(adn)RN to BSN to MD or CRNA

[Kaballa]

Greetings SDN network,

I am 24 years, RN (adn), work in an ER of a small community hospital doing 11pm to 7am shifts 5 days a week.
I've perused through the forums a bit hoping to find some information that will help me make my decision.
Nursing was never the ultimate goal for me, it is more of a safety net in case I don't make it to MD (also money is nice to help my family and help fund my MD goal).
My current GPA is 3.3 to 3.4 ish
So my questions are these (for now):

Can I apply to medical school after getting a BSN from a non state university, aka a private for-profit college such as West Coast University but is WASC accredited?

Can I apply to medical school after getting my BSN in nursing without taking organic chemistry and such?
I spoke to a doctor, and was told that all I need (as far as minimal requirements go) to apply to medical school is a bachelors in whatever field and a good MCAT. But these forums are saying I need pre-med classes? So I would like some clarification.

Trying to plan out how the next 2 years or so is going to pan out for me, go to school full time to attain my BSN (which i'll be doing online) or take it part time and take pre-med classes such as organic chem part time as well.

I'm doing my BSN primarily for 2 reasons: 1) work in a bigger hospital, such as Kaiser Permanente (pay is better and work shifts are traditional 12hr shifts 3x a week as opposed to the 8hr shifts 5x week I'm working now) and 2) CRNA in case I don't make MD.

What should my next steps be?

Also, if you all have any other insights, more than welcome to discuss please!

Thank you!

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[deleted480308]

all schools have differing requirements for prereqs......the general standard is 2chem, 2 orgo, 2 bio, 2 phys but that might be changing with new mcat

 

[Kaballa]

So it doesn't matter I have a bsn or not? I still have to take those classes? depending on the school?

 

[22031 Alum]

So it doesn't matter I have a bsn or not? I still have to take those classes? depending on the school?

BSN doesn't count as an extra boost. If you haven't taken the pre-reqs, you have to take them.

 

[deleted480308]

So it doesn't matter I have a bsn or not? I still have to take those classes? depending on the school?

all schools have differing requirements for prereqs......the general standard is 2chem, 2 orgo, 2 bio, 2 phys but that might be changing with new mcat

 

[Kaballa]

i see ok thank you.
another question now is: will it matter if I take the prereqs at a community college?

 

[BGMayagi]

Your almost in my exact situation but I'm a little older and I do 12's overnight in the ED. I'm working on my BSN parttime and completing prereqs partime as well.

You will need the prereqs to tackle the MCAT with the new one needing biochem as well and schools require them. The MCAT is going to be your biggest challenge and will determine your chances on if you get in so do well, I've seen the MCAT kill dreams and years for some.

You have clinical experience but you will need to fit volunteering in somehwere as well and maybe shadow some outpatient physicians, especially a DO for a DO letter as DO schools are more non-trad friendly. Its tough to work with our schedules and to do well in it all so take it easy. I'm currently in the app. process and I've been working towards this for a 1 1/2 years.

Last big hurdle, get those letters of recommendations from sciences teachers into interfolio ASAP as I asked 3 months ago and still have one teacher flaking on it. I Hope that information helps.

 

[BGMayagi]

I wouldnt sweat the CC classes as its what I'm doing but in 6 months I'll have some more clarifications for you (if i have acceptances or not). You still need to do well in the classes and demonstrate what you learned by killing the MCAT. Biochem is hard to get at a CC. Also the conscensus is DO schools are a lot more relaxed about CC classes. MSAR will also tell you MD schools will consider CC courses.

 

[amcGeek]

I too am considering making the switch. My sister is a pediatric physician and made going to med school look doable. She never had horror stories of it being a regretful or unbearable process. Many of the nurses in my unit or forums make med school seem like it's not a good decision and are very discouraging towards us RN's wanting to make the switch so I'm glad you submitted this post. Good luck with your endeavors!

 

[Darth Doc]

Greetings SDN network,

My current GPA is 3.3 to 3.4 ish
So my questions are these (for now):

Can I apply to medical school after getting a BSN from a non state university, aka a private for-profit college such as West Coast University but is WASC accredited?

Can I apply to medical school after getting my BSN in nursing without taking organic chemistry and such?
I spoke to a doctor, and was told that all I need (as far as minimal requirements go) to apply to medical school is a bachelors in whatever field and a good MCAT. But these forums are saying I need pre-med classes? So I would like some clarification.

Trying to plan out how the next 2 years or so is going to pan out for me, go to school full time to attain my BSN (which i'll be doing online) or take it part time and take pre-med classes such as organic chem part time as well.

What should my next steps be?

I was a PA before starting medical school, so from a fellow non-trad with medical experience, it is possible.

1. You need a higher GPA. Get all A's from here on out. 3.5+ in the sciences and better than that overall for MD. Maybe a little lower for DO. I don't know the current stats on admissions. It's getting more competitive. A lot of people with great stats are getting rejected.

2. BSN is good. It's a bachelors. You can get a bachelors in anything and be accepted to medical school as long as you have a strong GPA and MCAT score.

3. Find the requirements for the medical schools you are most likely to apply to (choose 15-20 to look at for now whether you end up applying to all of them or not). Complete those requirements. Community college vs 4 year college doesn't matter. sometimes a high level math is required, sometimes not. Organic chem is definitely required. I hate chem, but I wouldn't have passed my first year of medical school without it. As far as I know, every medical school requires that the undergraduate lab sciences be done in an actual lab and not online. University of Phoenix will not look good on a transcript. I know nurses who get online degrees from Drexel and it comes out the same on a transcript as if they were in the classroom. I don't know whether your online BSN school will look bad or not on a transcript. I've never heard of it before.

4. Study hard for the MCATs and get a good score the first time.

5. To get the interview invitation, it's your numbers, your extracurriculars, your medical experience (which will be great as a nurse!!!) that get you there. After that it's how you present yourself in an interview and how you make the school believe you're the right fit for them.

IMHO being a working nurse before medical school will benefit you (as long as you have the same numbers as the other applicants) because it makes you stand out and shows you know what you're getting into.

 

[brainnurse]

Hello. I am sort of in the same boat as you. Also an ADN prepared nurse, was working full-time, dayshift, at a huge hospital as an ICU nurse. It took multiple conversations with several physicians, academic AND pre-med advisors, and SDN members to come up with the plan I am currently implementing.

The advice to working nurses was always to take it slow, but I decided to push myself and now I am glad I did because I shaved a full year out of my pre-med advisor's initial plan. It was tough but definitely doable. I was averaging 14 credits each semester with 8 being the lowest (Summer 2015, Gen Chem 2 + Org 1) while working full-time. I took the basic pre-reqs, Bios, Gen Chems, and one Organic Chem, at a college closer to my home while doing online nursing classes (with clinicals) at a major university where I eventually went to finish up my prereqs.

I echo the advice that many of the SDN veterans (shout out to the wonderful Q) drilled into me in the beginning: do not take the MCAT without pre-reqs. Nursing does not prepare us for the physical sciences tested in the MCAT. Biochemistry almost kicked my ass this semester. It was Bio 1 on crack. Also, have a look at the MSAR which will tell you, in detail, the minimum requirement of the medical schools you are interested in, plus the stats of the people who get in them. Good luck!

 

[Mad Jack]

Greetings SDN network,

I am 24 years, RN (adn), work in an ER of a small community hospital doing 11pm to 7am shifts 5 days a week.
I've perused through the forums a bit hoping to find some information that will help me make my decision.
Nursing was never the ultimate goal for me, it is more of a safety net in case I don't make it to MD (also money is nice to help my family and help fund my MD goal).
My current GPA is 3.3 to 3.4 ish
So my questions are these (for now):

Can I apply to medical school after getting a BSN from a non state university, aka a private for-profit college such as West Coast University but is WASC accredited?

Can I apply to medical school after getting my BSN in nursing without taking organic chemistry and such?
I spoke to a doctor, and was told that all I need (as far as minimal requirements go) to apply to medical school is a bachelors in whatever field and a good MCAT. But these forums are saying I need pre-med classes? So I would like some clarification.

Trying to plan out how the next 2 years or so is going to pan out for me, go to school full time to attain my BSN (which i'll be doing online) or take it part time and take pre-med classes such as organic chem part time as well.

I'm doing my BSN primarily for 2 reasons: 1) work in a bigger hospital, such as Kaiser Permanente (pay is better and work shifts are traditional 12hr shifts 3x a week as opposed to the 8hr shifts 5x week I'm working now) and 2) CRNA in case I don't make MD.

What should my next steps be?

Also, if you all have any other insights, more than welcome to discuss please!

Thank you!

Be aware that three 12s isn't as puppies and rainbows as you would like. But yeah, take the prereqs at a university if possible, if not, CC is acceptable for most schools so long as you keep your GPA high and perform well on the MCAT. I would strongly recommend you attend a university, however, as your BSN is online and nursing is not viewed as that rigorous of coursework by some adcoms.

 

[yogurt0531]

You will get into huge debt by going to West Coast U... My coworker owes 90000, making 900 dollars payment every month. I went to a private research university in boston for bsn and have 30000 in loans.