ARNP considering DO school

[mendinghealth]

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I graduated with my MSN in 2003 (so I'm on the older side which is kinda funny to me because I sure don't feel that way). I currently practice in Florida which is NOT an ARNP friendly state. I've been practicing in pulmonary, critical care, and gastroenterology for the last 10 years. I'm quite comfortable in the hospital or office.

I never thought that going to DO school would be an option for me. My husband is actually quite supportive.

What are the plus / minuses of going this route? I guess a few other people's perspectives might get me to think of things I hadn't yet considered.

 

[nlax30]

Are there specific aspects of your current lifestyle/job that you are not happy with?

As far as Pros/Cons of going to med school at this point here's a few off the top of my head:

Pros:
-For better or for worse you will be The Physician and ultimately the decision maker in most cases (insert admin and insurance jokes here)
-Pay bump/higher pay ceiling
-Possibly more job satisfaction? (Assuming you are currently not feeling fulfilled as an ARNP)

Cons:
-MINIMUM of 7 years commitment of extra training (assuming you can go straight into med school for 4 years than 3 year residency)
-$$ (loans, opportunity cost of losing current salary)
-Losing flexibility of practicing in different specialities unless you go back and do another residency (since you've already experienced being able to practice in different fields as an ARNP)

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It sounds more to me like your concern is about practice rights. It would probably easier just to move to a state that is supportive of your degree. You have little control over where you go to medical school and almost no control for residency. It is also a much cheaper route.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Not trying to be flippant, but isn't it way easier to just move to a state with more ARNP autonomy than borrow >$150,000, attend 4 years of medical school plus at least 3 years of residency to essentially perform the same job you do now? Last I heard it's close to half of states allow ARNPs hang-your-own-shingle-type independence.

 

[mendinghealth]

Florida is NOT NP friendly. It will be a very cold day before FPA passes here. And I don't honestly know if I agree with FPA for NPs. Even being one, I still want to be the physician. So, yes, there's a lack of satisfaction at my practice level. My husband's family is here and they are very close and getting up in years, so even if I wanted to I can't just pick up and move to a FPA state. There's a DO school 15 min from my home. I would hopefully be able to be accepted there. I got a 3.91 gpa in my master's program and good (honestly don't remember it off the top of my head) gpa in undergrad.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Depending on the school and what you took in undergrad/NP program, might require a few semesters of coursework (organic chem, physics, etc). Could take the MCAT and roll the dice on that one school. Would have to retake a bunch of classes you've already taken (clinical medicine, pharm, pathology, etc) albeit at a more granular level. Would make $0 as a medical student and less as a resident than you make now while working more hours during both phases.

I'm sure it happens, but it seems like a tough sell to the admissions committee and a huge opportunity and direct cost for a moderate bump in earning potential and responsibility.

There's also this...😉 Early Retirement Extreme Wiki

 

[mendinghealth]

I already have organic chem, physics, and such under my belt, so prereqs are already covered.

 

[Ad2b]

I might suggest altering your profile pic... prerequisite age matters at some schools but with a rock solid MCAT that might be excused.

Can’t speak for DO as I never considered them but for allo you have a tough sell as to why, and why now. That FPA won’t pass here isn’t sufficient a reason...

 

[RNthenDoc]

If you want to be a physician, I think it’s completely reasonable to go to medical school.

FL is chock full of medical education opportunities. What the people above aren’t telling you is that if you have really good stats these schools will take you. Your MCAT score will be very important as it will reflect your *current* academic prowess, so I’d shoot for >510.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

First of all, best of luck to you in whatever you choose to do. This is a difficult path to tread, a fact to which many in this thread can directly attest. Bear this in mind as you begin to investigate this further: the two aspects of your application that matter most are your MCAT score and your undergraduate GPA. All professional and life experiences, graduate work, and volunteer work are icing on the cake, but will not significantly influence an admissions committee if your test scores and undergraduate GPA are poor. It can be difficult to come to terms with this aspect of the process. I’ve known other paramedics, nurses, and mid levels who have attempted to gain admission to medical school but failed because they thought that their work experience and friendships with physicians would somehow set them above undergrads with superior stats.

If you do this, thoroughly investigate the course requirements of any program to which you intend to apply. Some schools have limits to how long your coursework is valid; e.g. if you took organic chemistry more than 7 years ago you may have to retake it. Also, study very hard for the MCAT - this is not a test that you want to take more than once. Do not count on letters of recommendation from physicians you know - you will need references from faculty members who have taught you (usually in what AMCAS and AACOMAS consider to be science courses). Also note that many DO programs are for-profit and are extremely expensive to attend. Finally, be very wary of putting all of your eggs in one basket - apply broadly if you really want to be a physician. Be willing to move across the country, if necessary. This is the incredibly stressful truth behind applying to medical school: you are not a shoo-in anywhere and if you’re not willing to do what it takes to get in, why bother?

I really hope that this doesn’t come across as unduly harsh, as it was definitely not my intent to be coarse or rude. But this is not something you should do unless you are deeply committed and prepared work extremely hard (potentially for several years if you have coursework deficiencies, as I did) even before you are accepted. I’ll be starting this fall, so I cannot speak to how rigorous the coursework is once you begin medical school, but I imagine it only gets harder for a while. I really do wish you the very best!

 

[mendinghealth]

I'll call the local school this week for more info. Undergrad gpa 3.63, master's gpa 3.91. Are those numbers acceptable?

 

[Ad2b]

Masters is mostly irrelevant. UGPA is fine, nail the MCAT. Without the MCAT, it's hard for anyone to say.

 

[Ho0v-man]

To echo the above information, my oldest pre req coursework was only 7-8 years old when I applied and it gave me significant difficulty when applying.

I used wikipremed to reteach me all those mcat topics I totally forgot. Best of luck.

 

[nlax30]

I certainly don't think doing well in a Masters in her case is "irrelevant". While this is SDN, I wouldn't get caught up in if an UGPA 3.63 vs 3.73 will make or break you or other specifics. That's in the past and what's done is done. If you have the requisite basic science courses done then that's the important thing and then will need to focus on doing well on the MCAT. It's been a while since I applied but you should also look at school specifics and see how recent they want the science pre-reqs to be.

Honestly you're kind of in a unique situation having practiced already for 10 years. In my mind you likely have a much more clear and realistic view of what being a physician is like than the typical pre-med who spends some free time shadowing or volunteering to gain "clinical experience". So to me you already have the answer down as to why this and why now..... you've seen the differences and want to be the physician.

That said, I could definitely see some more traditional allopathic schools not giving you much of a look if your science pre-reqs were remote. I think the DO schools here would certainly be a good option as I had several second career classmates.

 

[mendinghealth]

I would say that my experience allows me to have a very clear and realistic view of what to expect as a practicing physician. I have had to tell families that their loved one has died, I've held the hand of a patient and comforted the actively dying who had no family coming to be with them, delivered bad news and good news, intubated in an emergency, ran codes, managed critical medications, dealt with the darn receptionist overbooking the office by mistake (and the irritated patients as a result of said overbooking). I've collaborated with other physicians on complicated cases where the diagnosis was unknown or really unusual. But, I'm not the doctor. I'm more of a helper, assistant - granted a better paid and educated assistant, but an assistant none the less.

I don't see requirements listed for timeline of prereqs on their website and I know that I'd have to buckle down to do well on the MCAT.

 

[GUH]

I would say that my experience allows me to have a very clear and realistic view of what to expect as a practicing physician. I have had to tell families that their loved one has died, I've held the hand of a patient and comforted the actively dying who had no family coming to be with them, delivered bad news and good news, intubated in an emergency, ran codes, managed critical medications, dealt with the darn receptionist overbooking the office by mistake (and the irritated patients as a result of said overbooking). I've collaborated with other physicians on complicated cases where the diagnosis was unknown or really unusual. But, I'm not the doctor. I'm more of a helper, assistant - granted a better paid and educated assistant, but an assistant none the less.

I don't see requirements listed for timeline of prereqs on their website and I know that I'd have to buckle down to do well on the MCAT.

If you can afford to and really want to make the lifestyle and financial sacrifice, go for it!
Just understand that while your clinical experience will likely help you out eventually, during the first two years you're going to have to study like crazy since a lot of the material is stuff that doesn't come up much in clinical practice.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

I'll call the local school this week for more info. Undergrad gpa 3.63, master's gpa 3.91. Are those numbers acceptable?

I think those numbers are great. Make sure that there are no “statutes of limitations” on your classes and then absolutely dominate the MCAT. You need to wow them with your score. If you’re planning on doing this during the coming year, start studying now and really put in the time.

 

[dushash]

I might suggest altering your profile pic... prerequisite age matters at some schools but with a rock solid MCAT that might be excused.

Can’t speak for DO as I never considered them but for allo you have a tough sell as to why, and why now. That FPA won’t pass here isn’t sufficient a reason...

Hey Ad2b, are you applying this cycle? How was your MCAT? Thank you