Leaving Accelerated Nursing Program to Pursue Dental School?

[BSN2DDS]

I want to go to dental school, but I am in a 13month accelerated nursing program to get my BSN now. I just completed the first semester of the program this month, and I currently have a year to go. However, I have been having second thoughts about nursing. I wanted to go to nursing school to become a Psychiatric NP since my previous bachelor's degree was in Psychology. Around the time that I decided on this, I was sure that this was what I wanted to do, but in the time before starting the program and during the program it didn't seem interesting to be anymore. CRNA and dermatology nursing have also caught my interest. I really was not able to shadow a nurse in any of these areas before making the decision to enter nursing school, though, or a nurse at all for that matter. Before deciding on nursing, I had plans to go to dental school for a while (throughout high school and my first three years of college). After I did poorly in two of the prerequisites for dental school, causing my GPA to lower, I decided that I would make a change in my career choice. I already had some of the prerequisites for nursing and used the summer before senior year of undergrad and senior year to complete the prerequisites that I needed. Plus, my mom had always encouraged us to go to nursing school, so I figured "why not?". I thought that the dental school ship had sailed, and my focus was completely on nursing school. However, after doing some research and shadowing at a dentist office, I have become interested in dentistry again. I love science and I really love the hands-on aspect of the career.

A lot of my friends and family are trying to get me to just continue in nursing school to get my BSN first, and figure out different avenues to take afterward. However, I'm not sure if I want to continue. I'm just worried about which one would have more of a negative effect, dropping nursing school now or getting my BSN, taking the rest of the prerequisites for dental school, and applying. I don't want it to look like since I'm giving up on nursing school or using it as a way to boost my GPA (which I'm not). My plan, if I finish nursing school or if I don't, is to finish up and retake of the prerequisites I still have, shadow more dentists, then get my masters in biomedical science and apply to dental school after I finish.

Has there been anyone else in this position and can offer some advice?

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[doc toothache]

Finish what you started.

 

[BSN2DDS]

Finish what you started.

What if someone realized that nursing is not something that they want to do anymore, and they would rather pursue dentistry instead? Would you still advise them to stick with the BSN program? Would their application be frowned upon because they chose to leave an accelerated nursing program after completing the first term/month to follow their heart and go the dental school route?

 

[DC206R]

Think of it this way. If you drop this now and pursue dentistry, what if you don't get into dental school? Then you would have left the opportunity to earn your BSN. If you follow through with your BSN, at least you'll have a degree that you can apply for jobs with if pursuing dentistry doesn't pan out. It's always good to have a backup plan IMO. If I was in your position, I'd finish the BSN, then pursue dentistry.

 

[8_man]

Like DrToothache and DC206R said, you should just finish the program. You can always pursue dentistry afterwards.

You said you're interested in derm and CRNA. Why not explore those options first? You're already halfway there.

 

[blenise]

This is just a question rather than a statement, but is there any chance that dropping out of the nursing program will cause dental schools to question your ability to commit?


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[Cranjis McBasketball]

I want to go to dental school, but I am in a 13month accelerated nursing program to get my BSN now. I just completed the first semester of the program this month, and I currently have a year to go. However, I have been having second thoughts about nursing. I wanted to go to nursing school to become a Psychiatric NP since my previous bachelor's degree was in Psychology. Around the time that I decided on this, I was sure that this was what I wanted to do, but in the time before starting the program and during the program it didn't seem interesting to be anymore. CRNA and dermatology nursing have also caught my interest. I really was not able to shadow a nurse in any of these areas before making the decision to enter nursing school, though, or a nurse at all for that matter. Before deciding on nursing, I had plans to go to dental school for a while (throughout high school and my first three years of college). After I did poorly in two of the prerequisites for dental school, causing my GPA to lower, I decided that I would make a change in my career choice. I already had some of the prerequisites for nursing and used the summer before senior year of undergrad and senior year to complete the prerequisites that I needed. Plus, my mom had always encouraged us to go to nursing school, so I figured "why not?". I thought that the dental school ship had sailed, and my focus was completely on nursing school. However, after doing some research and shadowing at a dentist office, I have become interested in dentistry again. I love science and I really love the hands-on aspect of the career.

A lot of my friends and family are trying to get me to just continue in nursing school to get my BSN first, and figure out different avenues to take afterward. However, I'm not sure if I want to continue. I'm just worried about which one would have more of a negative effect, dropping nursing school now or getting my BSN, taking the rest of the prerequisites for dental school, and applying. I don't want it to look like since I'm giving up on nursing school or using it as a way to boost my GPA (which I'm not). My plan, if I finish nursing school or if I don't, is to finish up and retake of the prerequisites I still have, shadow more dentists, then get my masters in biomedical science and apply to dental school after I finish.

Has there been anyone else in this position and can offer some advice?

Finish your BSN. You can always have that to fall back on. I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket on dental school, especially if you've already been "dead set" on a career and then decided otherwise. If you drop out of the BSN program and then get into dental school and also realize you hate it then you're back to square 1 with a bachelors in psych. Just finish the BSN and then decide from there.

 

[BeaverLover]

This is just a question rather than a statement, but is there any chance that dropping out of the nursing program will cause dental schools to question your ability to commit?

Yes. From financial standpoint they'll lose money

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Finish what you started, you have all the time in the world

 

[Incis0r]

Think of it this way. If you drop this now and pursue dentistry, what if you don't get into dental school? Then you would have left the opportunity to earn your BSN. If you follow through with your BSN, at least you'll have a degree that you can apply for jobs with if pursuing dentistry doesn't pan out. It's always good to have a backup plan IMO. If I was in your position, I'd finish the BSN, then pursue dentistry.

Finish your BSN. You can always have that to fall back on. I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket on dental school, especially if you've already been "dead set" on a career and then decided otherwise. If you drop out of the BSN program and then get into dental school and also realize you hate it then you're back to square 1 with a bachelors in psych. Just finish the BSN and then decide from there.

110% agreed.

 

[schmoob]

What if someone realized that nursing is not something that they want to do anymore, and they would rather pursue dentistry instead? Would you still advise them to stick with the BSN program? Would their application be frowned upon because they chose to leave an accelerated nursing program after completing the first term/month to follow their heart and go the dental school route?

Whether you want to do nursing or not is irrelevant at this point. Personally, I think that dropping the program would reflect negatively, whereas completing it would look very good.
Other than that I completely agree with everyone else here. You have less than a year to go so finish strong!

 

[tucker22]

I am a CRNA - if you continue your BSN, to become a CRNA you'll need 2+ yrs ICU nursing and now most CRNA programs are 3 years long (and also competitive admission) - that's 5 years after your BSN. Most CRNA's who borrow 'cost of attendance' loans graduate with $150-200K grad-school only debt. As a more mature student, if you finished your BSN and really focused on your studies, you can improve your grades to be competitive on the DAT and have solid GPA if you need to take extra prerequisite sciences. I have a close family member applying/interviewing for dental school. It's nice that dental school is only 4 years post bachelors and done. The main thing is though, you gotta go where your passion is, but finishing your BSN in the meantime will make you a stronger dental school candidate. If you don't get in, you have nursing options. There are other nursing grad degrees that are less than 3 yrs, or specialities that allow you to work during nursing grad school and have hospital pay for it, but anesthesia isn't one of them. Also, if you were unable to find CRNA shadowing opportunities, you didn't look hard enough -- most CRNA's I know welcome shadowing.

 

[BSN2DDS]

This is just a question rather than a statement, but is there any chance that dropping out of the nursing program will cause dental schools to question your ability to commit?


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I don't think so, as long as I am able to explain a good reason why I have decided to make a career change.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I don't think so, as long as I am able to explain a good reason why I have decided to make a career change.

Get your BSN. Work as a nurse while taking dental pre reqs and use that time to reevaluate if you like nursing or not. Nursing school is different than a nurse. Nurses have good lives. My mother in law is a charge nurse and works three 12 hour shifts a week and makes 6 figures. No debt and excellent benefits


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[BSN2DDS]

So, it seems that most of the people on this thread are encouraging me to get my BSN. However, since starting my fall semester and clinical rotations, I have realized that I don't really feel passionate about nursing. This has caused me lose some of my motivation and focus, and it has increased my stress level. I want to finish these last three semesters strong, but deep down I'm not sure if it is the career for me. I know that nursing school and being an actual nurse are not completely the same and that there are many different avenues in the career, but I'm still not sure if I want to invest my time and money into a career that I'm not sure about. I spoke to a career counselor on campus today, and I feel like I need to take a break from nursing and do some more shadowing and volunteering in both nursing and dentistry so that I will know what path to take.

 

[schmoob]

So, it seems that most of the people on this thread are encouraging me to get my BSN. However, since starting my fall semester and clinical rotations, I have realized that I don't really feel passionate about nursing. This has caused me lose some of my motivation and focus, and it has increased my stress level. I want to finish these last three semesters strong, but deep down I'm not sure if it is the career for me. I know that nursing school and being an actual nurse are not completely the same and that there are many different avenues in the career, but I'm still not sure if I want to invest my time and money into a career that I'm not sure about. I spoke to a career counselor on campus today, and I feel like I need to take a break from nursing and do some more shadowing and volunteering in both nursing and dentistry so that I will know what path to take.

It sounds like you made your decision before you started your thread.
What do you think Dental school will be like? How many D2's do you think are out there already well into 6 figures of dental school debt, overloaded with coursework, stressing about upcoming boards, and have yet to even touch a human patient? What do you think of their stress level? Or their motivation? You think they're still the bright-eyed bunch they were on December 1st?
Everyone on this thread already told you, very delicately btw, that giving up nursing school is a gigantic mistake. You are no longer investing your time and money into a career you're not sure of, you are finishing what you started so you do not raise any FURTHER red flags when it comes to admissions to dental school. It has NOTHING to do with being a nurse.
Let's break this down:
-You screwed up in undergrad so you changed your mind about dentistry
-You wanted to do psych, then CRNA, then dermatology.
-You completed ONE semester of a 13 month program, then changed your mind AGAIN about nursing altogether.
-You asked a career counselor at your NURSING school about what to do about DENTISTRY.
-You posed a thread on this forum and EVERYONE, who is familiar with dental school admissions BTW, said finish the program and then apply to dental school. The consequences of not finishing will be worse.
-Your genius career counselor at the NURSING school is doing nothing to stop you from dropping out of your current program so you can go "find your passion."

So its clear that you've made your up your mind before asking ANYONE, and are just simply seeking validation from anywhere you can find find it.

To put it bluntly, because the motivating, encouraging approach everyone on here has taken with you is clearly not working, quitting your nursing program will be a huge mistake. It will reflect VERY poorly with admissions.

Time to put on your big girl pants. Be honest with yourself, are you REALLY going to shadow nursing AFTER quitting nursing school? How much are you REALLY going to volunteer and shadow dentistry to "find your path?"
You're going to be UNEMPLOYED, with nothing to fall back on. It's time to grow up, finish what you started, and move forward. Your quitting and wishy-washy decisions show a lack of maturity, and will be VERY detrimental to any professional program.
Finish your program and make yourself stand out with a strong positive on your application, instead of shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Incis0r]

It sounds like you made your decision before you started your thread.
What do you think Dental school will be like? How many D2's do you think are out there already well into 6 figures of dental school debt, overloaded with coursework, stressing about upcoming boards, and have yet to even touch a human patient? What do you think of their stress level? Or their motivation? You think they're still the bright-eyed bunch they were on December 1st?
Everyone on this thread already told you, very delicately btw, that giving up nursing school is a gigantic mistake. You are no longer investing your time and money into a career you're not sure of, you are finishing what you started so you do not raise any FURTHER red flags when it comes to admissions to dental school. It has NOTHING to do with being a nurse.
Let's break this down:
-You screwed up in undergrad so you changed your mind about dentistry
-You wanted to do psych, then CRNA, then dermatology.
-You completed ONE semester of a 13 month program, then changed your mind AGAIN about nursing altogether.
-You asked a career counselor at your NURSING school about what to do about DENTISTRY.
-You posed a thread on this forum and EVERYONE, who is familiar with dental school admissions BTW, said finish the program and then apply to dental school. The consequences of not finishing will be worse.
-Your genius career counselor at the NURSING school is doing nothing to stop you from dropping out of your current program so you can go "find your passion."

So its clear that you've made your up your mind before asking ANYONE, and are just simply seeking validation from anywhere you can find find it.

To put it bluntly, because the motivating, encouraging approach everyone on here has taken with you is clearly not working, quitting your nursing program will be a huge mistake. It will reflect VERY poorly with admissions.

Time to put on your big girl pants. Be honest with yourself, are you REALLY going to shadow nursing AFTER quitting nursing school? How much are you REALLY going to volunteer and shadow dentistry to "find your path?"
You're going to be UNEMPLOYED, with nothing to fall back on. It's time to grow up, finish what you started, and move forward. Your quitting and wishy-washy decisions show a lack of maturity, and will be VERY detrimental to any professional program.
Finish your program and make yourself stand out with a strong positive on your application, instead of shooting yourself in the foot.

*Jaw Drop*
Schmoob just went ham.

OP, I am looking at this situation from a slightly different perspective. Please allow me to present it.

When you entered nursing school, the school made a commitment to give you a complete education in nursing in exchange for you paying tuition. In order to do this, they denied other qualified applicants the seat that you received. The way I see it, you and the school made each other a promise- you will pay them their complete cost of attendance and they will give you an education.

How would you feel if they suddenly dropped you 3 months into the program? Probably outraged right? You might even consider suing them. How do you think they feel?

To me, suddenly dropping your commitment like this is akin to breaking your side of the bargain - not only does the school lose revenue, but also a different more motivated student could have been further along with his career training at this time had he received the seat that you are abandoning.

So I would just consider what dropping nursing school says about you (not to others, but to yourself)- are you the type of person who follows through on the commitments she makes, no matter how unpleasant? Or are you the type who cuts and runs the minute a "better" option becomes available, without any regard for anyone else?

 

[doc toothache]

If logic does not do the trick, try the guilt trip.

 

[BSN2DDS]

It sounds like you made your decision before you started your thread.
What do you think Dental school will be like? How many D2's do you think are out there already well into 6 figures of dental school debt, overloaded with coursework, stressing about upcoming boards, and have yet to even touch a human patient? What do you think of their stress level? Or their motivation? You think they're still the bright-eyed bunch they were on December 1st?
Everyone on this thread already told you, very delicately btw, that giving up nursing school is a gigantic mistake. You are no longer investing your time and money into a career you're not sure of, you are finishing what you started so you do not raise any FURTHER red flags when it comes to admissions to dental school. It has NOTHING to do with being a nurse.
Let's break this down:
-You screwed up in undergrad so you changed your mind about dentistry
-You wanted to do psych, then CRNA, then dermatology.
-You completed ONE semester of a 13 month program, then changed your mind AGAIN about nursing altogether.
-You asked a career counselor at your NURSING school about what to do about DENTISTRY.
-You posed a thread on this forum and EVERYONE, who is familiar with dental school admissions BTW, said finish the program and then apply to dental school. The consequences of not finishing will be worse.
-Your genius career counselor at the NURSING school is doing nothing to stop you from dropping out of your current program so you can go "find your passion."

So its clear that you've made your up your mind before asking ANYONE, and are just simply seeking validation from anywhere you can find find it.

To put it bluntly, because the motivating, encouraging approach everyone on here has taken with you is clearly not working, quitting your nursing program will be a huge mistake. It will reflect VERY poorly with admissions.

Time to put on your big girl pants. Be honest with yourself, are you REALLY going to shadow nursing AFTER quitting nursing school? How much are you REALLY going to volunteer and shadow dentistry to "find your path?"
You're going to be UNEMPLOYED, with nothing to fall back on. It's time to grow up, finish what you started, and move forward. Your quitting and wishy-washy decisions show a lack of maturity, and will be VERY detrimental to any professional program.
Finish your program and make yourself stand out with a strong positive on your application, instead of shooting yourself in the foot.

I just was asking question. There was no need to be rude because that's what your post is coming off as to me. Plus, you just assumed that the career counselor was at the nursing school. The career counselor I talked to is a counselor from the university where I am working on my BSN. I just went to her for advice to help me make a decision, just like I came her to ask for advice. I'm not looking for anyone to make my decisions for me. I know that I have to make my own decisions. I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced and issue like this before.

Also, I know that I will shadow someone and try to volunteer in both of these fields because I already have plans to do so no matter what decision I made. Also, you keep assuming. You don't know that I will be unemployed, unless you can predict the future. I also wouldn't consider myself a quitter if I did choose to leave nursing for something else because I think it shows maturity and growth to realize that something is not for you and decide to make a change. I have a positive outlook on life, and I know that what ever I decide will be best for me. I'm not trying to be wishy-washy. I'm just trying to make sure I choose the career that I want to for the rest of my life. I know that I'm going to have to live with the choices that I make no matter what, and I know that people make mistakes. We just have to learn from our own mistakes, pick ourselves up, and move on. It's all apart of life. As I previously stated, I was just looking for advice which I thought was what I thought SDN was about. But, I guess it's not. It's just for people to get in front of their computer screen and assume they know someone else's life.

I know that I will be successful in whatever I choose no matter if it's nursing, dentistry or something else. BTW...you really could have stopped at your first sentence, because there was no need for all of the extra stuff. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Man.. I'm getting tired of OPs posting questions and asking for advice, and then getting mad at what people tell them. Don't post a public question for everyone to answer if you're gonna pick and choose which ones are appropriate or not.. Be warned that you will get nice and also straight up answers. Thats what happens when you publicly post a question. If you have your mind made up then trust your decision making, instead of seeking validation. Because thats what it seems like you were lookin for


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[BSN2DDS]

*Jaw Drop*
Schmoob just went ham.

OP, I am looking at this situation from a slightly different perspective. Please allow me to present it.

When you entered nursing school, the school made a commitment to give you a complete education in nursing in exchange for you paying tuition. In order to do this, they denied other qualified applicants the seat that you received. The way I see it, you and the school made each other a promise- you will pay them their complete cost of attendance and they will give you an education.

How would you feel if they suddenly dropped you 3 months into the program? Probably outraged right? You might even consider suing them. How do you think they feel?

To me, suddenly dropping your commitment like this is akin to breaking your side of the bargain - not only does the school lose revenue, but also a different more motivated student could have been further along with his career training at this time had he received the seat that you are abandoning.

So I would just consider what dropping nursing school says about you (not to others, but to yourself)- are you the type of person who follows through on the commitments she makes, no matter how unpleasant? Or are you the type who cuts and runs the minute a "better" option becomes available, without any regard for anyone else?

I understand what you mean. I am taking that into consideration. I understand how my decision to drop can have an effect on the program. I have also thought about taking someone's spot in the program and deciding to leave later. I am still thinking about these things. I genuinely care about people. That's why I am drawn to healthcare. So, I do think about other people when I make my decisions, but I also have to think about myself and what will be best for me in the long run.

 

[BSN2DDS]

Man.. I'm getting tired of OPs posting questions and asking for advice, and then getting mad at what people tell them. Don't post a public question for everyone to answer if you're gonna pick and choose which ones are appropriate or not.. Be warned that you will get nice and also straight up answers. Thats what happens when you publicly post a question. If you have your mind made up then trust your decision making, instead of seeking validation. Because thats what it seems like you were lookin for


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

As I previously stated, I was just asking if anyone has experienced something like this and/or if they had any advice. I was not looking for validation. I was just looking for advice. Thanks.

 

[escanoke]

OP, why not call some dental school admissions and see what they say? I'm surprised everyone is telling you to finish the program. They do have a good point about finishing what you started and having a back up plan but I always thought and could've sworn read here in SDN (I think in the pre-allo) that getting a specific professional degree than going for another in the same field medical looks bad because your indecisive and once you finish one program what will be the chances you don't get it even a try and starting pursuing something else and thus wasting a spot in a program that could've gone to someone who was passionate about the program from the beginning?


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[schmoob]

I just was asking question. There was no need to be rude because that's what your post is coming off as to me. Plus, you just assumed that the career counselor was at the nursing school. The career counselor I talked to is a counselor from the university where I am working on my BSN. I just went to her for advice to help me make a decision, just like I came her to ask for advice. I'm not looking for anyone to make my decisions for me. I know that I have to make my own decisions. I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced and issue like this before.

Also, I know that I will shadow someone and try to volunteer in both of these fields because I already have plans to do so no matter what decision I made. Also, you keep assuming. You don't know that I will be unemployed, unless you can predict the future. I also wouldn't consider myself a quitter if I did choose to leave nursing for something else because I think it shows maturity and growth to realize that something is not for you and decide to make a change. I have a positive outlook on life, and I know that what ever I decide will be best for me. I'm not trying to be wishy-washy. I'm just trying to make sure I choose the career that I want to for the rest of my life. I know that I'm going to have to live with the choices that I make no matter what, and I know that people make mistakes. We just have to learn from our own mistakes, pick ourselves up, and move on. It's all apart of life. As I previously stated, I was just looking for advice which I thought was what I thought SDN was about. But, I guess it's not. It's just for people to get in front of their computer screen and assume they know someone else's life.

I know that I will be successful in whatever I choose no matter if it's nursing, dentistry or something else. BTW...you really could have stopped at your first sentence, because there was no need for all of the extra stuff. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Lol you asked a question, but you didn't like the answer. A number of people pointed out that dropping your program would look bad, and you actually disagreed! Let me remind you:

What if someone realized that nursing is not something that they want to do anymore, and they would rather pursue dentistry instead? Would you still advise them to stick with the BSN program? Would their application be frowned upon because they chose to leave an accelerated nursing program after completing the first term/month to follow their heart and go the dental school route?

I don't think so, as long as I am able to explain a good reason why I have decided to make a career change.

And if you think my post came off as rude then you need to re-read it and really look at what it is saying to you.

Also, if you take a look earlier in the thread, I made a post that was kind and encouraging, but it wasn't getting through to you. So if you wanted an answer, I gave it to you in a way that you would understand.
Oh and you're right, we learn from our mistakes pick ourselves up and move on. But you're being given solid advice to keep you from making a huge mistake. If you choose to ignore the advice, that's already a whole other mistake you're making.

Anyway, do what you want. Good luck.