Hi MiMs,
I would first like to say thank you for sharing your stories and your day-to-day experiences and challenges of being mothers and physicians. Your stories have been helpful to me as I consider making a change in career paths. I am 25 years old, unmarried, no children at this time. I work as an RN in an ICU in the south. Prior to becoming a nurse, I studied biology and psychology and then obtained my MSN to become a nurse. I'm considering returning to medical school and becoming a physician. One of the reasons for this is that I question whether I will live up to my potential academically by remaining a nurse, and I have a thirst for greater knowledge than what I currently have. On the flip side, I enjoy my work as a nurse, taking care of patients, leaving work at work when I come home, and having a flexible schedule that allows me free time to travel and have a life outside of work. My sister is married and is in her intern year of IM and most of the time seems miserable and can attest to the strain placed on a marriage by residency. Although I'm not to the point of motherhood currently, being a mother with multiple children is something to which I have always aspired. My concern is that if I become a physician I wouldn't have the time to spend raising children and taking care of them like I hope to. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Laura
Why not become a crna or icu np? They have a ton of autonomy, yet retain the job flexibility and none of the liability. And crnas get paid better than many physicians.
ReplyDeleteMy exact thoughts - CRNA or NP or certified midwife are options if med school and subsequent residency seem too daunting. Not that either of those parhs are easy either, but they do retain many of the positives you like about nursing.
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ReplyDeleteExcellent question-this is why I became a nurse practitioner. I have three children-ages seven, seven, and two. I work in an oncology intensive care unit, 10 to 12 12-hour days per month. It is incredibly challenging and fascinating work and I love it. AND I love being home with my kids sometimes, being able to pick them up from school, being home for dinner much of the time, being able to go to their concerts/plays/events, and so on-I can be an engaged mom who isn't wracked with guilt due to crazy work hours. It's a good balance. And it's a good living financially.
ReplyDeleteAs I always say, start at the end. What do you want your days to look like? You mention academics but I know several nurses who are at the top of their game with research. Do you want more time with patients or more time charting and spending on administrative tasks? Do you want to do utilization review and public health - go work for a managed care organization. Do you want to deliver babies naturally - become a Nurse Midwife (all of my friends are choosing them these days). Do you want to take care of well patients - primary care is moving toward a more NP model. Think of what you want THE END GOAL to look like and talk to Doctors and Nurses alike to figure out how you get there the most efficiently.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above posters. I know so many amazing Nurse Practitioners who are running things (in the NICU where I trained). I definitely think if you want to be at the top of your game that you must invest in additional education as I have worked with some poorly prepared Nurses whose medical knowledge was lacking. Several of my favorite Attendings were/are NPs and I would trust any child (even my own) with them! There are now Doctorate of Nursing Programs too. I would caution against medicine - the training and hours are grueling - unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure it is required to achieve your end goal.
Don't do it! I remember people told me not to do it, but my 25-year-old self saw only the desires and priorities I had at that time, not realizing they would change so dramatically. Fast forward to now-- I'm 33 and just finishing residency. Sure I have a lot of options career-wise, but I have sacrificed so much in terms of time with my husband, family, putting off having kids, etc. And honestly, for me, career is not everything. I guess you don't know how your future self will prioritize, but realize that Medicine is a 7-10 year decision, and once you jump on that track it's very hard to change course.
ReplyDeleteSo what path would you suggest rather than medicine?
DeleteIf I could do it all over, I would have been a midlevel like the other posters suggested. (And I didn't even start with an RN!) But that would have allowed me to start a family much sooner, and it would have given me freedom to work in various areas of medicine without completely retraining. When deciding my path long ago, I thought autonomy and prestige would matter-- but at this point they matter much less to me than being satisfied with challenging/interesting work and having a work/life balance. Though I suppose in another decade I may completely change priorities again. But this is my best advice given the stage I'm at now (end of residency/early motherhood).
ReplyDeleteLaura, I think the right question (as Mommabee suggested) is what are you hoping for? I ask myself often if I made the right choice to pursue nursing rather than medicine. And you know what, I'd have been very happy (but very in debt) if I had chosen medicine. As it stands, I went back for the graduate degree in nursing. I LOVE my career as an NP. Best wishes with this decision!
ReplyDeleteI am an RN almost done with medical school. It has been hard and I have made sacrifices, but I am sure I would have felt the same if I had done a DNP. Medicine allows you the flexibility of having a broad knowledge base, whereas np pegs you tightly into one area. However it is cheaper, more flexible and less grueling than medicine!!
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ReplyDeleteI have been battling this question for 3 years as an RN completing premed and having two kids in the past two years. I have made a million lists of NP vs MD vs wildlife photographer. Sometimes I almost drudgingly move forward, not wanting to turn around and "waste" all the years of premed I did. But in the end I can't see myself doing anything else and I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My husband is an ER physician and he works part time, days only, picks his days off every month and we go on LOTS of vacations. It's the same schedule as a nurse but more $, and knowledge. The training is brutal but I actually love school and academics. I just used my first nanny to study for the MCAT and I know my babies won't lack anything if they are surrounded by nannies and family that love them. But NP is a fantastic way to go if that's what you choose, 2 years of online school, then lots of job options and autonomy. Either way, good luck!!! Oh and I was told by many not to do MD too.
ReplyDeleteThank you to all of you who have posted in response to my situation! I really do appreciate all of your insight and I will certainly keep it under consideration. For right now, I'm planning on taking the MCAT and applying to medical school this summer. I haven't made up my mind completely, but I had to take some sort of step in either direction so I wouldn't be so stuck in analysis paralysis about which to choose. I haven't completely decided either way. Thanks again for all your help! I'll let you guys know what I decide :)
ReplyDelete-Laura