Why not nursing.

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allthaticanbe

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I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

Nurses mostly follow orders. I hate following orders. Ergo, I do not want to become a nurse, join the military, work in lowly positions in corporate America, or marry a total biotch.
 
More responsibility and challenges as a doctor.

More pay.

There are a lot of reasons.

A year ago I was indifferent to NP or PA versus MD, and the deciding factor was the challenge and the more volunteer opportunities I would have as a doctor as opposed to the other. But people really need to look into both more and figure out their personal reasons. That question can come up in interviews, and you should have an answer - not just for the interviewer but to clarify your motives to yourself.
 
Pkboi24 said:
Nurses mostly follow orders. I hate following orders. Ergo, I do not want to become a nurse, join the military, work in lowly positions in corporate America, or marry a total biotch.
Click to expand...

Med students follow orders, so do interns and residents. If you don't like following orders you're in for 5-10 miserable years.
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

Well, with a canned response like that, what did they expect? Pats on the back and shiny gold stars? There are many professions out there that "help people and save lives." The head of the health advisory committee at my school told every "premed" in my class on day one that if we can't give a concrete and specific answer to, "Why medicine?" maybe we should start thinking, "Why not something else?" It's a valid question that deserves a damn good response. Better they be thinking about it now than get blindsided at an interview, waste their money/time on the process, etc.
 
alwaysaangel said:
Med students follow orders, so do interns and residents. If you don't like following orders you're in for 5-10 miserable years.
Click to expand...

Ah, but I can deal with that knowing that eventually I will be able to work my way out of it.
 
Nurses are supposed to be girls.
Doctors are supposed to be boys.

You guys should have learned this long ago.
 
ChymeChancellor said:
Nurses are supposed to be girls.
Doctors are supposed to be boys.

You guys should have learned this long ago.
Click to expand...

Barbie was a nurse and a doctor. And a vet, and a lawyer, and a princess, and a rock star, and a teacher, and an astronaut, and a model, and a...

I think I'd like to be Barbie.
 
Pkboi24 said:
Ah, but I can deal with that knowing that eventually I will be able to work my way out of it.
Click to expand...

Not anymore than any other position. Unless you're going to work in your own private practice and be your own boss. There is always going to be someone in charge of you in most other settings.
 
Simple answer to this question...

In the medical world, physicians are the ones who execute the orders. Nurses spend a lot of time with an individual patients and carry out the orders issued by the doctors. If you want a lot of patient contact and care, and don't mind taking orders, you might be better suited as a nurse. With the ability to execute important decisions and being the reason for a patient's successful recovery, as well as taking on the responsibility for all of the care given to a patient, you're more of the doctor type.

If you want to be a doctor simply for more money, you'd be better off applying to law school. It's easier to get into, and you can make a heck of a lot more, and there are no residencies to deal with.
 
Q: Why not nursing?

A: Simple. Doctors date the nurses.

😉
 
Dane07MD said:
...... being the reason for a patient's successful recovery, as well as taking on the responsibility for all of the care given to a patient, you're more of the doctor type.
Click to expand...

oh yeah, only doctors can take all the credit for that...
 
Thanks for the link.
 
for what it's worth, doctors are expected to be leaders. this is not just in coordinating health care with other professionals, but in the community as well. you will be making decisions for grown men and women that will effect the duration and quality of their life. a nurse will not. if you feel comfortable with this, then you have a pretty fair answer to why you want to become a doctor and not a nurse.
 
RDood said:
Whatever.

Doctors date other doctors. Haven't you been watching Grey's Anatomy?
Click to expand...

Grey's Anatomy? What's that?

Haha, I was just kidding before... you know. That's why I gave the little wink at the end. To helpfully give a hint as to the fact that I was joking.

By the way, I find it ironic that I refuse to watch all medically-related TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy (I've never even seen ER)... I'm sure it won't hurt me in the long run... right?
 
defrunner said:
Grey's Anatomy? What's that?

Haha, I was just kidding before... you know. That's why I gave the little wink at the end. To helpfully give a hint as to the fact that I was joking.

By the way, I find it ironic that I refuse to watch all medically-related TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy (I've never even seen ER)... I'm sure it won't hurt me in the long run... right?
Click to expand...

Heh, yeah, I'm as disgusted with myself as I'm sure you are with me for being a pre-med and watching Grey's. I hate it when I end up on "band-wagons." But it's not like we watch it for any sort of realism about medicine. We watch it for the sex and trashy story-lines, of course (oh, and the music selections are always excellent).
 
BrettBatchelor said:
I wouldn't look good in printed scrubs. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Nobody looks good in printed scrubs, I've found I've been happier at hospitals where the nurses where solid scrubs, more extraextracirricular fun for my eyes.
 
mjc48 said:
you will be making decisions for grown men and women that will effect the duration and quality of their life. a nurse will not.
Click to expand...

Many of my decisions have resulted in saving the life of a patient...in spite of SOME physicians. So you can't make a blanket statement such as this one.

And everyone...including the president...takes orders. You must learn to play well with other children.
 
Being able to make your own calls without having to check with your superior constantly, because you are the boss. I have to do this in my job now, in a way it kind of dampens my performance too, because in the back of my mind I'm always thinking "What if he doesn't want it done this way? ... etc.
 
defrunner said:
By the way, I find it ironic that I refuse to watch all medically-related TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy (I've never even seen ER)... I'm sure it won't hurt me in the long run... right?
Click to expand...

Same here bro. You're not alone. If I get interviewed and by some stroke of Lewis Carroll, all my ivs want to talk about medical shows, I'm going to have to laugh.
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

Well, you can't say "nursing" vs "medicine" since nurses obviously practice medicine. The lines of medicine are being blurred... where you could once say, "I want to be able to make decisions and prescribe medicine", others can now counter with, "So why not a nurse practitioner?"
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

When people ask me why I want to be a doctor this is how I respond.

I have a the type of personality that is highly leadership driven. I welcome the tough tasks and challenges that a doctor will face on a daily basis. Not only do I want to use my abilities to help my patients live longer and overcome illness: As well, I want to make sure I lead my peers and staff so I can maximize my patient care to its fullest potential. Science has long been my fascination for many reasons, most importantly to me is the research aspect. With all of my skills combined, leadership, patient care, science / research and the desire to be the best doctor I can be is exactly the reason why I want and will become a doctor. Simply put, I will improve peoples lives in an exciting and dilligent manner... blah blah blah... I don't know I just wrote this off the cuff... someone should take it and run with it...

But for real...

I truly do feel this way... Not to say I am better than anyone else, but rather I am more experienced and able than a lot of other people who are simply academic or "want to help the sick" type candidates. I have been a financial advisor/stock broker for over six years and have managed and led one of the most prestigous brokerage house in the U.S. I have seen what it truly means to do something your heart is not in and regret on a daily basis. Becomming a physician is something I have spent Years thinking about and pursuing... There is nothing that will stop or prevent me from reaching my goal and with the above comments I feel I am the Medical student you are looking for...

Am I accepted YET????

ahhhahahahahahahahaha... how was it?
 
christian15213 said:
I have a the type of personality that is highly leadership driven. I welcome the tough tasks and challenges that a doctor will face on a daily basis. Not only do I want to use my abilities to help my patients live longer and overcome illness: As well, I want to make sure I lead my peers and staff so I can maximize my patient care to its fullest potential. Science has long been my fascination for many reasons, most importantly to me is the research aspect. With all of my skills combined, leadership, patient care, science / research and the desire to be the best doctor I can be is exactly the reason why I want and will become a doctor. Simply put, I will improve peoples lives in an exciting and dilligent manner... blah blah blah... I don't know I just wrote this off the cuff... someone should take it and run with it...
Click to expand...

ACCEPTED: University of JoJoCola, School of Medicine
 
zenman said:
Many of my decisions have resulted in saving the life of a patient...in spite of SOME physicians. So you can't make a blanket statement such as this one.

And everyone...including the president...takes orders. You must learn to play well with other children.
Click to expand...

congratulations. i'm sure that information will help the OP answer their question should it arise in an interview.
 
Well, personally being a nursing aid type position in an ER, it completely turned me off to become a nurse-they are constantly following orders, writing pages and pages of paperwork, dealing with the patient, the patient's annoying family, and always under pressure from the Docs 2 get stuff done...though after working in the environment, i would be able to eventually deal with it, i'd rather give orders.
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

Garbage men/women play a crucial role in the health of communities and help people as well. Why not pursue this career?
 
the first year you graduate from nursing school, you're strutting around in hot-pink lipstick wearing low-slung scrubs with your thong peeking out... but within a year, you're about 100 pounds heavier and the lipstick is gone.
As an MD, I expect to either remain a size 2 or drop into a 0 (due to lack of opportunity to eat, see Clinical Rotations and residency forums). I will be wearing tailored Prada suits and Manolo Blahniks, not white elastic waist scrub pants with orthopedic shoes and flowered scrub tops.

Priorities, people!
 
allthaticanbe said:
I was sitting with several people from my program. The group consisted of mostly "premed students". When the subject of medicine and premed was brought up, alot of people said they want to go into medicine to save lives and help people. So of course the question of why not nursing was brought up. And most people couldn't answer this question.
I understand that medicine and nursing is very different but at the same time they are similar in the goal, which I presume is to help people.
Anyways I was just wondering what other people thought of this question.
Click to expand...

Wanting to "save lives and help people" is not a sufficient answer to the question, "Why do you want to practice as a physician?" I'd work on the specifics of that rather than posing additional questions that ask, "Why not...?"

For instance, fire fighters and police men also "save lives and help people", and so do many people in public service.

When you get clear about why you want to be a doctor, answering such questions ("Why not nursing?"), if indeed they are even posed to you at all, will not be so difficult.
 
alwaysaangel said:
Not anymore than any other position. Unless you're going to work in your own private practice and be your own boss. There is always going to be someone in charge of you in most other settings.
Click to expand...
My wife is a nurse - she says that most of her day is involved in executing the doctor's orders, and she is sometimes frustrated that she doesn't have more autonomy. If the doctor wants to change something, s/he writes an order. If the nurse wants to change something, s/he calls the doctor.
 
t33sg1rl said:
the first year you graduate from nursing school, you're strutting around in hot-pink lipstick wearing low-slung scrubs with your thong peeking out... but within a year, you're about 100 pounds heavier and the lipstick is gone.
As an MD, I expect to either remain a size 2 or drop into a 0 (due to lack of opportunity to eat, see Clinical Rotations and residency forums). I will be wearing tailored Prada suits and Manolo Blahniks, not white elastic waist scrub pants with orthopedic shoes and flowered scrub tops.

Priorities, people!
Click to expand...
You might be wearing them in 15 years, but not anytime soon.....



If you want to give an answer to this question that an interviewer can't turn around on you, say that you're interested in maintaining clinical practice and possibly becoming involved in clinical research and/or teaching on a part-time basis, and you'd like to keep your options open. Case closed. Nurses can't get involved in that stuff nearly as much.
 
TheProwler said:
My wife is a nurse - she says that most of her day is involved in executing the doctor's orders, and she is sometimes frustrated that she doesn't have more autonomy. If the doctor wants to change something, s/he writes an order. If the nurse wants to change something, s/he calls the doctor.
Click to expand...
I agree with this to a limited extent. It is very true, of course, that doctors have more autonomy than nurses when it comes to the direction of patient care. However, these days, the same doctors that give the orders in the hospital and clinic settings then have to turn around and go hat in hand to the insurance companies to beg permission for tests and procedures to be covered. It's a different world than it used to be -- physician autonomy definitely has limits.

My take on the original question:

I was asked essentially this question in every single interview I had, because I am a nurse. Good answers include things like wanting a more rigorously scientific education, wanting a greater depth of understanding of subjects like physiology and pathology, and, yes, wanting more autonomy (but with the caveat that you understand that you are not going to be God). Saying you want to be a leader is a little more problematic. Nurses can be leaders, too, and to not acknowledge this makes you look like you have a misconception of what leadership is -- it's not just ordering people around. Same thing goes with responsibility.

I do recommend that everyone have an answer prepared for this question. More than one interviewer commented to me that this is a question that really trips a lot of people up and that it is something to which they pay very close attention.

Good luck! :luck:
 
I was given the "why medicine" question, and yeah, my interviewer followed it with "well you could do [insert one of my reasons] if you were in any health profession," so I had to follow it up with a reason why the other health professions wouldn't cut it.
 
MollyMalone said:
I agree with this to a limited extent. It is very true, of course, that doctors have more autonomy than nurses when it comes to the direction of patient care. However, these days, the same doctors that give the orders in the hospital and clinic settings then have to turn around and go hat in hand to the insurance companies to beg permission for tests and procedures to be covered. It's a different world than it used to be -- physician autonomy definitely has limits.

My take on the original question:

I was asked essentially this question in every single interview I had, because I am a nurse. Good answers include things like wanting a more rigorously scientific education, wanting a greater depth of understanding of subjects like physiology and pathology, and, yes, wanting more autonomy (but with the caveat that you understand that you are not going to be God). Saying you want to be a leader is a little more problematic. Nurses can be leaders, too, and to not acknowledge this makes you look like you have a misconception of what leadership is -- it's not just ordering people around. Same thing goes with responsibility.

I do recommend that everyone have an answer prepared for this question. More than one interviewer commented to me that this is a question that really trips a lot of people up and that it is something to which they pay very close attention.
Click to expand...

:clap:
 
I chose the doctor route first and I'm going to stick with it. I'm sure that I could be happy being a nurse, but I feel like I would be happier as a doctor. So, my mind is set.
 
Me: Mom, if you could do it all over again, what would you want to be when you grew up?

Mom (who has been a nurse for 30+ years): I would be a doctor.

She summed it up by discussing trade-offs. Doctors go to school longer, work more hours, but make more and deserve a greater amount of respect and recognition than other health care professionals.
 
i love biology. And theres a lot more of that in medicine than in nursing. simple.
 
floridakppr said:
Me: Mom, if you could do it all over again, what would you want to be when you grew up?

Mom (who has been a nurse for 30+ years): I would be a doctor.

She summed it up by discussing trade-offs. Doctors go to school longer, work more hours, but make more and deserve a greater amount of respect and recognition than other health care professionals.
Click to expand...
I hear this from nurses all the time, and from my mom as well (she's been an MA most of her life, she's getting her RN now.) I hear from nurses all the time that if they could go back they'd be a doctor.

Personally I think I'd be okay as a nurse. It's a solid job, only 4 years of school, decent paycheck, plenty of room to specialize, can work basically anywhere you want, etc. That said, I couldn't see myself doing that kind of work my whole life. Granted we all get stuck doing scut work at one time or another, after we're done with residency it will be rare we take orders from someone.
 
I wonder if at nursing interviews they ever ask, "why would you not want to be a doctor?" 😉
 
nursing is for "CHICKS".
 
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