r/emergencymedicine • u/thickiecheeks • Jun 11 '25

Advice RN to MD

Hey all, looking for some advice and fielding a few personal anecdotes if anyone is willing to share. I've been working as an RN in a busy ER in a mid sized city for awhile now, and I love the environment. I'm getting the itch to go back to school (always knew I would), and I'm really considering pursuing my MD. I have a nursing degree and a bio degree, and I'm definitely not afraid of an academic challenge.

I've been considering my NP for awhile, but have had some serious encouragement from family/friends to go for my MD instead. So, I'm asking as someone who already loves the EM environment:

Do you regret becoming an ER doc? What was the experience of residency truly like? Did you feel well prepped by residency to be independent as staff? If you had to do it all again with the knowledge you have now, would you? And if you work with NPs, do you personally feel they support your position and add significantly to patient care?

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u/thickiecheeks Jun 11 '25

A huge reason why I considered NP so strongly is because I do truly love nursing, and I think the pt-provider connection offered by nursing is legitimately unique and meaningful. I appreciate you sharing your experience, and it’s wonderful to know that some RN to MDs are able to provide such meaningful pt care. I guess the key here is that my pt interactions are defined by my own independent practice, and less to do with my title itself

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u/jilll_sandwich Jun 11 '25

There are concerns regarding the education required for NP vs the scope of their practice. Some doctors see this as dangerous, have a look at the r/Noctor subreddit. Not saying everything there reflects the truth, but personally for me some of the posts confirmed my choice of pursuing MD vs NP.

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u/everythingwright34 Jun 11 '25

Eh, I’d be very careful suggesting that subreddit. It’s a massive cesspool. If you want actual opinions of physicians about midlevels specifically NPs I wouldn’t look to a place that hates midlevels to begin with lol

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u/jilll_sandwich Jun 11 '25

I did think it was all hate when I started reading there, then I found some posts interesting. Having a scope larger then my education should allow, that would leave me more prone to make mistakes and miss things, scared me. Perhaps it was misguided. Please suggest a different place for me to read then :)