Another NonTrad Opinion Post

[murseterniceguy889]

Hello all,

I am currently an RN practicing on a very busy Orthopaedic Surgical unit for over a year now. Ever since practicing as an RN w/ a BSN I've found that the more I am at work the more passionate and inquisitive about Academic/ Clinical Medicine I have become. The thing is every time I bring this up to anyone (Surgeons and Nurses alike) I get brought to the same answer "Why not be an NP?". Every time I end the conversation because whoever I talk to obviously isn't understanding the circumstance. NP's are VERY competent and adequately educated for their practice but my passion is a little deeper requiring more formal prolonged education (Please APRN's don't take offense to this.) I've shadowed MD's/DO's and have no preference over either education route. The question is, is it worth it at face value for me to pursue medicine w/ less than stellar undergrad cGPA of 3.2 (due to a modified nursing school grading scale x ~60 credit hours) and having completed no premed science courses (3.33 nonrelevant sGPA at this point). If I went back and aced my premed science it would boost substantially. So my question is if I completed post bacc studies, did well on MCAT could I rescue myself and compete for a seat in a medical school DO or MD as a Non Trad?

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[Z-Qualizer]

BSN to NP is a more natural progression (and shorter path), which is probably why everyone is suggesting that to you. But there's no sense in forcing yourself down that path, if it's not what you want. You could certainly go the DO route, or even MD - others have done this (search threads for RN to DO & RN to MD).

The thing that jumps out at me is that you've completed "no premed science courses". So even if you're able to knock those out in 2 years, with stellar grades, and a solid MCAT, you're realistically 10 years away from becoming a doctor if you started today. But that might still be worth it to you... so I say, if your passion is to become a physician, then go for it!

 

[DoctorDrewOutsidetheLines]

If that's what you want to do, then go for it!

 

[gmbz]

As a RN with a BSN who was just accepted into a united states MD school I can certainly say that this is 100% possible. However there are some things that you will hear echoed on these forums daily. You are not considered special because you have a nursing background. The healthcare experience is a plus, the slew of other experiences you have from being older is a plus. These things along with the much necessary GPA and MCAT will make you a great candidate.

Your GPA is low. However there are many threads about people who have resurrected their GPA's as well as doing things like SMP programs ect. I will allow others to weigh in on these facets.

The one thing that you have to ask yourself is, if you didn't at least attempt this, would you regret it? If the answer is yes, then there is your answer.

My suggestion would be to take a science course or two (Gen Chem, or Bio) and see if you are able to ace it. If that is the case, you will have a strong case for rectifying your gpa by acing everything.

 

[murseterniceguy889]

I shouldn't say ALL courses that I have taken are non relevant. My transcript does have the typical Anatomy w/ Lab; Physiology w/ lab; and a health science chem class w/ lab that I don't really know would fulfill a medical school requirement as a "hard chemistry course" seeing as it encompassed both general chemistry and light amounts of organic chemistry in the latter half of the semester and isn't designated as either General or Organic (so I'm guessing a admission committee wouldn't understand and would err on the side of caution and say ex nay on that) But altogether time isn't necessarily a factor. I'm 23 currently and realize that I would rather invest 10 years doing something I loved rather than spend 42 years (optimistically) wondering "what if".

 

[Eccesignum]

...23. lelz.

I'm an RN. Started med school pre-reqs at 32, went through major GPA repair that involved getting an entirely new degree, just got accepted MD at 35. Will graduate medical school at 40. Do some people think I'm crazy? Yep. Have I known people for whom it was better to do shorter routes? Yep.

Was it worth it to me? Absolutely.

Only you can weigh your own options and priorities and decide that for yourself.

 

[Z-Qualizer]

Now knowing that you're only 23, which is considered YOUNG for a non-trad, I definitely say GO FOR IT!! I started my pre-med career change at 35...

I shouldn't say ALL courses that I have taken are non relevant. My transcript does have the typical Anatomy w/ Lab; Physiology w/ lab; and a health science chem class w/ lab that I don't really know would fulfill a medical school requirement as a "hard chemistry course" seeing as it encompassed both general chemistry and light amounts of organic chemistry in the latter half of the semester and isn't designated as either General or Organic (so I'm guessing a admission committee wouldn't understand and would err on the side of caution and say ex nay on that) But altogether time isn't necessarily a factor. I'm 23 currently and realize that I would rather invest 10 years doing something I loved rather than spend 42 years (optimistically) wondering "what if".