Second Thoughts- RN vs. MD

[Amex]

hello all. i am at one of those tough-decision cross roads in my life and im hoping that i could get some help from you guys. (and please, PLEASE, i would like some unbiased opinions. thanks at this moment, i am a pre-RN student. i apply for nursing school in the spring (2006). my ultimate goal is to become a CRNA. however, lately i have been debating whether or not i want to pursue the MDA route. in all honesty, the pre-med route terrified me which is probably why i shyed away from it in the first place. but i have surprised myself academically because my grades in my upper level science courses have been great. so now i ask myself, wow, i wonder if i really can make it in the pre-med route. i know the old saying, "if u want it bad enough, u will get it" and i believe in that whole heartedly. it sure has worked for me. i know its goin to be hard to have an unbiased opinion on this but my question is, should i continue with my route to be a CRNA or should i just throw in all the chips and pursue pre-med? if there are any RN turned pre-med students out there, your opinion would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

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[Denn]

hello all. i am at one of those tough-decision cross roads in my life and im hoping that i could get some help from you guys. (and please, PLEASE, i would like some unbiased opinions. thanks at this moment, i am a pre-RN student. i apply for nursing school in the spring (2006). my ultimate goal is to become a CRNA. however, lately i have been debating whether or not i want to pursue the MDA route. in all honesty, the pre-med route terrified me which is probably why i shyed away from it in the first place. but i have surprised myself academically because my grades in my upper level science courses have been great. so now i ask myself, wow, i wonder if i really can make it in the pre-med route. i know the old saying, "if u want it bad enough, u will get it" and i believe in that whole heartedly. it sure has worked for me. i know its goin to be hard to have an unbiased opinion on this but my question is, should i continue with my route to be a CRNA or should i just throw in all the chips and pursue pre-med? if there are any RN turned pre-med students out there, your opinion would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

I think that you can do both at the same time. Go ahead and finish all your pre-med requirements before you start your RN program (only if it's Bachelors degree program). After you take the MCAT and you are done with your school, you can apply to medical school and see what happens. Many people say that medical schools are biased against nursing students and are very reluctant to accept them to medical schools. I personally don't believe it. Maybe if you are a mediocre applicant with 3.2 GPA and 27 MCAT. If biochemistry or any other major students have the same stats, I think med schools are going to accept them before they accept nursing students. However, if you have very solid stats (3.5+GPA and 30+ MCAT) it will be a fair game and you will have a great shot at getting in med school. Believe in yourself. Good luck.

 

[Ross434]

I think that you can do both at the same time. Go ahead and finish all your pre-med requirements before you start your RN program (only if it's Bachelors degree program). After you take the MCAT and you are done with your school, you can apply to medical school and see what happens. Many people say that medical schools are biased against nursing students and are very reluctant to accept them to medical schools. I personally don't believe it. Maybe if you are a mediocre applicant with 3.2 GPA and 27 MCAT. If biochemistry or any other major students have the same stats, I think med schools are going to accept them before they accept nursing students. However, if you have very solid stats (3.5+GPA and 30+ MCAT) it will be a fair game and you will have a great shot at getting in med school. Believe in yourself. Good luck.

I second Denn's opinion. The reasons nurses statistically have a harder time are for reasons other than the degree itself. Plus, i know a few nurses in med school, and they are doing great in their science classes and their clinicals, and are really schooling some of their classmates when it comes to taking a history, doing IVs and catheters, etc.

Edit: It's also a lot smarter than getting a Bio degree should you not get into med school - you already have a high paying health career to fall back on!

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Hi

I am currently a nurse headed to medical school. Nursing is a great background for med school especially if you take the BSN degree route. You will still be missing alot of pre reqs but they can all be done online while you are working and making some money.


At the end of the day you can see it this way:

You can be 40 years old looking back as an RN or an MD/DO. Regardless of the path, your going to be 40 anyway. Choose what will make you happy.

 

[45408]

Think about what kind of lifestyle you want. My fiance is a nurse, and she can pick and choose any career options she wants. Nights? Days? No problem. She can even work two 12-hour shifts on Sat/Sun and get paid for 40 hours. Nursing is a very flexible field that is dying to get people. Part-time, full-time, etc. No problem. Being an MD? Good luck with that. You work. A lot. Can't really change that.

That said, if you think your ideal lifestyle in 10-30 years is compatible with being an MD, and you wouldn't be satisfied with the role that a nurse plays in medicine, than you should try the pre-med route. It's a lot more work, but if you feel that it will pay off, than it will be worth it.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Can you finish up all your pre-med reqs while getting your nursing degree? Then do both.

I'll have my RN by next Spring. I'm also re-taking pre-req and upper level science classes. Its tough going but I am doing very well.

 

[LJDHC05]

I think it depends on what you really want to do. If you want to oversee and plan a patient's treatment, then the MD/DO option is better because it gives you alot more say in what goes on with the treatment plan. If you want to be the one physically administering the care, one on one with the patient then the RN route is for you. They are both rewarding and hard jobs, but like others have said, nurses are in high demand and are paid very well for their work. But they get the less glorious jobs and less recognition for their role in the care of the patient, which is a shame because they do alot of the work and have to deal with people screaming/pooping/vomiting/etc at them alot more often than docs do.

 

[americanidiot]

Think about what kind of lifestyle you want. My fiance is a nurse, and she can pick and choose any career options she wants. Nights? Days? No problem. She can even work two 12-hour shifts on Sat/Sun and get paid for 40 hours. Nursing is a very flexible field that is dying to get people. Part-time, full-time, etc. No problem. Being an MD? Good luck with that. You work. A lot. Can't really change that.

What makes you think that you can't pick your hours as a physician? My dermatologist plays raquetball every day between his morning and afternoon cases. That's three hours of break every day. He makes an incredible living and lives incredibly, believe me. Perhaps you are talking about physicians with heavy call loads. In that case, I agree. However, you should be more specific. Not all M.D.s have the same lifestyle, you'll find.

 

[Amex]

hey guys. thanks for replying. you all have offered some great advice. ive thought about it over and over again and have decided to stick with the nursing route. i remember the first time i shadowed an AA and i was completely blown away. i was on the edge of my seat during the entire surgery. LOL! i remember paying no attention to the guy that came in at the beginning, signed a piece of paper and left. (oh...that was the anesthesiologist, right? ) im excited about becoming a nurse and even MORE excited about becoming a CRNA. again, thanks for your responses. i really appreciate it. (and thanks for not bashing me about becoming a nurse. ive seen it can get pretty nasty when the nurse vs. doc or CRNA vs. anesthesiologist topics come up.) good luck to yall and god bless!

 

[DrBowtie]

What makes you think that you can't pick your hours as a physician? My dermatologist plays raquetball every day between his morning and afternoon cases. That's three hours of break every day. He makes an incredible living and lives incredibly, believe me. Perhaps you are talking about physicians with heavy call loads. In that case, I agree. However, you should be more specific. Not all M.D.s have the same lifestyle, you'll find.

The key fact in your anecdote was that he was a DERM. Most specialties would have to sacrifice major finances in order to pick and choose their hours.

 

[45408]

What makes you think that you can't pick your hours as a physician? My dermatologist plays raquetball every day between his morning and afternoon cases. That's three hours of break every day. He makes an incredible living and lives incredibly, believe me. Perhaps you are talking about physicians with heavy call loads. In that case, I agree. However, you should be more specific. Not all M.D.s have the same lifestyle, you'll find.

He's also in a specialty that most people will not be able to get into, even if they want to. Sure, there are "cushy" specialties, and those often have a line of people waiting for them. In general, assume that you will be working more than your average RN.

 

[Will Hunting]

Go with what you want, sounds like you want to be a doctor. Go for it.