Why a doctor and not a nurse, nurses help people?

[BGGA]

Hi,

Has anyone encountered an interview question like this? We all want to be doctors, we all want to help people but there are many health care professionals that help people. Any suggestions on why specifically wanting to be a doctor and not a ....? Some that come to mind are the leadership role that you play as a doctor (this can be a slippery slope because we are part of a TEAM), also ones interest in science is constantly addressed as a doctor because you have to constantly self educate in order to be aware of new discoveries and technologies. Do you guys have anything else?
BGGA

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[g3pro]

I really feel sorry for anyone who thought they could get ahead by becoming a PA or NA, or do any nurse's training.

 

[stinkycheese]

The medical model and the nursing model are different. Learn about them and then you can speak in an educated way about this at an interview. I wouldn't say that part about scientific education and discovery, bc nurses have to do that too. They're not trained monkeys, they just have a different role in care: namely, relieving symptoms and providing maintenance care, rather than diagnosis and treatment of disease.

 

[i61164]

A doctor is the decision maker when it comes to patient treatment. As a doctor, you should want to be in charge, to make the decisions. Nurses have a lot of responsibility. If they screw up, the patient can be harmed. However, the nurse does not have as much professional autonomy.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I really feel sorry for anyone who thought they could get ahead by becoming a PA or NA, or do any nurse's training.

"get ahead" in what way...? making money? prestige? please elaborate

 

[olydoc2b]

The medical model and the nursing model are different. Learn about them and then you can speak in an educated way about this at an interview. I wouldn't say that part about scientific education and discovery, bc nurses have to do that too. They're not trained monkeys, they just have a different role in care: namely, relieving symptoms and providing maintenance care, rather than diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Do you have any books to recommend that effectively compare them?

 

[juniper456]

money money MONEY! let's be honest, folks.

 

[BGGA]

I really feel sorry for anyone who thought they could get ahead by becoming a PA or NA, or do any nurse's training.

Not everyone desires to become a physician to "get ahead". I hope that the large majority of people pursing this career are doing so out of a desire to serve others. If you want to make money there are many easier, faster and cheaper avenues to do so.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Not everyone desires to become a physician to "get ahead". I hope that the large majority of people pursing this career are doing do out of a desire to serve others. If you want to make money there are many easier, faster and cheaper avenues to do so.

agreed and i questioned the poster what he even meant by that. however "doing do out of a desire to serve others" doesn't answer why not a nurse or a PA....

 

[DocMizzle]

I want to be a doctor mainly b/c of the autonomy and the added responsibility to diagnose as well as treat a patient. Lesser reasons are the prestige and extra money doctors make.

 

[cytotech27]

I am curious about some responses to this question too. I currently work as an "allied health profesional", so I expect to get asked this question on interviews. I want to expand my role and really understand what is happening to the patient on different levels, and I think being a physician allows this to happen. I have attended some grand round lectures where I work and it seems that doctors go beneath the surface, whereas nurses have so much to do, they can not research every new drug or treatment that enters the market. I don't think they have as much extensive education ( I know some programs are four years, but doctors have more). I have the greatest respect for nurses, but I could not be happy in that role for the rest of my life. I need to know the pathology, etiology, everything about the disease.

 

[neuropower]

i admit to not having much experience with nurses or what their work consists of, but i would think that being a doctor is more intellectually challenging...is that true? in that you have to learn more and know more to be a doctor, which is why you have the ultimate responsibility for the patient? because you are the most knowledgeable?
someone correct me if i'm wrong though...

 

[DocMizzle]

i admit to not having much experience with nurses or what their work consists of, but i would think that being a doctor is more intellectually challenging...is that true? in that you have to learn more and know more to be a doctor, which is why you have the ultimate responsibility for the patient? because you are the most knowledgeable?
someone correct me if i'm wrong though...

Careful saying some of these things to ADCOMs. Nursing is also intellectually challenging although in a somewhat different sense in that nurses don't diagnose. Also, a doctor doesn't necessarily "know" more. Sure, we have to learn a little more in depth about pathology and pharmacology, but you can't say that a doctor practicing for only a year knows more than a nurse who has 30 years of experience. I think I understand what you are saying, but just be careful in an interview that you don't come across as implying nurses are unintelligent, unknowledgeable, etc. Nursing is a wonderful profession, and healthcare would grind to a halt without them.

 

[ChipotleAddict]

Hi,

Has anyone encountered an interview question like this? We all want to be doctors, we all want to help people but there are many health care professionals that help people. Any suggestions on why specifically wanting to be a doctor and not a ....? Some that come to mind are the leadership role that you play as a doctor (this can be a slippery slope because we are part of a TEAM), also ones interest in science is constantly addressed as a doctor because you have to constantly self educate in order to be aware of new discoveries and technologies. Do you guys have anything else?
BGGA

I've thought about this one a bit...I think I would respond with something about how I'd rather be a doc than a nurse because I want the potential to get involved with research (nurses don't have that opportunity, right?) and also the potential to teach other med students someday (nurses don't usually teach, right?)

 

[coincidental]

The medical model and the nursing model are different. Learn about them and then you can speak in an educated way about this at an interview. I wouldn't say that part about scientific education and discovery, bc nurses have to do that too. They're not trained monkeys, they just have a different role in care: namely, relieving symptoms and providing maintenance care, rather than diagnosis and treatment of disease.

mmm...be careful though. There are many different kinds of nurses. I'd say nurse practitioners can play a major role in disease diagnosis and treatment. With the increasing stresses being placed on the health care system, nurses are being asked to take on more responsibility and some roles that were traditionally assigned to doctors.
And yes, I completely stumbled over this question during a premed interview.

 

[bewitched1081]

i think if you've worked in the hospital, you will have plenty of answers for this question. i would never want to be a nurse. at least, not in a hospital setting because nurses arent treated very well by the doctors and the patients and they have to do all of the dirty work. i dont mind dirty work but i dont want it to be all that im expected to do.

 

[stinkycheese]

mmm...be careful though. There are many different kinds of nurses. I'd say nurse practitioners can play a major role in disease diagnosis and treatment. With the increasing stresses being placed on the health care system, nurses are being asked to take on more responsibility and some roles that were traditionally assigned to doctors.
And yes, I completely stumbled over this question during a premed interview.

MSN and NP's are different from RNs, as you know. I was referring to RNs in my post, not nurse practitioners.

 

[Attentive]

My two cents about prestige,

When I thought about where the prestige part comes into day to day to life, it doesn't really seem to be that prominent. Unless you'll be one of those people who wear scrubs to malls or a white coat to a football game, most people won't know you are an MD.

For the most part, as a physician you will work with other healthcare professionals, some with better pedigrees, but as long as you do the job in a responsible and effective manner, you will get respect from your peers.

For those outside of your work environment, prestige plays a role when you meet a new person, but once again it is a brief self satisfaction as other factors will undoubtedly modify their impressions. To have those brief instances of self satisfaction as a reason for becoming a doctor has always seemed strange to me.

 

[MeowMix]

One of my interviewers was an RN, and I got this question.

My answer: I shadowed a friend who has been an RN for 20 years, and saw what kind of work he did. He's known me for 10 years, and told me I'd last about 5 minutes as a nurse.

My interviewer said she was glad to hear that I had done this along with my MD shadowing.

 

[Budder]

Nurses do get into research. They can get their PhDs as well and research. They can also make in the 6 digits, so don't knock their salaries. And yes, they do teach students: paramedics/med students/nursing students. This will depend on which hospital you work at, however.

I suggest that those who don't know much about the allied professions do some researching, because you will be teaming with these people, and it will only be of benefit to understand what their roles are. You cannot do it alone, and it would not serve the patient to do it alone. Don't watch too much TV as they want to glorify the one person who can do it all. In realitys, it's about teamwork.

I agree wholeheartedly that the difference is in the philosophies of how to treat the patient. The doctor makes the final decision, but it's the nurse that does most of the patient contact. So, ask yourself which role you prefer and run with it!

 

[Blake]

From what I've seen so far, docs are the ones taking the big decisions. Nurses basically follow orders from docs, well not always, but you get the point.

 

[g3pro]

Not everyone desires to become a physician to "get ahead". I hope that the large majority of people pursing this career are doing so out of a desire to serve others. If you want to make money there are many easier, faster and cheaper avenues to do so.

I'm sorry, I should have made myself more clear: I feel sorry for pre-meds who think they can "get-ahead" of other pre-meds by doing PA or NA training. I've heard nightmare stories of people being interviewed like this:

adcom: I noticed that you did lots of work as a PA. Do you really enjoy it?
interviewee: absolutely, yadda yadda yadda
adcom: So if you enjoyed doing that so much, then why in the world do you want to be a physician??

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Doctor = Diagnose disease and determine best course of treatment

Nurses = Carry through with doctors orders (they do not have the training to give differential diagnoses; unless you become a NP, but even then...)

 

[jetskigirl]

Even outside of med school interviews, this is an important question for all of us to consider. Like budder said, nurses can do research. A family friend was an ultrasound nurse for many years until the repetative motion messed up her wrist; she now does research solely. As far as prestige/getting ahead/etc., my aunt is a nurse and is the head of the womens clinic at a hospital. She has doctors working for her, not the other way around, and she makes more than many FP doctors I know. No matter what field you go into, there are ways to move forward if you want to (albeit, it may be easier as a MD as opposed to a PA).

My reasoning to be a doctor as opposed to a nurse is I want to be able to diagnose and implement a treatment plan. Working as a MA, I found how annoying it is to know what is wrong, but not being able to do anything about it. Many nurses I worked with expressed this. They would say, room number 5 has a classic yeast infection, but they'd have to send a doc in to get an official diagnosis.

As far as PAs and NPs, I think they are valuable parts of the healthcare team, especially in setting where you have to keep cost down (e.g. public health clinics). However, the ones that I have worked with seem to do the same work over and over again; as brilliant as some may be, they take the easy cases at the ER to leave the doctors available for the hard cases. I also have never seen a PA or NP in a specialty; in fact, I do not know if they can go into some of the specialties. (has anyone ever heard of a NP surgeon?) Since I'm pretty sure I don't want to be in primary care, it looks like I'll be going into an MD program.

This is just my story though. Each of us must make this decision for ourselves. Med schools want applicants to have clinical experience so they can answer these questions for themselves.

 

[benelswick]

Doctor: Nurse so-n-so would mind getting a soap suds enima and the patient in room 15 we need to rule out blockage before we call for a consult.....

Nurse: (juggling 3 things at one...mutters "**** to his/her self") Alright. Ah Ben (me--nurse's assistant) uhhhh yeah...here's the thing we need an enima on that patient in 15 and I'm sorta busy would mind getting that enima-Thanks)

Me: (juggling a couple things myself muttering "****! to myself") Alright. so me and this patient are triying to get a large poop blockage out of their intestines by squirting saline solution up the tail pipe and then hoping that whatever comes out doesn't spray me in the face......

meanwhile...

Doctor: Non-challantly....Doctor so-n-so how've you been....yadda-ya...so anyway what do think about this interesting case I've got here...I've been working up a differential diagnosis for......yeah?....interesting....and what treatment did you pursue.....I'll have to use that sometime.....yadda-ya..


So y'all can kick that P.C. bullsh*t all you want. I want to be a doctor so I can think, reflect, analyze and do less back breaking thankless grunt work.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I've thought about this one a bit...I think I would respond with something about how I'd rather be a doc than a nurse because I want the potential to get involved with research (nurses don't have that opportunity, right?) and also the potential to teach other med students someday (nurses don't usually teach, right?)

nurses can teach...sure, and i suppose they can also do research but not as frequently or as in depth as physicians

 

[3rd_i]

To answer this one, and this may seem strange, I'd have to respond from Plato's Republic. In it, he describes an ideal state, full of justice and virtue. His conception relies on each person doing their best at their chosen profession. But those who can perform a particular task well should not hesitate to do so, because if they leave it to others, it may not be done as well.

I know I can be a doctor. Most of us here probably realize that we have the head for science, can crunch numbers quickly, quantify data, come up with the best treatment, and care for people too. Plus, many of us are willing to put up with the long hours, and long years of education. I wouldn't be happy as a nurse because I would constantly be asking myself, "could you do a better job at this than the doctor?" And I probably wouldn't like the answers.

 

[MEG@COOL]

Hi,

Has anyone encountered an interview question like this? We all want to be doctors, we all want to help people but there are many health care professionals that help people. Any suggestions on why specifically wanting to be a doctor and not a ....? Some that come to mind are the leadership role that you play as a doctor (this can be a slippery slope because we are part of a TEAM), also ones interest in science is constantly addressed as a doctor because you have to constantly self educate in order to be aware of new discoveries and technologies. Do you guys have anything else?
BGGA

Why not work at walmart and HELP people find hemroid ointment? I am going to donkey punch my interviewer if they ask me this. Then I will burn the whole ****ing place to the ground.

 

[liquidwmn]

Meowmix,
I think what you did was such a good idea that I'm going to try to shadow an RN as well as a doctor....not only is it great for me to know the difference, it helps with answering the dreaded question!

Good thinking!!

 

[stinkycheese]

nurses can teach...sure, and i suppose they can also do research but not as frequently or as in depth as physicians

What are you talking about? Nurses can do research as much as they choose, and at the same depth, albeit tackling different issues.

 

[benelswick]

Why not work at walmart and HELP people find hemroid ointment? I am going to donkey punch my interviewer if they ask me this. Then I will burn the whole ****ing place to the ground.

 

[Mumpu]

Being second in line means having to suck up wrong decisions and still take blame for them. I want to make my own mistakes.

 

[g3pro]

In conclusion, make sure that you get plenty of experience with physicians, and not to work as a PA/NA.

 

[45408]

If I was asked this, I would say that I want to be able to do diagnoses and prescribe medicines. If they threw MSN/PA at me then, I'd just reinforce what I said because I'd want to take on any situation, and not have to pass it on to another.

 

[Phased]

Nurse: you cake walk for 4 years, and you live life your busting your ass.
Doctor: you bust your ass for 4 years, and the rest of your life is cake walk.

Simplified? Yeah. Is it the truth? Hell yeah.

 

[Haybrant]

Nurse: you cake walk for 4 years, and you live life your busting your ass.
Doctor: you bust your ass for 4 years, and the rest of your life is cake walk.

Simplified? Yeah. Is it the truth? Hell yeah.

i think people on this post are missing the point of the OP; We all know the diff. between nurse and doctor, but how does one elucidate why they prefer to be a doc without sounding like a pompous a$$?

 

[BGGA]

i think people on this post are missing the point of the OP; We all know the diff. between nurse and doctor, but how does one elucidate why they prefer to be a doc without sounding like a pompous a$$?

This is what I'm trying to get at. There are some decent answers posted but most of what you guys are saying could not really be said to an interviewer without sounding..."like a pompous a$$". The whole point of this question was to come up with acceptable interview answers. Like I said there are a few good comments though.

 

[benelswick]

Look-- what's called for in this case is a simple concise and honest answer. If they want more than that then either they don't know what the heck they're talking about or they're trying to test your reactions, either way in my opinion there's no need for any elaborate justifications. Good Luck.

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

"Why not work at walmart and HELP people find hemroid ointment? I am going to donkey punch my interviewer if they ask me this. Then I will burn the whole ****ing place to the ground."



LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The questions they ask are so ****ing stupid, it's almost incomprehensible that they even bother.

Question: "Why do you want to be a doctor?"

Your Answer SHOULD be: "If I didn't have an undying, hardcore, burning desire to be a doctor...then why the **** did I bust my a** for 4 years trying to get the top grades in all of my bio, chem, math, and physics classes? Why the **** did I spend countless hours sitting in front of the orgo textbook doing problem sets? Why the **** did I study 2847932874 hours for the MCAT? Why am I spending upwards of $1,500 JUST to apply?"

Question: "Why not just do something that has less liability and earns a comparable salary...like dentistry or pharmacy?"

Your answer SHOULD be: "What the **** are you smoking? If I wanted to be a dentist, wouldn't I have applied to dentistry schools? Instead of studying 23487389427 hours for the MCAT, wouldn't I have studied for the DAT instead? Why the **** am I sitting in this chair in front of you?"

Question: "Nurses help people too! Why not be a nurse?" **interviewer places hand under chin and intently stares at the interviewee like a ****ing idiot**

Your answer SHOULD be: ***smack the interviewer upside the head as hard as you can...for the ladies, you might want to use a swift, upward stroke directed at the occipital lobe*** "Mechanics help people too...don't they? Why don't I just work for JiffyLube? The janitor helps people by ensuring they have a clean working space, right? Why don't I just drop my textbook and pick up the mop?"

 

[Davina3000]

The answer I would probably give would have to do with professional autonomy. A doctor can go into private practice if he/she so desires and I would like to have this option.

Another point when comparing the choice between NP and MD (I think other posters have highlighted the main arguments for RN v. MD very well) is that for most NP programs (at least the ones that I have looked at) you have to apply with a certain specialty in mind. As an MD you get exposure to many different areas before you have to decide what field you want to go into.

Just my two cents.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I was asked this question at an interview and it took me aback actually. Not that I wasn't used to it -- countless people, including friends and family, have asked me it for years. ANNOYING! I have thought that if I was a man I wouldn't be asked it, or at least as much.

At my interview, the question posed was something like "if you like working with/helping people so much, why not nursing or social work?" The social work part was to my advantage because I didnt' have to polarize nurses vs. physicians. BUt, I started by saying that they were, well, different jobs (uhm, duh!). I was just honest and said that the intellectual fulfillment of medicine was one of the big draws for me, and that I didn't see that possibility as much in nursing or other helping professions. I've had extensive exposure to both nursing and other areas of medicine, so I could've talked about that if needed. I also talked about autonomy, and how I wasn't necessarily suited for a position that didn't afford "ownership" It is hard not to sound pompous here, I know. My interviewer seemed appeased by the answer and actually agreed.

It's a good question to keep in mind, but hopefully you won't need the answer.

BH