all the different scrub colors. Also, we forget patients aren't experts on how a hospital works. Casual weekend means docs on call are wearing scrubs under their white coats. The surgeons usually are not with their white coats. I get just as confused when I volunteer at an office setting and how the chain of command works.

Does your hospital use these badges? I hate them, makes me feel like I'm bragging, but it's a must here.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

I'm a male nurse. I get asked if I'm going to be a doctor probably once every other week. They say it's how I explain things to them and how I talk (also because I'm a dude, duh). You should know role confusion occurs in the hospital with all the different scrub colors. Also, we forget patients aren't experts on how a hospital works. Casual weekend means docs on call are wearing scrubs under their white coats. The surgeons usually are not with their white coats. I get just as confused when I volunteer at an office setting and how the chain of command works.

Does your hospital use these badges? I hate them, makes me feel like I'm bragging, but it's a must here.

So your a male nurse with med school aspirations, is that correct?

 

[popopopop]

^Correct, never thought about medschool until 2 years into nursing. I couldn't be happier right now.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

^Correct, never thought about medschool until 2 years into nursing. I couldn't be happier right now.

I'm really glad to hear that you chose to go this direction instead of the NP alternative. Where are you in the process?