4 answers
Marie
Student
Geneva, Ohio
35
Questions
Asked
1182 views
what one would best fit for me A surgeon or a RN?
I love to help people I would love to be a RN but I also am getting interested in being a Surgeon and operate #medicine #nursing #healthcare
4 answers
Kerrie Chambers, MSN, RN, CNOR, CNS-CP, CLNC
Registered Nurse
59
Answers
Aurora, Colorado
Updated
Kerrie’s Answer
The road to finding the career that best suits you can only be answered by one person-you. I knew from the time I was a little girl that I wanted to be a nurse, so I felt my path was laid before me and I followed that path; now 25+ years later I have never regretted one decision I have made in the steps when I followed my heart. I feel that a career is a life-long process that takes years in the making and should be the one (or multiple things) that truly make you happy. I would choose a career path based on what you love, truly love to do!
A good thing to note I can say from personal experience from being a nurse for 25+ years is that a nurse can switch and become any kind of nurse that he or she wants to be in any setting at any time. For example, I did an externship one summer in the OR, started out my first year in adult Med Surg, then went into Pediatrics, then transitioned into the OR as a staff nurse, 15 years later finished my MSN and became the Clinical Nurse Specialist of 8 units, then moved to another state and worked as a Perioperative Specialist, Legal Nurse Consultant, Nurse Educator, and now I am working from home as a Clinical Educator for a global company writing policies and procedures for nurses on the frontlines. Nures can do anything! I also started out making 70K a year, but easily make over six figures with a yearly bonus; income has never been a deciding factor for me. As a nurse and I know plenty of nurses in my own family and friends who are nurses who work plenty of overtime, on-call, contract work, 2 jobs, etc. and make over six figures a year...income has never been a deciding factor for these nurses either. You either love nursing or you don't.
As far as becoming a surgeon, that is only a choice you can make. I do not have a personal experience with it, I only have the experience of working with many over 25+ years and I can say that they work long, hard hours. They are dedicated, great at what they do, and yes make six figures. They also have tons of student loans when they get out of medical school and are away from their families a lot.
There are other positions within the OR setting that also allow you to operate, including a Nurse Practitioner, or a Physician's Assistant. There is also the Medical Doctor of Anesthesiology or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I have worked with all of these people in the OR these positions take the training of becoming either a nurse or medical school and then on-the-job training in the OR, but it may be something different to look into for opportunities.
While both careers are professionally and personally rewarding, they both have their pros and cons. I would suggest starting out by getting your CNA certificate as you are going to school for undergrad, as this is a step that would be rewarding for either careers and has been the stepping stone for both nurses and physicians. As a CNA in a hospital setting, you will be able to see the interaction between the nurses and the physicians, as well as learn how to do front-line care for patients.
Depending on where you live, there may be opportunities to get into the OR, Pre-op, or Postop settings as a CNA, but those settings usually take CNA's with work experience. If you are able to get into a hospital OR as a CNA, there you would be able to clean the OR rooms and stretchers, transport patients, transport specimens, and see the interactions between the OR teams and the surgeons. This is a great environment to work in to see the intricate details of the OR setting. I started off as a nurse extern one summer in the OR before I graduated nursing school and that is how I knew I wanted to work in the OR.
So I would do some research on all of the positions I have mentioned. Determined what your next steps are for schooling to start your undergraduate courses, as these will usually all be similar for the medical field careers, then take a CNA course start a career as a CNA in a local hospital so you can see first-hand how the interprofessional team works. This work may help guide you on your career path for the future career of your dreams!
A good thing to note I can say from personal experience from being a nurse for 25+ years is that a nurse can switch and become any kind of nurse that he or she wants to be in any setting at any time. For example, I did an externship one summer in the OR, started out my first year in adult Med Surg, then went into Pediatrics, then transitioned into the OR as a staff nurse, 15 years later finished my MSN and became the Clinical Nurse Specialist of 8 units, then moved to another state and worked as a Perioperative Specialist, Legal Nurse Consultant, Nurse Educator, and now I am working from home as a Clinical Educator for a global company writing policies and procedures for nurses on the frontlines. Nures can do anything! I also started out making 70K a year, but easily make over six figures with a yearly bonus; income has never been a deciding factor for me. As a nurse and I know plenty of nurses in my own family and friends who are nurses who work plenty of overtime, on-call, contract work, 2 jobs, etc. and make over six figures a year...income has never been a deciding factor for these nurses either. You either love nursing or you don't.
As far as becoming a surgeon, that is only a choice you can make. I do not have a personal experience with it, I only have the experience of working with many over 25+ years and I can say that they work long, hard hours. They are dedicated, great at what they do, and yes make six figures. They also have tons of student loans when they get out of medical school and are away from their families a lot.
There are other positions within the OR setting that also allow you to operate, including a Nurse Practitioner, or a Physician's Assistant. There is also the Medical Doctor of Anesthesiology or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I have worked with all of these people in the OR these positions take the training of becoming either a nurse or medical school and then on-the-job training in the OR, but it may be something different to look into for opportunities.
While both careers are professionally and personally rewarding, they both have their pros and cons. I would suggest starting out by getting your CNA certificate as you are going to school for undergrad, as this is a step that would be rewarding for either careers and has been the stepping stone for both nurses and physicians. As a CNA in a hospital setting, you will be able to see the interaction between the nurses and the physicians, as well as learn how to do front-line care for patients.
Depending on where you live, there may be opportunities to get into the OR, Pre-op, or Postop settings as a CNA, but those settings usually take CNA's with work experience. If you are able to get into a hospital OR as a CNA, there you would be able to clean the OR rooms and stretchers, transport patients, transport specimens, and see the interactions between the OR teams and the surgeons. This is a great environment to work in to see the intricate details of the OR setting. I started off as a nurse extern one summer in the OR before I graduated nursing school and that is how I knew I wanted to work in the OR.
So I would do some research on all of the positions I have mentioned. Determined what your next steps are for schooling to start your undergraduate courses, as these will usually all be similar for the medical field careers, then take a CNA course start a career as a CNA in a local hospital so you can see first-hand how the interprofessional team works. This work may help guide you on your career path for the future career of your dreams!
Miriam Brinson, MBA
Service Executive
4
Answers
Jacksonville, Florida
Updated
Miriam’s Answer
My daughter recently completed the medical school application process and was accepted into 4 schools. She will begin school this July. During her interview process, the question that you posed about RN v/s Doctor was asked during more than one of her interviews. What she found in preparation for that question is the primary responsibility of nurses is to carry out the doctors instructions, and to provide continuity of care for the patients. Doctors are the lead in determining the diagnosis and the course of treatment. When deciding on your career, you should first decide if you want the responsibility of being the lead in patient career. Of course, the education requirements for a surgeon are quite lengthier than a RN. A surgeon requires an undergraduate degree, 4 years of medical school and 4 years of residency. Depending on the type of surgeon, the residency could be longer. There are several options in becoming a RN. You can earn a 2-3 year RN diploma (associate degree) , or get a 4 year degree BS in nursing. A national council licensure exam is required to get your legal license. Getting into medical school is a lengthy process and is very competitive. ( My daughter took a gap year after graduating from college to prepare for the MCAT and to complete the application process. The schools that she applied to had 7k to 10K applicants and the schools only accepted 110 students). In addition to studying in medical school for your curriculum tests and assignments, you must also prepare for 3 step exams which greatly influence the residency that you are accepted in after you graduate from medical school. Financially, the RN salary is not as high as a surgeon's salary. RN salary is generally $70K+ while a surgeon salary is generally $300K+. Although both careers are challenging to enter, if you are committed, you can definitely do it and make your dream come true. You can't go wrong with either one because both are extremely rewarding. I would suggest doing further research and to search your heart to see which one interest you the most. GOOD LUCK!! YOU CAN DO IT!!
Katherine Deutsch
Nurse Practitioner
12
Answers
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Hi Marie, this is a great question and one that can be answered in many ways, so I'll try and offer another perspective in addition to Miriam Brinson's answer, which was a great overview of the process of medical school application.
Firstly, I would suggest speaking with friends, family members, guidance counselors, or even your family doctor/provider to see if anyone knows someone in either nursing or surgery that you could shadow. There are also surgical nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and anesthesia assistants (AAs) that you could seek out to try and shadow (try contacting the HR department of your local hospitals and outpatient surgery centers to see if they have programs for this, even if they are on hold currently because of COVID-19). Shadowing professionals in these different areas might give you a clearer idea of the direction you would like to pursue.
That said, in general, surgeons spend a lot of time in the operating room, some time in the hospital checking on patients before and after surgery, and some spend time in clinics as well, especially if they do elective or non-emergent surgeries. They might also spend time teaching medical residents, giving lectures at the hospital, and doing administrative work. If your primary interest is direct patient care and being more at the bedside with the patient throughout more of the process, then nursing, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant training might be more of what you are looking for. Bedside nurses spend the most amount of time with surgical patients when they are awake and are responsible for very close monitoring of their patients and need to be very observant and excellent communicators (both with their nursing team, the patient, and the surgical team). Nurses use their education and experience carry out doctors orders, however do not mistake this for nurses being passive in this process. There is thoughtful and calculated consideration with every decision a nurse makes, and they have to reassess their patients constantly to make sure that the doctors orders are still the best thing for the patient. They often need to consult with more senior colleagues or the surgeon or other doctors on the team if there is a concern about the patient, so teamwork is important. There is also a lot of teaching involved with this role, both with the patient and their family.
Within these options, there are also many paths for becoming directly involved in the operating room, either monitoring the operating room and the patient as a surgical nurse, directly working with the surgeon assisting with and often finishing surgeries as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, or administering the anesthesia as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) or anesthesia assistant (AA).
There are many options if you are interested in surgery, and I encourage you to explore these different paths, also keeping in mind the practical aspects of how long you would like to go to school for, what your financial situation is now and what your future goals are, what your personality is like in general (are you analytical? empathic? tech lover? able to work long hours? enjoy being hands on in helping people? etc.), and like Miriam said above, do you like being the leading a situation or do you enjoy taking ownership of specific tasks while working with a smart team of your colleagues?
Seek out shadowing opportunities with surgical nurses, CRNAs, AAs, and MD/DOs.
Speak with your guidance counselor regarding admissions requirements for these different paths of schooling.
Firstly, I would suggest speaking with friends, family members, guidance counselors, or even your family doctor/provider to see if anyone knows someone in either nursing or surgery that you could shadow. There are also surgical nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and anesthesia assistants (AAs) that you could seek out to try and shadow (try contacting the HR department of your local hospitals and outpatient surgery centers to see if they have programs for this, even if they are on hold currently because of COVID-19). Shadowing professionals in these different areas might give you a clearer idea of the direction you would like to pursue.
That said, in general, surgeons spend a lot of time in the operating room, some time in the hospital checking on patients before and after surgery, and some spend time in clinics as well, especially if they do elective or non-emergent surgeries. They might also spend time teaching medical residents, giving lectures at the hospital, and doing administrative work. If your primary interest is direct patient care and being more at the bedside with the patient throughout more of the process, then nursing, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant training might be more of what you are looking for. Bedside nurses spend the most amount of time with surgical patients when they are awake and are responsible for very close monitoring of their patients and need to be very observant and excellent communicators (both with their nursing team, the patient, and the surgical team). Nurses use their education and experience carry out doctors orders, however do not mistake this for nurses being passive in this process. There is thoughtful and calculated consideration with every decision a nurse makes, and they have to reassess their patients constantly to make sure that the doctors orders are still the best thing for the patient. They often need to consult with more senior colleagues or the surgeon or other doctors on the team if there is a concern about the patient, so teamwork is important. There is also a lot of teaching involved with this role, both with the patient and their family.
Within these options, there are also many paths for becoming directly involved in the operating room, either monitoring the operating room and the patient as a surgical nurse, directly working with the surgeon assisting with and often finishing surgeries as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, or administering the anesthesia as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) or anesthesia assistant (AA).
There are many options if you are interested in surgery, and I encourage you to explore these different paths, also keeping in mind the practical aspects of how long you would like to go to school for, what your financial situation is now and what your future goals are, what your personality is like in general (are you analytical? empathic? tech lover? able to work long hours? enjoy being hands on in helping people? etc.), and like Miriam said above, do you like being the leading a situation or do you enjoy taking ownership of specific tasks while working with a smart team of your colleagues?
Katherine recommends the following next steps:
Estee Hayson
9
Answers
Updated
Estee’s Answer
Try out nursing first and then you can proceed to being a surgeon later on.
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