2 sems of physics + MCAT...

[nontradRN]

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these are my New Years resolutions. I've completed every other prereq for medical school but physics, after which I will dedicate myself wholeheartedly to MCAT prep per a plan set up by this very network.

I screwed around enough in UG, ended up in the nursing field after a dismal 3.30 GPA/3.00 sGPA, and with the increased exposure to hospital professionalism and the medical model of care delivery I want to refocus and push myself to achieving this goal. my chances may be bleak, but I truly do not want to be a 40 year old man emptying bedpans asking "why didn't you apply yourself?" I know the type and it isn't pretty.

I've seen some success stories on here, I've been exposed to the overworked and exhausted medical student while I was in nursing school, and I regularly witness the role of interns and residents in Internal Medicine. I really think using my mind as a doc over my body as a nurse is something I could get on board with if I have fortune enough to gain acceptance in a year's time or so. please somebody tell me I have a snowballs chance on Mercury..

 

[Beandog]

Yeah, and a 3.3/3.0 isn't dismal - it's decent. You're not excluded from acceptance, in fact, right around what I was accepted with to a DO school.
Not sure what the crisis is or what you're asking for. Take the physics and MCAT and apply.

 

[VolunteerMoose]

what's wrong with being a 40 yr old nurse? the ego on you.

 

[nontradRN]

jackzack87: Thanks for the reply. I'm insecure about my grades, that's what I perceive to be the crisis. It's also been 2-3 years since I took orgo, bio, and chem so I need some real revitalization before any MCAT trial.

VolunteerMoose: I'm not sure how much sweat and back strain you've personally put into bedpanning and cleaning incontinent 250+ pounders, who just so happen to be ESLD on q2h lactulose and are confused and mean to boot... but I don't believe it to be egotistical to say I don't wish to remain a bedside nurse until I'm forced to resign due to work-acquired physical disability.

 

[Jewels86]

Hey nontradRN!! Who doesn't love a 250+ that loves sippy pop, yummy lactulose and can be so mean and hateful...they hit the call light every 3 minutes until someone answers!! I'm a fellow ED nurse who can SO relate to our "fan favs" of patients. I always get nervous over the work-acquired physician disability.

I'm taking precal in Spring, cal 1 this summer and then tackling physics. Took algebra-based physics and it was a nightmare. BTW: No NP for you?

That ochem and other stuff will come back once you study it for MCAT.

Happy log-rolling 🙂

 

[nontradRN]

Thanks for the reply Jewels. I considered NP and the thought of putting in all that graduate work only for my patients to continue to question the validity/extent of my degree and knowledge because the word "nurse" is in the title depresses me. I've run through too many scenarios explaining a medication's mechanism of action, side effects, and why the patient needs it, et cetera, for them to refuse anyway... only to decide to take it once the doc comes in and says exactly what I just said. Same with irate patients who want updates on their status, immune to my explanations but somehow receptive to the MD's more technical language. I want the trust and influence that the title seems to command to the patient. I want the dependability, not the "replace-ability" that comes with dime-a-dozen nurses. Having taken care of so many elders willing to impart their life wisdom.. I can say I want to be able to look back on my life as an old man and say I gave it every little thing I had and climbed to my personal peak.

Anyway nursing experience might help the application process but the main emphasis seems to be GPA and MCAT. So for now it's Physics I and II, orgo II lab, and maybe calculus for me before MCAT. Hope if I do exceptionally in those my GPA will improve also, plus it'll show an uptrend in my performance since UG. I feel like I'm not SMP or post-bacc material because I've already done so many of the pre-recs.

 

[AlexMack12]

Congratulations on making the decision to transition from nurse to doctor!
As an RN who successfully made the transition (well, I've been admitted to an MD school for 2014- haven't actually become a doctor yet!) I always like to tell people the move isn't impossible at all, but does certainly have some things to be taken into consideration.

OP, and any other RNs looking to make the switch- I totally get everything you're saying. For people who have worked as nurses, we truly understand where you're coming from. However, most if not all of you interviewers will not have been RNs first (there aren't enough of us out there yet to be in the majority!) and you'll definitely want to give some serious thought to how to best convey your motivations for changing careers to admissions committees. It is VERY possible but must be done in a way that will help you.
There are probably other threads that discuss this, but in general, I'd advise discussing anything that makes it sound like nursing isn't a good profession, that doctors are superior, more prestigious, command more respect, etc. Having worked with patients, as a nurse, I concur with you completely that that is certainly how many patients feel. But those sentiments will appear misguided at best to adcoms.
Instead, focus on the differences between the medical and nursing models (google will help you there) and discuss why training in the medical model is more in line with your passions and interests than nursing. Express your understanding that nursing and medicine are two very different careers. Neither is superior to the other, just different. And you prefer medicine (make sure you have extracurriculars and LORs to support that). You can discuss how nursing emphasizes supportive care, whereas medicine is more goal and action oriented. Again, different professions, BOTH integral parts of the healthcare team, just different.
Citing differences in prestige, respect, and authority will not come off well to adcoms. Again, as a nurse, I know you're talking about how patients perceive you. But to the uninitiated in the world of nursing, it could erroneously be taken that you yourself have these views and are seeking a career in medicine for the wrong reasons.

I believe my time as a nurse really helped make me super certain I wanted to be a physician, and showed me a lot of the downsides of medicine many premeds don't necessarily have a good understanding of. I believe your career as a nurse will do the same for you. Always tread carefully, respectfully, and positively, and you will certainly be successful. Good luck!!

 

[Mad Jack]

what's wrong with being a 40 yr old nurse? the ego on you.

It is more about him saying he wishes he'd strove for something greater, not a jab at nurses. Nurses are wonderful and great at what they do, but being a physician is definitely head and shoulders above nursing so far as personal achievements go. Look at it in another way: what if it were a CNA emptying bedpans at 40, asking "why didn't I apply myself?" Pushing ourselves to the limits of our potential is the very reason humanity has reached the advanced state it is at today. Don't ever sell yourself short, and always push forward to do greater things if you believe that they are within your power and worth doing.

 

[Rayness]

NontradRN I applaud your efforts. I'm in a similar situation. I was a chemistry major then for some strange reason I switched to nursing. Not that nursing is a bad profession, I've never been happy doing it. I'm a float nurse and I dread going to work. I thought about going the NP route but even then I know deep down I won't be happy. I have a couple more pre-reqs to take in order to apply to medical school. I'm planning on taking 2 classes this summer and hopefully I will be ready to start applying in 2015. So I made a promise to myself to work as much as I can and take my few classes and save that money to live on for medical school. Having a goal like this makes it easier to work as a nurse. I'll be the 40 year old medical student but I'll be a happy one.