Why a Doctor not Nurse and whats your opinion on nurses having more power

[WANABADOCTOR]

I know this has been done before but Im really interested to hear what ppl think. How would you answer the two questions, how would you critisise/add to my answers.

Why do you want to be a doctor and not a nurse and

What do you think to nurses having more power? e.g. being able to perscibe drugs

Personally, I would say I think there are alot of similarities however being a doctor would stretch and challenge both my academic ability and skills better. I want to be able to have the challenge of diagnosis, and decide/discuss what the best treatment for someone would be. A challenging but exciting role that is done by the doctor. Being a doctor would also make use of more skills than being a nurse, for instance I could use and develop my leadership skills much more. I would also enjoy the higher level of responsibility that is required, for instance I would also find it more rewarding because you get to see the results from operations etc. that you have lead. Also, possibly the best part of being a doctor is that you get to ask people questions that no-one else can ask, and hear things that the patient might only ever tell you. In this way, being a doctor is a truly unique job.

For the second question I find this much harder to answer. I think that there are fors/againsts. Firstly, it will help take some of the workload away from doctors so there will be less stress and for nurses, they may enjoy the added responsibilty. However, the system needs to make sure nurses are trained and have the expertise to know which drugs to perscibe, in order to avoid handing out the wrong perscriptions.

[little_miss_phonics]

Why do you want to be a doctor and not a nurse?

I think this is a really silly question because the jobs are very different. Ok, they are similar in that you are looking after patients but nurses do a very different job to doctors.

I want to be a doctor rather than a nurse because I am interested in the scientific aspect of Medicine as well as the caring side. I enjoy the challenge of the greater responsibility that doctors have and using my knowledge to identify problems and solve them.
Doctors also have a huge range of specialities that they can specialise in whereas nursing is similar in many areas of healthcare etc etc

I'm not sure I'd say that being a doctor is exciting because that may give the impression that you don't have a realistic idea of what being a doctor is about and have been watching too much ER lol.
I also definitely wouldn't say that the best part of being a doctor is being able to ask questions that no-one else can ask - that sounds a bit weird lol. It might be an entertaining part for you personally but surely not the best thing! I would have thought the best part would be helping to heal people and make their quality of life better but hey, thats prob what everyone says.

Nurses being able to prescribe?

Personally I don't have a problem with it to a certain extent as long as they are properly trained although I think they should be limited in the range that they can prescribe or a doctor should check that they are prescribing certain drugs correctly otherwise it could lead to misuse. Nurses should be given more responsibility if they want it as they are perfectly capable and doctors have enough to do already! (I'm not sure I'd say exactly that in an interview lol but you get what I mean, i hope!)

Hope that helps,

Nicola x

[dave_shucks2004]

Well I'll certainly disagree with the part about asking patients questions that no one else can ask! In fact I find this quite absurd! And the patient only telling you things? I work as a HCA and the patients keep things from the doctors if they don't like their attitude, or I might I say, unforunately, can't understand what they're saying! This situation is quite appalling but what you're saying is quite the opposite - the person with more time for the patient hears more than those who rush in and out with an abrupt attitude. Of course you do get good doctors that truly emphasize, but it's not like how you portray the situation.

For eg. a person who had OD'd told the psychiatrists he was fine, didn't mean to die and want to leave hospital, and would never do it again. Then me, a little simpleton, spends a bit more time with them and they say as soon as they get out they're gonna finish it once and for all.

Btw there is an extensive debate in the "Interviews" forum, quite interesting reading.

[little_miss_phonics]

Originally Posted by dave_shucks2004

Well I'll certainly disagree with the part about asking patients questions that no one else can ask! In fact I find this quite absurd! And the patient only telling you things? I work as a HCA and the patients keep things from the doctors if they don't like their attitude, or I might I say, unforunately, can't understand what they're saying! This situation is quite appalling but what you're saying is quite the opposite - the person with more time for the patient hears more than those who rush in and out with an abrupt attitude. Of course you do get good doctors that truly emphasize, but it's not like how you portray the situation.

For eg. a person who had OD'd told the psychiatrists he was fine, didn't mean to die and want to leave hospital, and would never do it again. Then me, a little simpleton, spends a bit more time with them and they say as soon as they get out they're gonna finish it once and for all.

Btw there is an extensive debate in the "Interviews" forum, quite interesting reading.

What I wanted to say but didn't quite get there!

[dave_shucks2004]

That's cool, you said some good stuff!

Also The insurance costs are too high for nurses to be able to fully prescribe, even though this would seem to be a money saving initiative, in fact quite the opposite! And you have to ask where you draw the line....plus HO's need this time to learn...etc bla bla try reading the other topic, explains it a lot more extensively than I ever could

[dave_shucks2004]

Little miss may I please ask what you did differently to get into Brighton and Sussex this time???? Congrats on offer btw

[little_miss_phonics]

Originally Posted by dave_shucks2004

Little miss may I please ask what you did differently to get into Brighton and Sussex this time???? Congrats on offer btw

Well in the last year I have done a lot more work experience and I wrote a much better PS. Also, it helped that I'd had an interview before and knew what to expect there. When I came out of the interview this year tho i felt pretty much the same as I did last year - it went ok but not amazingly. I thought id blown it when I sed I didn't really know much about the governments plans for the NHS even though I do! (moment of madness)
I duno, maybe it was due to the panel this year being nicer or that I wasn't quite so nervous or that I straightened my hair this year.....lol it could be anything. I'm just glad it all worked out

[The Messiah]

Originally Posted by WANABADOCTOR

I know this has been done before but Im really interested to hear what ppl think. How would you answer the two questions, how would you critisise/add to my answers.

Why do you want to be a doctor and not a nurse

"Although nurses do a great and very important job. I want the challenge of using scientific knowledge to help people."

That was the answer I was told to give by a very knowledgable man...

[WANABADOCTOR]

Hey, if you wana know where that statement came from, I asked a doctor my dad knows and thats what he said!! Maybe I should change my phrasing. What I was trying to say is that as a doctor you can be there for someone in there time of need, no matter how big/small the problem and sometimes you are the only person who is. In this way, you can listen to them and ask/hear things they'd only tell you. Sound any better?

[stargazer]

Originally Posted by WANABADOCTOR

What I was trying to say is that as a doctor you can be there for someone in there time of need, no matter how big/small the problem and sometimes you are the only person who is. In this way, you can listen to them and ask/hear things they'd only tell you. Sound any better?

The problem is that it is often the nurses, and not the doctors, who spend the most time with patients. Doctors tend to have so many patients to see, often on different wards, that a greater rapport is more likely to develop between patients and nurses. This is certainly my (albeit) limited experience from working in hospitals and talking to my Mum who has spent long periods as an inpatient.