Another troubled nursing student...

[cough(wo)man]

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Hello all-

I am currently a nursing student, but lately I have felt a desire to pursue other fields and make an attempt at MD school down the road. Lately I haven't been able to go a day without thinking "what if," and I'm wanting to be more proactive regarding my situation but I have no idea where to start. I have quite a few prerequisites to complete (physics, organic, pathophysiology, basically upper-level science courses) before I even consider taking a stab at the MCAT. I like the idea of completing my BSN and applying with a nursing degree as opposed to giving up the work I have already completed to start over with a new major.
I guess my whole thing is, I would love to hear from RNs that made the switch over to being an MD/applying to MD school. My GPA won't be a 4.0 by any stretch, but I still think I can be a competitive applicant when the time comes. Are summer or online science courses frowned upon? Should I be trying to shadow/volunteer at hospitals, or will my nursing clinical hours be adequate?
My thoughts are all over the place but I just do NOT want to wake up one day and regret not trying. Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Oh_Gee]

i feel like it might reflect poorly on you if you drop out of a school, especially a medically related school. Do you need the BSN for the 4 year university requirement

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

I also think you should complete your BSN, as then you can get valuable clinical experience that will a) give you a leg up on other med school applicants, and b) let you decide whether switching to medicine is right for you, whether that really is what you wish that you were doing. Being in the hospital as a RN will give you a pretty unique perspective on this.

Downside however is that med schools dislike poaching RN's, so that's one thing to think about. Not sure whether it still counts as poaching if you don't actually get a RN though.

 

[Ukpremed]

You could look at CRNA or practitioner.

 

[BamaNicole]

I agree with the previous poster who said that getting the BSN would be a good idea. You at least need a bachelor's degree to matriculate and you may find once you enter nursing that you really like it.

I was a pre-nursing student but I switched programs. I wasn't sure what i wanted to do and my nursing program (should I have applied) wouldn't let me explore other options. You sound like you're in the program so I'd just finish it. Then you can see how you feel about pursuing another realm of medicine.

 

[Grace184]

I recommend posting this question in the medical non-traditional forum(phrased differently so it wouldn't be considered "cross posting")....there are a LOT of nurses making the switch to physician and I think you could get some solid advice from some people who have been in your shoes and what they would have done differently, if anything

 

[slinquii]

I was in a similar boat as you. I'm an LPN x5 years. I was in the middle of an ADN program when I decided to not waste any more time and start taking premed classes full time. However, in your situation I would definitely finish up the RN and find a job that will be flexible while you go back to school (I had my LPN to fall back on and an extremely flexible job which is why I didn't finish). Home care is a great option for this. The clinical experience is going to be an enormous asset to you personally and on your application

Another option: Can you shorten your education and go for ADN? There are still a lot of great jobs out there depending on what you want... the hospitals around here want a BSN so I don't know how that would work for you.

Also, there's the possibility of getting an ADN and then taking online classes toward the BSN while taking premed classes

I hope this helped somewhat. Good luck and give yourself time! Better to take it slow and ensure good grades than to rush it and flub it all.

 

[samac]

I have to disagree with the posters above me. If medical school is what you want to do switch now. There is no reason to finish a degree you won't use. It won't look bad on you to switch, you just tell ten you realized nursing wasn't for you and you wanted to medical school.

On another note you need to take a good hard look at pre reqs, patho isn't a med school pre req.
You have English, bio, gen chem, physics, organic chem, calculus (sometimes calc 2), some schools require Biochem now, and some require psychology.