after some thought...changing my undergrad major

[JourneyRn-MD]

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As I have posted before, I already have a nursing degree (not a bachelors) and have been ticking away at premed classes and classes to complete my bachelors in nursing, with plans to take the MCAT next April and apply that year to med school.

I have been thinking about switching to a nearby university and changing my undergrad major to biology, basically because I think it is a waste of my time continuing to take nursing courses when I am already a nurse and know it is not where I want to stay with my life. So why take more of the nursing courses? I am, however, fascinated with biology and have loved the classes I have taken already (just my general bios, micro, immunology, both anat & phys 1&2)

Switching majors may add another semester or two on to my undergrad, but I will be able to be involved in research opportunities that I wouldn't be able to in the nursing major and also take some upper level bio classes I have been interested in.

So basically I am wondering, am I crazy at this point to make such a major change? lol. Because sometimes I feel it : P I have a meeting the day after tom. in the AM with an advisor at the University. Thoughts anyone??

 

[albaniandoc]

Hi JourneyRN-Md.
I was in the same position last year. I had to make a decision and to be honest with you, for me it was a no brainer. While it sounds nice to get a degree in Biology it does not give me a raise at work or open doors for opportunities, like clinical ladders, management etc. I went for the BSN for the simple fact that if I were to never go to med school, I could use it to get to CRNA school, become a nurse manager or at least get a raise at work. I am not sure what to do with a Biology degree. Besides a lot of the BSN classes you can take online without ever stepping foot on campus. Classes like Nursing Management and Public Health are a breeze and can boost your GPA.
My suggestions would be to continue on with the BSN and take the neccessary pre-reqs for med school. Take the MCAT next year, see how you do and go from there.
If you need any further help, don't hesitate to pm me.
Good luck

 

[psychRN]

I am an RN in the same boat. I am just about to start on my bachelor's and I am having the same thoughts. I see both points mentioned and yet and still, i cannot make a valid decision. I just don't know at this point...but with your BSN you could always apply to practitioner school.

 

[MollyMalone]

Hey there,

I have an associate's degree in nursing, and elected not to pursue a BSN before applying to medical school.

In my case, I had completed half a BA in English before deciding to go to nursing school, so it wasn't really any longer to finish up the English degree, but even if it had been, I would have elected to do it rather than do a BSN. (I would have walked daily over hot coals rather than do a BSN.)

Long story short: you are not crazy; you are very, very sane. Crazy would be doing the BSN if you aren't interested in it. (There are valid arguments for doing the BSN, but only if you aren't sure/aren't confident about going the MD/DO route.)

Best of luck to you!

 

[JourneyRn-MD]

Thank you all for your replies : ) There are definate good points either way. I am going to mull over it a bit more. One thing is for certain though- I do not want to climb the ladder in nursing, even as a back-up. I think I would apply and re-apply to med school until they accepted me!! I am just that sure it is what I want, and confident that I am capable.

 

[psychRN]

Thank you all for your replies : ) There are definate good points either way. I am going to mull over it a bit more. One thing is for certain though- I do not want to climb the ladder in nursing, even as a back-up. I think I would apply and re-apply to med school until they accepted me!! I am just that sure it is what I want, and confident that I am capable.

Just Curious...how long has it taken you to proceed with pre-reqs since having your ADN. I mean how far have you gotten? Will you be done soon. I am at the beginning point here and I don't know where to start. I have an ADN and would need 1yr for a BSN and then another for pre-med courses (=2). Or about 2.5 for Biology. If having the biology would help me more with the MCAT and med school. I am willing to do it. Any thoughts?

 

[JourneyRn-MD]

Half done with the premed stuff. Pursuing the Bachelor's in Bio will definately take me a couple semesters longer than the BSN. I think bio courses will be more beneficial to me for the MCAT than the nursing courses. But, again, it is going to take longer.

Just Curious...how long has it taken you to proceed with pre-reqs since having your ADN. I mean how far have you gotten? Will you be done soon. I am at the beginning point here and I don't know where to start. I have an ADN and would need 1yr for a BSN and then another for pre-med courses (=2). Or about 2.5 for Biology. If having the biology would help me more with the MCAT and med school. I am willing to do it. Any thoughts?

 

[BSN2MD]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to posting in this forum but have gained much insight from reading everyone's posts! =) So first & foremost, thankyou!

I have a question that I was hoping you RN to MD's would be able to answer.

I recently graduated with my bsn and am working as an RN on a casual basis at a university hospital...there are a lot of MD's that also act as instructors at the school.

My question is... I was thinking of working full time, but should i work full time(in the upcoming application year) at the university hospital? would this work FOR or AGAINST my application to this school? No one is aware on that unit that I am interested in pursuing medicine...

My fear is that some of the MD's opinions (if they did not like my nursing abilities) would negatively affect my application at that school.

My other option is working full time in a more autonomous role, which I am very interested in. Yet I also have loyalty ties to the current unit.

I know it sounds very complicated... but any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you..! 🙂

 

[MollyMalone]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to posting in this forum but have gained much insight from reading everyone's posts! =) So first & foremost, thankyou!

I have a question that I was hoping you RN to MD's would be able to answer.

I recently graduated with my bsn and am working as an RN on a casual basis at a university hospital...there are a lot of MD's that also act as instructors at the school.

My question is... I was thinking of working full time, but should i work full time(in the upcoming application year) at the university hospital? would this work FOR or AGAINST my application to this school? No one is aware on that unit that I am interested in pursuing medicine...

My fear is that some of the MD's opinions (if they did not like my nursing abilities) would negatively affect my application at that school.

My other option is working full time in a more autonomous role, which I am very interested in. Yet I also have loyalty ties to the current unit.

I know it sounds very complicated... but any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you..! 🙂

I think the chances that it would hurt you are small (unless you're utterly incompetent, which I'm sure you're not 🙂 ). That said, I elected not to risk it at all and decided against working at the teaching hospital in my neck o'the woods. Another factor in that decision was that I have already experienced role-transitioning in an institution and, while I made it, there were some less than pleasant moments along the way. I didn't want to deal with being the med student or the intern or the resident on a floor I'd worked on as a nurse. Sure, it's not the biggest of deals, but there were plenty of non-teaching places for me to work so I decided to avoid the issue altogether.

This is a little off topic, but since you're thinking about where to work during application year, I would advise you to make sure that at whatever job you decide to take, you are able to get adequate time off for interviewing. You don't always get a lot of options in scheduling your interview dates, so some flexibility in your job will make your life easier.

Good luck!

 

[Raven Feather]

I am also an ADN and decided not to pursue a BSN for my bachelors to get into med school. No offense fellow nurses, but I didn't think I could take any more of the nursing theorists and all. 😛 It so happened at my school, there was a Bachelor of Liberal Studies, most my nursing credits transfered over to my minor area of studies for this degree program, I chose my major area of study (natural science) and fulfilled that requirement by taking all my med school pre-reqs plus upper level science classes. I tailored the degree to meet my needs and it took less time than a bio degree. I did have to take some humanities courses which med schools tend to like to see. I was accepted in med school and start in August! Yipppeee!

Anyway, at my hospital, I can still make the same money as a BSN, even though my degree is a BLS as long as I have and ADN + bachelors degree and have the same opportunity for advancement--so it depends on the facility as far as having a BSN.

 

[albaniandoc]

I am also an ADN and decided not to pursue a BSN for my bachelors to get into med school. No offense fellow nurses, but I didn't think I could take any more of the nursing theorists and all.

I was thinking the same thing. Thank goodness the only class left for me is the Public Health. Public health does not seem to be boring. I can see how someone can choose to go another route.

 

[JourneyRn-MD]

I like your plan better than mine!!! The university does have a bachelors in 'interdisciplinary studies' which is similar that could be looked into... Congrats on your upcoming start of med school!!

I am also an ADN and decided not to pursue a BSN for my bachelors to get into med school. No offense fellow nurses, but I didn't think I could take any more of the nursing theorists and all. 😛 It so happened at my school, there was a Bachelor of Liberal Studies, most my nursing credits transfered over to my minor area of studies for this degree program, I chose my major area of study (natural science) and fulfilled that requirement by taking all my med school pre-reqs plus upper level science classes. I tailored the degree to meet my needs and it took less time than a bio degree. I did have to take some humanities courses which med schools tend to like to see. I was accepted in med school and start in August! Yipppeee!

Anyway, at my hospital, I can still make the same money as a BSN, even though my degree is a BLS as long as I have and ADN + bachelors degree and have the same opportunity for advancement--so it depends on the facility as far as having a BSN.

 

[burntcrispy]

JourneyRN-MD,

I am an RN (BSN) who went back to med school. I'm graduating in a few months and am headed to residency in Anesthesiology. As far as the BSN vs Bio degree, it's pretty much up to you.

From my experience through the process I've found that the medical schools don't really care what you have a degree in. The bio degree will be much tougher to get but more fun and rewarding in my opinion. The BSN is pretty much just writing papers about stuff that doesn't have any meaning. The bio degree is filled with studying lots of scientific details that while seeming meaningless at the time will definately help you in medical school. During the first year or so in medical school you take biochem, genetics, molecular-cellular bio, etc. I found that the science classes helped me alot for these med school classes. In medical school they teach VERY fast and do not really explain things thoroughly like in undergrad. Its up to you to learn it fast and figure it out as you go. (For instance, we covered most of a semister of college biochem in less than a week in medical school!!) Also, by getting the bio degree you will have many more science classes to boost your science GPA for medical school application if you need it. (I did) I didn't get a bio degree but only needed one half of a semister of classes to finish one. I decided not to persure it and took that time off to relax before starting medical school.

Also, if you choose not to persue medical school, I hear that the CRNA programs love the science classes. It would help set you apart from other CRNA applicants. I have several friends who are CRNAs and they are very satisfied with their careers.

Good luck with whichever route you choose.

 

[JourneyRn-MD]

update:

After 2 weeks of being crazy/irrational and meeting with advisors from numerous programs and colleges lol, I have decided to stick with my original plan, completing the BSN and pre-med courses simultaneously. All things considered, it is the right choice for me financially and time-wise with my work schedule. I'll be taking the MCAT and applying during next year's cycle, and am going to use this year to focus on my classes and keeping my GPA up.
Thanks to everyone who replied. lol I don't know what got into me : )

 

[hunter1077]

update:

After 2 weeks of being crazy/irrational and meeting with advisors from numerous programs and colleges lol, I have decided to stick with my original plan, completing the BSN and pre-med courses simultaneously. All things considered, it is the right choice for me financially and time-wise with my work schedule. I'll be taking the MCAT and applying during next year's cycle, and am going to use this year to focus on my classes and keeping my GPA up.
Thanks to everyone who replied. lol I don't know what got into me : )

Good idea!! If (God forbid) you are not accepted to medical school, nurses can do so many more things than the million bio degree grads out there. The career paths for a nurse are limitless. You can go into pham sales, poc equipment sales, hospital admin, consulting, teaching, school nurse, even research, insurance, and legal stuff are possible.
Good luck!