Kelsey
Nursing school or pre-med?
How do I decide?
I am close to my last semester of pre-requisites. I have been working hard towards getting ready for the BSN program, however, recently I have been realizing that NOTHING is out of reach. I have been considering going pre-med. Do I move forward with my BSN degree and then go back to school as pre-med or do I just jump straight into the pre-med track?
I can apply to nursing programs with summer or I can continue my studies as a pre-med student. I know as a nurse I will always have something to fall back on in the event that I don't get into medical school right away. I also know that with a BSN I can continue on to ARNP and get a doctorate in nursing as well. I am a returning college student in my early 30s and the pre-med track is a long one. I am torn and no matter what I choose I know in the end I want to continue my studies in graduate school either way. How did you choose?
(I have a medical background already as a medical assistant and in donation as a surgical tissue specialist)
1 answer
Caleb Lindsey
Caleb’s Answer
Thank you for your question.
I want to start by saying that I do not know the full details of your situation. I do not know the specifics of your thoughts between nursing vs medicine and I can only speak from my own experiences, but I will try my best to answer your question in a way that sets you up to make the right decision. Please know that again THIS IS JUST MY EXPERIENCE.
You are right. Absolutely NOTHING is out of reach. I will always encourage people to reach for their dreams, no matter how great. What I would encourage you to think about is what you value more: DIRECTING patient care or ADMINISTERING patient care?
From working as a CNA on a med surg and ICU floor and from what I've seen working as a Medical Scribe in an ER, nurses do more of the ADMINISTERING patient care portion. You will be drawing labs, putting in IVs, and giving medications that were ordered by a doctor. You will be spending MORE TIME with the patients and their families than the doctors do, and relaying updates on the patient's condition to the doctor via phone or in-person communication. If you value more of that person-to-person connection and carrying out orders, I would recommend nursing. In addition, if you become a nurse and decide you do want to do more DIRECTING of patient care, you can become a nurse practitioner. I know nurse practitioners who work in ER, urgent care, neurology, podiatry, and family medicine who do amazing things for their patients, although they may be limited in what procedures or directives they can order, depending on facility policies and state regulations. For example, I know in the ER, nurse practitioners and physician assistants cannot interpret EKGs or put in orders for sedation, but they can do many other of the things that doctors do to help patients.
As a doctor, you will do more DIRECTING of patient care. You will be the person ordering tests and medications, you will do more complex procedures. You will have more autonomy and responsibility over your patients' care, but you will likely see a greater number of patients have less time spent with each patient. Many of the doctors I work with as a Medical Scribe may spend a total of 10-15 minutes with some acutely ill patients and upwards of an 1 hour of more with other, more critically ill patients, so it really depends on the acuity/how sick the patients are.
Both have their pros and cons so I recommend thinking about what you value in healthcare, whether that be patient interaction or level of autonomy and make a table comparing the two fields. I did that to discover I wanted to go to PA school instead of medical school, so I highly recommend you give it a try!
I hope you find this helpful! I wish you all the best on your journey and wish you nothing but success no matter which profession you choose!