plan for med school? will it work?

12345678900 said:

hello. im a freshmen and am looking to get my BSN/RN. Immediately after, i want to go to med school. so as im in nursing school i want to get my pre reqs for med school.

is this move smart? id rather get my undergrad in nursing than the traditional biology route to med school. any suggestions or can anyone relate?

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Med school will wonder why you got your RN just to apply to med school and if you're going to do the same thing once you get your MD. So, NO it looks terrible and indecisive.

Purse a degree in anything except nursing. Everything and anything you like, just not nursing because it will cause you problems down the road.

I partly disagree (as an undergrad this would have been EXACTLY what I would say). Five years away from college, I've seen a ton of RN/BSN candidates get into medical school. They all had a few things in common: 4.0 GPA / 35+ MCAT and hospital related work.

If you believe that nursing is the ONLY subject that you will get a 4.0 in and that it will help you score well on the MCAT, then go for it. However, if you do poorly academically, then I agree the RN/BSN will turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing is disguise.

serenade said:

Purse a degree in anything except nursing. Everything and anything you like, just not nursing because it will cause you problems down the road.

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mspeedwagon said:

I partly disagree (as an undergrad this would have been EXACTLY what I would say). Five years away from college, I've seen a ton of RN/BSN candidates get into medical school. They all had a few things in common: 4.0 GPA / 35+ MCAT and hospital related work.

If you believe that nursing is the ONLY subject that you will get a 4.0 in and that it will help you score well on the MCAT, then go for it. However, if you do poorly academically, then I agree the RN/BSN will turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing is disguise.

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http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml
Nursing majors have one of the lowest acceptance rates to medical school. This could be reflective of many things, but since we can not isolate the exact reason. I'd say avoid getting a BSN. Also, most nursing major classes are not relevant to the mcat.
But yes, I'll slightly agree if you feel that you can only get a high gpa by being a nursing major. Then I suppose its worth a try?

Not to mention a 4.0/35 is most likely the top 1-5% of applicants. An underwater basketweaving major with a concentration in chilling out could get in with those stats.

Ischemic said:

Med school will wonder why you got your RN just to apply to med school and if you're going to do the same thing once you get your MD. So, NO it looks terrible and indecisive.

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This.

I can see getting a BSN in nursing as sort of a back up plan in the event that you don't get into med school.

However, like the other posters have said, it looks indecisive to go to nursing school and then immediately apply to medical school.

Remember, a lot of the pre-reqs for med school are the same as for nursing, so if you weren't to get into med school, you could always apply to a fast-track nursing program, or a MSN program without a lot of trouble.

Going the nursing route and then trying for med school is a lot harder though.

Emikosma said:

I can see getting a BSN in nursing as sort of a back up plan in the event that you don't get into med school.

However, like the other posters have said, it looks indecisive to go to nursing school and then immediately apply to medical school.

Remember, a lot of the pre-reqs for med school are the same as for nursing, so if you weren't to get into med school, you could always apply to a fast-track nursing program, or a MSN program without a lot of trouble.

Going the nursing route and then trying for med school is a lot harder though.

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Also adcom may look down on your application since we have a shortage of nurses. From what I've heard, most people that did major in nursing worked as a RN a few years before applying to medical school.

12345678900 said:

thanks for the feedback. if not a BSN then how bout a bachelor of clinical laboratory sciences? (BLS)

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I think this major may also be too career-oriented but I'm not sure...

Naturally i'm biased however I feel that being a biology major is most relevant to medicine. This is particularly true if you are allowed a focus in human physiology/etc. I have taken Human Anatomy, Phys, Immunology,Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Human Endocrinology, Cell Bio, Parisitology... I wouldn't be surprised if all these courses would make medical school just a bit easier.

Also, the problem with majors like nursing (and other career oriented majors) is that they tend not be as rigorous as hard science majors. I have a sibling who is currently a nursing major and the depth of understanding required by their "core science" classes is well... laughable. Although programs vary, the instructors at my sisters program are also a problem. They "haze" their students and very few receive A's. I had the opportunity to read some of their comments on graded research papers and some instructors demonstrate an obvious lack of understanding in basic scientific principles. Combining these major points, one quickly realizes that pursuing a nursing degree could leave you with a low GPA in a major that isn't known for requiring the same scientific rigor and critical thinking as other majors. I would assume this would look bad to ADCOMs.

But who knows... do what makes you happy.

12345678900 said:

hello. im a freshmen and am looking to get my BSN/RN. Immediately after, i want to go to med school. so as im in nursing school i want to get my pre reqs for med school.

is this move smart? id rather get my undergrad in nursing than the traditional biology route to med school. any suggestions or can anyone relate?

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If you do decide to pursue nursing, you can explain to medical schools that you had an interest in the health care field and in this economy, you did not want to go into college and get a degree that you could not use right away -- in case medical school did not pan out (because the acceptance rate is like 43% right now). Your heart was always in medicine, but you could not convince yourself to get a degree in something that could not be productive upon graduation. Really, to do anything with a biology degree, you atleast have to get a masters.

I would also suggest getting your nusing degree at a school with a well-known vigourous nursing program. One that also gives you a chance to participate in research. CWRU's program comes to mind.

But honestly, physician and nurse is very different. I have all the respect of the world for nurses but I could not do what they do. Make sure that you can.

12345678900 said:

Thank you

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no problem.

Just make sure to:
1. get the best grades possible -- try to make sure it is at a vigorous school too
2. make sure to participate in research (don't know how plausible this is but figure out a way)-- starting around your sophomore year of college
3. Make sure to shadow, & volunteer non-clinically and clinically, and participate in ECs and show leadership (I like the one's that are not health care field related)

Also -- when you do apply, make sure you address your nursing to medicine degree choice in your PS. Do not belittle nursing or insult it. It's a very important and necessary profession... but you feel you are more apt to being a physician.

I think it would be looked down upon... By going to nursing school you are taking a spot away from someone who was actually looking to BE a practicing nurse.

runrunrudolph1 said:

I think it would be looked down upon... By going to nursing school you are taking a spot away from someone who was actually looking to BE a practicing nurse.

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This is really a good point. Also don't you think it will make you look a little less committed/invested in medicine if you have a backup?

I read on SDN that adcoms look down on BSN degrees because of the nursing shortage.

EN

I think we are generally in agreement. Nurses do have the lowest acceptance rate. I should say that pretty much all the nurses I know went to UPenn, which is regarding to be among the best. That combined with a 35/4.0 and they were pretty much shoe-ins.

If you think nursing is the only major where you can do well, go for it. It'll prove useful if you don't get into med school. Though realize you have to be much more exceptional than a biology major would have to be.

serenade said:

http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml
Nursing majors have one of the lowest acceptance rates to medical school. This could be reflective of many things, but since we can not isolate the exact reason. I'd say avoid getting a BSN. Also, most nursing major classes are not relevant to the mcat.
But yes, I'll slightly agree if you feel that you can only get a high gpa by being a nursing major. Then I suppose its worth a try?

Not to mention a 4.0/35 is most likely the top 1-5% of applicants. An underwater basketweaving major with a concentration in chilling out could get in with those stats.

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I think some people are missing an obvious point. Nursing programs exist to train nurses. If you have no desire or intent to actually BE a nurse, then you need to change your major. Additionally, as has been suggested, you will have to take all med school requirements in addition to your nursing requirements (there likely will be very little overlap). Whatever clinical experience you gain as a nursing student will be inconsequential.

While I know several nurses that have gone on to medical school, all of them had several years of significant nursing experience prior to this (ICU, ED, flight nurses). None of them originally intended on going to medical school.

I'm not trying to sound harsh, and I realize that it's not this simple, but you really need to decide what you want to do and choose a path that is most consistent with that goal. If you want to be a nurse, great, get a nursing degree. If you want to be a physician, I think a nursing degree is a poor plan. I don't think it matters so much what your major is, though most matriculating medical students have degrees in the hard sciences. However, I think that the advice of pursuing a nursing degree so that you have good grades is simply misguided and less likely to be successful.

Oh, and in response to your questions in the EM forum (which is how I found this thread), I would suggest sorting out this issue prior to worrying about which specialty you'll pursue. Assuming that you'll go directly from college to med school, you have at least 5-6 years before this decision needs to be made. And there are a lot of things that will change in the next 5-6 years, especially as the effects of health care reform start to show themselves.

Study the things you want to study, do the things you want to do. Do the prereqs. Get good grades.

Aside from the timeline of applying to medical school, don't over-plan. If you are going to be happy in medical school and as a physician, you will find that the courses and activities you enjoy are (mostly) the ones that you need for a successful application.

Also, PREMED, you might want to change your status from attending to, well, premed. It looks ridiculous seeing the attending tag and then reading your questions. Furthermore, it gives you false credibility when people read your responses/advice/thought thinking that you actually know something when you actually don't.

Nice catch Ischemic.

I think it is an interesting, and lucrative decision. Worst case scenario you never get into med school and work as a nurse (although, you could feasibly apply each year that you work as nurse and would eventually get in barring a poor MCAT or something). Best case, you begin med school 2-3 months after graduating nursing school.

I want to start med school now (next year), or immediately after I graduate from pharmacy school. The poster that mentioned the 'hazing' and rationing of A's is on to something. Our class average is generally 80 on exams. People don't usually fail, but I would say 75% of the class makes B's on any given exam, 10% A's, and 15% C or worse. So making a 4.0 has been extremely difficult.

Cramster: Although programs vary, the instructors at my sisters program are also a problem. They "haze" their students and very few receive A's.

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That said, I did not intend to go to med school when I began. I made that decision mentally in my first year, and actually started acting upon my desire in my second year. So adcoms may not be as opposed to a "change of heart" experienced in your studies as they would be if they knew you had that intention initially.

I'm biased towards paramedical --> medicine career switches, so I hope it works and I think it is a good plan. On the other hand, if I could do it all again, I would have finished my BS and applied to med school. This pharm school has cost a lot of time and money, and my PS and application are going to be complicated by my pharmacy path.

mspeedwagon said:

I think we are generally in agreement. Nurses do have the lowest acceptance rate. I should say that pretty much all the nurses I know went to UPenn, which is regarding to be among the best. That combined with a 35/4.0 and they were pretty much shoe-ins.

If you think nursing is the only major where you can do well, go for it. It'll prove useful if you don't get into med school. Though realize you have to be much more exceptional than a biology major would have to be.

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How in the world would one know this?

Completely ridiculous.

.

12345678900 said:

thanks for the feedback. if not a BSN then how bout a bachelor of clinical laboratory sciences? (BLS)

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This would be a big mistake, it is way too narrow of a scope and too sub-par (knowledge base wise) to any other college degree, which this I don't think is even considered a real degree, its more like an associates.