NP or MD

[boomerang120]

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Hi everyone,
I am looking for some opinions on what might be a better option for me - NP or MD. A bit of background: I am currently a RN working in a level III NICU. While I love working with the infants and families everyday and I don't for one moment regret my decision to become an RN I think I always know I would eventually want to go back to school. I graduated my BScN with a 3.9 GPA and I have always enjoyed school. I've come up with a few of the arguments for each and I would love to hear opinions on the what options might be best for me from people who have been through the process for either option

MD:
- Science background: I always wished my nursing degree had allowed me to take more in depth science classes. I enjoy subjects like chemistry and would love to have a more solid science background (through pre-reqs prior to MD)
- Academic challenge: I personally always felt nursing school was not quite in depth enough for me. The academic challenge of getting into and completing a MD program is exciting to me.

NP
- Flexibilty and finances: I currently have no debt from my bachelors. I could likely make it out of NP school with very little debt, have a more flexible schedule during my education, and likely still have some money to eventually pursue a DNP or PhD.
- Already specialized. I went to nursing school knowing I wanted to work NICU and I don't want to leave that area. Since you apply to a specific stream in NP school, I would not have to go through so much generalist education when my goal is ultimately to become an expert in neonatal care.
I would love to hear what everyone has to say. Thanks!

 

[pamac]

I have a 4.0 from my BSN, and the courses I took that were prereqs that med students took were significantly more challenging. One of the reasons I have a 4.0 in my BSN is because I took all the weed-out courses for my biology degree. Its hard to even compare anything in nursing or the nursing prereqs to upper division science coursework. Good work ethic will get you through them, and if you have that, then its all manageable. Just be aware that you will have more on your plate than you had before unless you decide to space things out (which might be smart just to ensure you get the good grades you'll need to get to shine for a med school admissions committee).

Apart from that, it really is up to you how much time you want to spend from here on out. I think that you should plan at least a couple years to get some biological coursework behind you that you will need so you can do well on the MCAT, and get good grades. Then there's four years of med school and then residency. Then there's the debt and the lost income.

I'm sure you know all that. It really is up to you what you want to go through. You mentioned wanting to be "an expert" in neonatal care, and I think that going to med school is about the only way to be able to truly consider yourself an "expert" in its truest definition. My parents neighbor would probably be considered "an expert" in neonatal care due to him being one of the pioneers in neonatology as a physician. I think even he would say that he's always learning. But a physician will be a lot closer to being an "expert" than an NP, clearly. But that same gentleman also told me that it would be hard for him to suggest med school and practice as a physician for anyone he cared about.

Thank goodness for folks that don't listen to advice against going to medical school, though.

 

[Jules A]

If you are young enough for medical school to be feasible then in my opinion there is absolutely no comparison or question as to which is a better all around choice. Best wishes with whatever you decide.

 

[Dr. In Formation]

Nurse Anesthetist from a purely financial standpoint.
Nursing Corps and many hospitals pay nurses to get advanced degrees.

 

[pamac]

Nurse Anesthetist from a purely financial standpoint.
Nursing Corps and many hospitals pay nurses to get advanced degrees.

I've noticed there seems to be a caveat to this: Facilities will often draw the line at paying for advanced practice degrees/provider degrees. It's common for them to be fine with paying for prereqs, bachelors, and masters degrees, but not professional degrees. So like if a CNA wants to get into nursing school, they will pay for prereqs for it and the nursing school when they get in, and even a masters in nursing leadership or healthcare management later on. Or they will pay for an MBA for most folks... Especially nursing managers (obviously with certain caps in place as to how much each semester they will contribute). But where I'm at... pharmacy school-no, medical school-no, PA school-no.... not even prereqs for those if they know that's what you are doing. They paid for me to get some prereqs for PA school because I could also show they were courses that nursing schools would take (even though they were upper division courses that way overshot what nursing schools require... But I ultimately went to nursing school, and was applying to it, so no dishonesty there). NP school and NA school also don't make the cut in my system either.

Here's the logic: HR says that they pay for degrees that enhance a career you are in at the facility, not facilitate you leaving. If you leave before a set time, you have to pay them back. If they don't offer you a position, they are basically forcing you to leave and then also have to pay them back. They want maximum latitude with hiring of providers, and don't want to be obliged to hire what could be a poor provider just because they were generous enough to pay for school. The optics would be bad if they cut people loose and then sent them a bill.

So short story long, tuition reimbursement through an employer is great, but there might be quirks. I recently calculated how much my employer put into me, and it's over $30k over time. Its been a huge blessing. But I'm taking out loans for the first time to pay for NP school. If I play my cards right, I'll get that all covered through "Nursing Corps"

 

[pamac]

And there might be better deals out there where certain facilities and systems will pay for NA and NP, I'm just speaking from what I know where I'm at.

 

[Dr. In Formation]

If I were a nurse, I'd go for this fully-funded DNAP nurse anesthetist program:
http://www.northeastern.edu/bouve/nursing/programs/army-graduate-program-nurse-anesthesia/

Or this dual NP/PA program.
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/nursing/academics/education_nppa_dualtrack_program.html

Again, money and time taken into consideration.