05-31-2020, 05:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-31-2020, 05:12 AM by indigoshuffle.)
My impression is they are a lot of politics involved, which worries me. I wish I could just do an md right now, but asi está la visa.
There are politics involved in med school admissions as well... probably more. I'm an RN and I work on a very fast-paced unit, and l would not recommend becoming a nurse as a "springboard" to medical school for a million reasons I won't go into here. If you decide to go into medicine because you've been a nurse for a few years and now you'd like to take on a different (not better) role, then that's a different story. I know many doctors who were RNs, and they're happy.
Nursing, however, is a profession in its own right. We've got our own board (no longer beholden to doctors), our own base of ethics. And, no, it is not medical school, but it is not easy... not by a long shot. The amount of work it will take you to graduate--especially an accelerated program--I wouldn't wish on anyone who was not 100% passionate about the prospects of giving direct patient care as a nurse for at least 5 years. Clinicals can be exhausting, but it is quiet challenging on the academic side. I have personally witnessed biology professors, PhDs, teachers, cops, firefighters, EMTs, doctors from other countries, enter nursing school in a nonchalant-milk-toast manner, and get weeded out because they were shocked by the academic rigor.
I'm going to tell you a secret about American nursing schools. The "secret" is that ALL nursing schools in the U.S. are accelerated. You cannot become a good nurse in only 12-14 months, nor 2 years. To be honest with you, it takes about 5 years on the floor to really get the flow of the unit and how to manage the care of the patient, work completely independently (and know when to get help), execute effective leadership, and attend to all the nursing-sensitive indicators of quality care that patients and their families are looking for. You'll be surrounded by people like myself, who got into nursing because a nurse touched them when they were at a low point in their life. You'll be surrounded by people who wanted to be nurses since they were kids because a school nurse held their hand during an asthma attack. You'll be surrounded by people who were in medical school and were shocked when they entered residency and realized that they didn't spend any real time with patients, so they decided to go to nursing school. You'll be surrounded by people who couldn't think of any other profession to be a part of.
You'll sometimes be asked to make tough decisions; to be a social worker, a pastor, a friend. You'll be treated like dirt on some days, and a hero on others. Like me right now, you'll be asked to risk your life and continue working without the proper personal protective equipment while the doctor does telemedicine from her house. Some days you'll be so tired you want to cry because you know you can't sleep for another 24 hours because a nurse called out and the unit is understaffed. And you'll need to do all of this while remaining professional and respectful of the image of nursing, and respectful (most of all) to the patient that you agreed to watch over while the doctor is on vacation (again!!). YOU will be spending far more time with the patient than the doctor ever will. Remember, the doctor is the head of the team, but the nurse is the neck. You should be passionate and vigilant if you are to become an RN. It is for these reasons that you should not do it if you don't want to. It's too exhausting.
I say, if you want to be a doctor, then do that. Don't waste your time.
There are politics involved in med school admissions as well... probably more. I'm an RN and I work on a very fast-paced unit, and l would not recommend becoming a nurse as a "springboard" to medical school for a million reasons I won't go into here. If you decide to go into medicine because you've been a nurse for a few years and now you'd like to take on a different (not better) role, then that's a different story. I know many doctors who were RNs, and they're happy.
Nursing, however, is a profession in its own right. We've got our own board (no longer beholden to doctors), our own base of ethics. And, no, it is not medical school, but it is not easy... not by a long shot. The amount of work it will take you to graduate--especially an accelerated program--I wouldn't wish on anyone who was not 100% passionate about the prospects of giving direct patient care as a nurse for at least 5 years. Clinicals can be exhausting, but it is quiet challenging on the academic side. I have personally witnessed biology professors, PhDs, teachers, cops, firefighters, EMTs, doctors from other countries, enter nursing school in a nonchalant-milk-toast manner, and get weeded out because they were shocked by the academic rigor.
I'm going to tell you a secret about American nursing schools. The "secret" is that ALL nursing schools in the U.S. are accelerated. You cannot become a good nurse in only 12-14 months, nor 2 years. To be honest with you, it takes about 5 years on the floor to really get the flow of the unit and how to manage the care of the patient, work completely independently (and know when to get help), execute effective leadership, and attend to all the nursing-sensitive indicators of quality care that patients and their families are looking for. You'll be surrounded by people like myself, who got into nursing because a nurse touched them when they were at a low point in their life. You'll be surrounded by people who wanted to be nurses since they were kids because a school nurse held their hand during an asthma attack. You'll be surrounded by people who were in medical school and were shocked when they entered residency and realized that they didn't spend any real time with patients, so they decided to go to nursing school. You'll be surrounded by people who couldn't think of any other profession to be a part of.
You'll sometimes be asked to make tough decisions; to be a social worker, a pastor, a friend. You'll be treated like dirt on some days, and a hero on others. Like me right now, you'll be asked to risk your life and continue working without the proper personal protective equipment while the doctor does telemedicine from her house. Some days you'll be so tired you want to cry because you know you can't sleep for another 24 hours because a nurse called out and the unit is understaffed. And you'll need to do all of this while remaining professional and respectful of the image of nursing, and respectful (most of all) to the patient that you agreed to watch over while the doctor is on vacation (again!!). YOU will be spending far more time with the patient than the doctor ever will. Remember, the doctor is the head of the team, but the nurse is the neck. You should be passionate and vigilant if you are to become an RN. It is for these reasons that you should not do it if you don't want to. It's too exhausting.
I say, if you want to be a doctor, then do that. Don't waste your time.
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