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Looking for personalized advice- NP vs MD (I know it's been done before...)
I know this may seem like it is beating a (very) dead horse, but I am looking for advice for my personal/unique situation..
I am an RN in my late 20s who has practiced only in mental health, in various settings (inpatient, outpatient). I recently took a position working as a psych case manager in a well known teaching hospital w/a teaching service comprised mainly of residents and fellows, and this has renewed my "MD envy" and interest in going back to med school/getting an advanced degree.
I started out pre-med, took a year off due to medical illness, and transferred to a local community college, where I obtained my ADN/RN. I didn't enjoy med/surg clinicals and for many reasons was disenchanted with my nursing program (and nursing as I saw it in the community hospitals I rotated through), so I applied to transfer to a 4-year school and entered with a major in biology the fall after finishing nursing school. I ended up working during winter break as a psych nurse, switching my major to psychology, graduating with a BA in psych, and taking a full time psych nursing job after graduation; this is what I've been doing since.
Trust me, this is an abbreviated version...
This summer I started working at a large teaching hospital w/a teaching service/group of psychiatry fellows and residents, and have started to think about med school again. I have also thought about NP school (as it would be cheaper, an easier transition, and require a lot less courses-- I have taken some of the prereqs for med school but most are at least 5 yrs old and I haven't taken physics or orgo, which I would enjoy the least), but have been thinking of med school for a few reasons:
1. I like the idea of the deeper & broader training that med students get through med school & residency. I am leaning towards psychiatry (that's another discussion, as I'm not 100% sure...) and feel that my lack of background in med surg would put me at a disadvantage as an NP, as psych pts are so medically complex these days. With med school, I'd get a solid background in basic medicine. Also there is more clinical training through residency, as NP residencies aren't widely offered.
2. Med school allows for rotations-- I have always wanted to work in the ED and am not 100% sure I want to do psych forever (vs. medicine or ED) so this would give me a chance to rotate through all specialties
3. An MD opens more doors in the sense of positions of authority at teaching hospitals, like the one I am at.
4. There is more "prestige" associated with the MD and I have always wanted some of that, although I don't like to admit it..
5. Although I like the holistic part of the nursing model, I really didn't enjoy the nursing theory portions of nursing school and felt like a lot of it was fluff -- I don't want to take out loans and spend 2 years doing NP school to be frustrated & dissatisfied w/my education (this is what happened after my experience at community college)
6. I hear a lot about NPs not making any more than RNs despite more education, which is disheartening
There are also a lot of reasons why an NP would make more sense:
1. It would build on my RN degree and would not require a crazy amount of hard science prereqs that I would not enjoy
2. It is generally a shorter, less expensive route, and I'd be more likely to get scholarships -- I am ~$30k in debt from undergrad , along w/some credit card debt. Avg. med school debt is ~200k PLUS I would have to take ~2yrs of prereqs, which would put me *another* $25-50k in debt if I went to a post bacc program with a solid advising/linkage program... I would make more $$ In the long run with an MD, although that's not the top priority
3. It would be easier to get in (no MCAT stress)
4. Less stress than med school-- less intensive science courses, less volume of information, less competitive classmates, etc. I tend to get competitive and stress about my grades, even though I am a strong student, and this has lead me to unnecessary anxiety in the past
5. I feel like I would be taking a step backward in my career (clinically) to have to devote 2 years to studying/memorizing chem, orgo, physics when I am already able to work with patients, assess, have worked in a leadership position in an outpatient program where I directed treatment plans (not medication, but still)
I am wondering if anyone has advice/thoughts.. I know I obviously have to make my own decision, but I wanted to solicit feedback from the experienced and accomplished folks in here who have been (or are) in a similar position.
Thanks in advance--
I know this may seem like it is beating a (very) dead horse, but I am looking for advice for my personal/unique situation..
I am an RN in my late 20s who has practiced only in mental health, in various settings (inpatient, outpatient). I recently took a position working as a psych case manager in a well known teaching hospital w/a teaching service comprised mainly of residents and fellows, and this has renewed my "MD envy" and interest in going back to med school/getting an advanced degree.
I started out pre-med, took a year off due to medical illness, and transferred to a local community college, where I obtained my ADN/RN. I didn't enjoy med/surg clinicals and for many reasons was disenchanted with my nursing program (and nursing as I saw it in the community hospitals I rotated through), so I applied to transfer to a 4-year school and entered with a major in biology the fall after finishing nursing school. I ended up working during winter break as a psych nurse, switching my major to psychology, graduating with a BA in psych, and taking a full time psych nursing job after graduation; this is what I've been doing since.
Trust me, this is an abbreviated version...
This summer I started working at a large teaching hospital w/a teaching service/group of psychiatry fellows and residents, and have started to think about med school again. I have also thought about NP school (as it would be cheaper, an easier transition, and require a lot less courses-- I have taken some of the prereqs for med school but most are at least 5 yrs old and I haven't taken physics or orgo, which I would enjoy the least), but have been thinking of med school for a few reasons:
1. I like the idea of the deeper & broader training that med students get through med school & residency. I am leaning towards psychiatry (that's another discussion, as I'm not 100% sure...) and feel that my lack of background in med surg would put me at a disadvantage as an NP, as psych pts are so medically complex these days. With med school, I'd get a solid background in basic medicine. Also there is more clinical training through residency, as NP residencies aren't widely offered.
2. Med school allows for rotations-- I have always wanted to work in the ED and am not 100% sure I want to do psych forever (vs. medicine or ED) so this would give me a chance to rotate through all specialties
3. An MD opens more doors in the sense of positions of authority at teaching hospitals, like the one I am at.
4. There is more "prestige" associated with the MD and I have always wanted some of that, although I don't like to admit it..
5. Although I like the holistic part of the nursing model, I really didn't enjoy the nursing theory portions of nursing school and felt like a lot of it was fluff -- I don't want to take out loans and spend 2 years doing NP school to be frustrated & dissatisfied w/my education (this is what happened after my experience at community college)
6. I hear a lot about NPs not making any more than RNs despite more education, which is disheartening
There are also a lot of reasons why an NP would make more sense:
1. It would build on my RN degree and would not require a crazy amount of hard science prereqs that I would not enjoy
2. It is generally a shorter, less expensive route, and I'd be more likely to get scholarships -- I am ~$30k in debt from undergrad , along w/some credit card debt. Avg. med school debt is ~200k PLUS I would have to take ~2yrs of prereqs, which would put me *another* $25-50k in debt if I went to a post bacc program with a solid advising/linkage program... I would make more $$ In the long run with an MD, although that's not the top priority
3. It would be easier to get in (no MCAT stress)
4. Less stress than med school-- less intensive science courses, less volume of information, less competitive classmates, etc. I tend to get competitive and stress about my grades, even though I am a strong student, and this has lead me to unnecessary anxiety in the past
5. I feel like I would be taking a step backward in my career (clinically) to have to devote 2 years to studying/memorizing chem, orgo, physics when I am already able to work with patients, assess, have worked in a leadership position in an outpatient program where I directed treatment plans (not medication, but still)
I am wondering if anyone has advice/thoughts.. I know I obviously have to make my own decision, but I wanted to solicit feedback from the experienced and accomplished folks in here who have been (or are) in a similar position.
Thanks in advance--