Why more people are switching to be a nurse
By: John Lag
Tags: Money, Education, Advice

Why more people are switching to be a nurse

Do nurses really get paid as much as doctors?

The short answer is no. The average salary for nurses and doctors in the United States are as follows:

Data from Glassdoor

“So if doctors make anywhere between 3 to 4 times as much as a nurse would in a given year, why even talk about it? That’s that. Doctors make more money. Doctors > nurses. Right?” To that I say maybe.

Sure, doctors seem to make more money on paper, but is that the full story? Before we start jumping into conclusions about which job brings out the most moolah, let’s check the facts.

The purpose is to see which career path would give you the most bang for your buck while taking into consideration future expenditures.

Education Differences

Becoming either a doctor or nurse would require some level of education. But that doesn’t mean that whoever spends the most years having a formal education comes out on top. If that were the case, doctors would win by a lot. However, with great education comes great expenses.

As my parents would often say,

“Education is an investment!”

This couldn’t be more true. I hope we can all agree that spending money for one’s education is guaranteed to make you more money in the future — or at least that’s what they tell us it’s supposed to do. If I spend $1 now, I’ll get $5 back in 4+ years. The general idea is that if I spend a lot of money to send my kid off to college, he or she will graduate and land a job, making more money than I ever did.

To become a doctor and enter medical school you must:

Have a bachelor’s degree before entry (4 years) Have above the average GPA and MCAT score

And then:

Earn a medical degree (4 years) Complete a residency program on a chosen specialty (3–7 years)

To pursue a nursing career, there are a total of 3 paths to do so. You can either:

Obtain a bachelor’s degree in Nursing — B.S.N. (4 years) Obtain an associate’s degree in Nursing — A.D.N. (2 or 3 years) Obtain a diploma from a hospital-run program (3 years)

Nurses also have the option to become Nurse Practitioners (NP) by:

Obtaining a master’s degree in Nursing — M.S.N. (2 years)

As you can see, becoming a physician requires anywhere between 11–15 years of education, whereas becoming a nurse only takes 4–6 years of education.

Costs Differences

As foreshadowed earlier, the cost of education in the U.S. has increased by 12% in the last 30 years. That’s 1,120% of what it used to be in 1978! Someone who became a doctor years prior obtained their degree without any debt, but that is no longer the case in 2016.

For doctors:

The median cost of medical school in 2013 was $278,455 (private schools) and $207,866 (public schools). Even after scholarships and loans, the average debt of new doctors can amount to $170,000. Assuming that interest accrues while completing residency up to 25% of the total and a modest 10% increase of debt, doctor’s can have almost half a million dollars in debt, aka $500,000 (the average debt of a college graduate is $27,000).

All of this debt can make it difficult for a physician who is trying to open up his/her own small care practice. The cost of rent, payroll, malpractice insurance, furniture, and regular living expenses for the first few months can total an additional $100,000. This is not to mention the cost of a management computer system at $25,000. One would hope to be able to take out loans to be able to stay in practice, but that would just increase the total amount of money you owe. Not to mention there may be interest.

For nurses:

The tuition rates for nurses pursuing a B.S.N. are similar to that of any undergraduate institution (anywhere from $40,000-$100,000 each year). Nurses pursuing an A.D.N. can do so at a community college at a much lower cost. After scholarships and loans, the average debt for a nursing student fresh out of college is $30,000. Even with increasing interest rates, that amount is far more manageable than that of a physician. As a nurse, it is likely that you’ll be working under a medical establishment like a dialysis center or hospital and wouldn’t have to worry about having to pay to practice. Once you land a job, you should be able to pay that debt with ease, thanks to the $50k-$70k starting salary.

Role Differences

Being a doctor or nurse comes with different responsibilities. Choosing which career is right for you has a lot to do with the kind of person you are.

Doctor’s responsibilities include being a leader by examining the big picture for a diagnosis and guiding a team of healthcare professionals toward a treatment plan for a patient. Due to the number of patients you have, time spent with any one patient is limited. Also, as a doctor, you are ultimately responsible for the outcome of a patient.

Nurses, on the other hand, have a role in assessing each patient for their condition while implementing a course of action and educating patients and their families about their illnesses. Nurses spend the most time with a given individual and are responsible for providing a patient with wholesome care in administering IVs, medications, or even with having someone to talk to. Nurses follow the orders of doctors and the hospital’s policies.

Conclusion

I personally chose the path to becoming a nurse because I wanted to be able to live a normal life. That’s not to say doctors don’t have a life; doctors just spend a good portion of their lives in school or at a hospital learning. Both careers are of high regard and would make any family or friend proud.

No matter what you plan to work as in the future — doctor, nurse, engineer, lawyer — you have to take into consideration every aspect of that career path (only some aspects and jobs were discussed here). After doing so, decide which one fits you the most, not what others say you should be. Only you (not even your parents) know what’s best for yourself. Just make sure that whatever it is you set your mind on, you can see yourself doing that for the rest of your life.

Thank you for reading. Last piece of advice: