<p>i'm a HS junior and i want to enroll in a direct entry nursing program in college, graduate and get my masters in nurse-midwifery. i really feel this is my calling. i'm a pretty good student, my PSAT scores were in the 92 percentile. when i tell some of my friends my plan some of them give me a look and say things like, "you're too smart to go into nursing," or, "don't you want to be a doctor instead?" </p>
<p>It's very frustrating! Nurses are very important members of a hospital, first of all, and nurse-midwives have master degrees. Maybe it's just my snobby community but around here people seem to think smart = doctor, stupid = nurse. </p>
<p>Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it and what do you say back?</p>
<p>I agree with you completely. I’m a senior, and while I will do pre-nursing for a year and graduate with a BSN, I’m really sick of people telling me to go to med school. My mom got so mad at the people telling me this that last year on a parent survey for guidance she wrote a letter to the counselor- now I’m just being told what a great nurse I’ll be! :)</p>
<p>I feel like many people are ignorant of the actual work that nurses do and the schooling they go through! And anyways, I don’t want to be a doctor, I want to be a midwife.</p>
<p>Just think of all the students who intend to be pre-med, but don’t make it into med school. The numbers are huge. At the end of 4 years of college, someone with a RN will much more employable than a former pre-med student. </p>
<p>Also, most colleges with great RN programs have much lower tuition than colleges that emphasize pre-med. At the end of that 4 years, you will have much lower debt than that failed pre-med student.</p>
<p>My daughter has a personality that is more conducive to spending time with patients than running in and out of the hospital room after a minute. </p>
<p>Also, if a RN decides to go back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner, it is only 2 more years of education, vs. many more years and much more debt to become a practicing doctor. A good RN may even get their employer to help them with those continuing education costs.</p>
<p>As a physician’s wife who was a nurse recruiter, you and I both know that nursing is a broad career choice with lots of opportunity. Obviously, you are talking to people who haven’t got a clue. In one ear…out the other.</p>
<p>your friends are very ignorant indeed if they think a mere 92 percentile on the PSAT could translate into medical school. almost everyone I knew at my top tier Ivy League school scored above 96 percentile on his/her SAT, but only about half of those who applied to medical school gain acceptance. </p>
<p>Liu02bhs - Interesting statistic! However, some people aren’t good test takers so I don’t believe that the SATs are always a fair representation of smarts.</p>
<p>By 2015, I think most states will require a DNP for the advanced practice model. There have also been estimates that in 10-15 years, upwards of 60% of primary care in the US will be delivered by RNs with advanced practice licensure.</p>
<p>Woody - I’ve heard conflicting news about the DNP, some say it will happen, some say it’s a rumor, etc. So I’m not too sure about it. Regardless, 2015 will be when I graduate college and so I’ll know by then!</p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school going into nursing next year, and I hear the exact same thing all the time! One girl even asked me, “do you even have to go to college to be a nurse?” I was absolutely shocked! Although I wouldn’t put too much stock in what that particular girl thinks, because she’s going to be majoring in international relations, and last month she asked me why the US just didn’t take over Africa and make everything better. hmmm…</p>
<p>I do my best to tell people about nursing instead of getting offended though. When they ask, “why don’t you just be a doctor,” I simply tell them, “because I don’t want to be a doctor. I want to be a nurse,” or “nursing is a better fit for me.” Whenever they make completely uninformed statements about nursing I correct them gently. I have to remember that I’m not well informed on a lot of other academic programs for other majors and I don’t know much about other careers, so I can’t judge other people for not knowing much about nursing. Fortunately, my mom is an RN and my dad is a doctor, and they are both very supportive of my decision to become a nurse</p>
<p>In life, you will come across many people who have uninformed opinions. In fact, you may also have a few uninformed opinions. Instead of focusing on this one opinion (you are too smart to be a nurse), focus on ways to handle hearing such an opinion (this one and the many others you will hear during your lifetime). It’s a good life skill to develop.</p>
<p>My daughter hears this opinion and a variant of it (going into medicine is better than nursing). We discussed ways to not let it get to her - just like water on a duck’s back.
A pleasant smile and ‘how thoughtful of you to share that opinion with me’ can work quite nicely.</p>