Evan Hares
College Writing
November 17, 2014
Introduction
The nursing profession has developed this image as a woman’s job and nothing more than the doctor’s mindless worker bee. Some would argue that schooling is the only difference. Doctor’s are known for their knowledge and shear intelligence whereas nurses are not. Publicity has not done the nursing profession any good since the beginning of the medical practice. An MD is just a degree allowing a person to start practicing medicine and an RN is more or less the same thing, so why is an MD more respected?
Review of Literature Education level is usually what separates doctors from nurses. The process in becoming a doctor is long and hard. 8 years of schooling, 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school, and then a minimum of three years’ work at a hospital, and then if you proceed to specialize then add more years depending on your specialty.(“Kevin MD”.) Most doctor’s start with an undergraduate degree in a science based curriculum. The pre-med student then takes the MCAT which is a multiple choice exam which examines an aspiring doctor’s knowledge of the physical and biological sciences and verbal reasoning and writing skills (“Medical School”). This test takes approximately 5 hours to complete. The first two years of med school are spent in classroom and laboratories, here students take courses designed to prepare them for treating patients, in other terms med students learn about the Anatomy and Physiology of the human body, the how and why.(“Medical School”) After two years they then take “The Boards” a licensing examination which evaluates their knowledge of the human body.(“Medical School”) The next two years are spent under experienced physicians to learn the realities of practicing medicine. During their 4th year of med school students take their final boards examinations and proceed to their residency. (“Medical School”) If you are planning to become a physician in the US then you must complete some type of residency in the US before being allowed to practice medicine. (“Medical Students”) If you lived in a different country like England or Germany you may have trouble being approved to practice medicine in the US. Medical residency is 3 years for primary care physicians and up to 5 years for surgical specialties and maybe even a fellowship for certain practices. (“Kevin MD”) Residents are usually paid between 40,000 and 50,000 per year. They are paid so little because they do not bring in any individual revenue for the medical facility. Each medical facility has different protocols on residency and the physician will have to decide which career path they wish to endure. (“Kevin MD”) The pay for a primary care physician in the United States is on average $134,263 and some can even make upwards of $250,000 while more specialized practices like orthopedic surgery make an average salary of $464,000. (“Kevin MD”) Nursing education can range from an associates degree (RN) to a master’s degree or even a PhD. Instead of having to go to school for 8 years you can practice nursing with a associates degree and still make on average between $45,000-$90,000 depending on state and experience level.(“Kevin MD”) Most nursing students start of with a nursing program solely based on nursing (16 months- 2 years). Their nursing knowledge and knowledge of procedure is then tested in the NCCLEX, a nationwide nursing licensing examination.(“Nursing School”) There are many branches of nursing specialties as well (Ex. RN, BSN, MSN, NP, PA, CRNA.)(“Nursing School”) Specialties of nursing such as the nurse anesthetist (CRNA) make more money than a primary care physician while only having around 7 years of education and residency compared to the minimum of 11 years. More educated nursing specialties such as the Nurse practitioner allow you to make a diagnosis and prescribe medication while having less education then an MD and still make an