Are You Studying To Become a Doctor?

Sometimes I’ll have that one patient that thinks I am a student because they are confused as to what “practitioner” means (in Nurse Practitioner). They ask me if I am studying to become a doctor. Sometimes coworkers (non-providers) will ask me why don’t I just become a doctor? They say I am young and smart so should just go for it. Ironically, most of them are young too and work as assistive staff so I wonder why they don’t give themselves the same advice.

Anyways I usually tell those asking that I am completely satisfied with my career as a nurse practitioner. I like having a nursing background instead of just medicine, because I can encourage my patients to try lifestyle modifications and natural remedies instead of throwing medications at them any chance I get.

I especially love being a traveler and not having the same mundane life on a daily basis. I don’t have to be on call and don’t have to work more than 40 hours a week, unlike most of my physician peers. I am happy that I didn’t spend 11 or more years in school just to accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

And to be frank, my salary is pretty close to what a primary care physician makes. I was shocked when one of my physician colleagues told me they made $180,000 in salary per year. Everyone assumes that if you are a physician you make tons of money. But a family practice physician doesn’t make that much in comparison to the amount of schooling they had to do and the amount of student loans they acquired. This is why a lot of doctors choose to specialize because as a specialist they will easily make double or even triple what a primary care doctor makes.

So even though I work in a similar role as a physician, I find it funny that some people still want me to go back to school to become a doctor. If I had to do it all over, I would have chosen the exact same path. What are your thoughts and experiences in choosing the nurse practitioner route over the physician route?