I'm a kid...
Nurse or Doctor

Your Question: Hello. I'm an eleven year old kid, but I already know what I want to do in life. When I was 5, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and I want to be a nurse or doctor for diabetic kids like me. How can I make a difference, even though I'm only a kid?

My Answer:

First of all…never say “just a kid”. I fully believe kids do some of the most amazing work in this world. I think it is amazing that you already have direction in your life.

I cannot say whether you should become a nurse or a doctor. That decision will be up to you. I recommend following a few different professionals once you get to high school so you can start to see what each job entails on a day to day basis and find the one that appeals to you. Also, try to find a high school that has a health career class that lets you see a bit of different areas. Make sure you get great grades, especially in science, as you will need good greats to get into either type of program.

Here is a just a brief overview—As a doctor, you will go to school for at least 8 year (4 year of undergraduate and 4 years of medical school) after which you will do an internship year and then it gets into residency years which all depend on which type of doctor you want to become. It will cost a lot of money, but in the end you will be a M.D. with the ability to work for yourself and truly impact people.

As a nurse, I recommend going for your Bachelor of Science in Nursing since you are young. You would go to 2 years undergraduate and take all the prerequisite classes and then do 2 years in the nursing program at a 4-year university. After that you can work at the bedside for a few years and learn the job. You could then go back and get your Masters in Nursing and become either a Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Educator, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, or college professor. Obviously I am a bit biased to nursing, but there are tons of different careers you can choose with a nursing degree and you will affect people just as strongly as doctors do.

Good Luck in whatever you choose. You really can't go wrong with either profession but they are VERY different so make sure and shadow a few from each path before you decide! As I am sure you have been told….stay on top of those sugars!

Shannon