BSN, Biology or Health Science? Advice needed...

[Satyaazo]

Hey everybody! I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself and ask for advice.

I'm 31 years old and have 3 children (6 months, 3 and 4 years old), and am currently enrolled in a General Education program at a local Community College. I wanted to study medicine since I was a teenager, but never had the confidence that I could actually do it. After moving to the states from Germany (where I worked as a lab tech), I decided now is the time to just go for it.

And here is where I need some advice! The program I am in right now goes toward nursing (RN). I didn't make it into the actual nursing program this time, because I had just started to take my pre-req's for it (the way this school determines who gets into the program is the sum of your ACT score + points for grades in certain courses + loyalty points for obtaining a certain amount of credit hours at this school). I only had the ACT score to count for me. If I keep taking my pre-req's there, I will make it into the program next year, get my RN, then do a bridge program to get the BSN.
I wanted to get the BSN in case things don't work out and I won't get accepted into med school, or life just happens and I need to work full-time instead of going to med school. I am married and my husband works full-time, but who knows what's going to come our way in the future.

But I'm second guessing that route. The local University offers a Biology major as well as one in Health Science, where I could chose the pre-med track! I am very drawn to switching to one of these, especially since they will probably transfer more of my German credit hours (they will let me know what exactly they will accept sometime this week). Getting the BSN just seems like it would not get me to my goals the fastest... Kind of like taking many detours. And now I have to wait a whole year to apply again. I would take nursing and med school pre-req's during that year, but I don't think I would be able to fit all the med school pre-req's into only 1 year, plus the CC doesn't even offer everything I would need for that. So even after getting the BSN I would still not have all the classes I need for med school.
But the chances of finding a good job with just a BS in Biology or Health Science aren't as good as with a BSN. I'm torn!

I really want to become a Doctor, I can't imagine myself really being happy with any other job. But I guess I am still a little scared. Any word of advice?

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[Newtonian21]

Hey everybody! I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself and ask for advice.

I'm 31 years old and have 3 children (6 months, 3 and 4 years old), and am currently enrolled in a General Education program at a local Community College. I wanted to study medicine since I was a teenager, but never had the confidence that I could actually do it. After moving to the states from Germany (where I worked as a lab tech), I decided now is the time to just go for it.

And here is where I need some advice! The program I am in right now goes toward nursing (RN). I didn't make it into the actual nursing program this time, because I had just started to take my pre-req's for it (the way this school determines who gets into the program is the sum of your ACT score + points for grades in certain courses + loyalty points for obtaining a certain amount of credit hours at this school). I only had the ACT score to count for me. If I keep taking my pre-req's there, I will make it into the program next year, get my RN, then do a bridge program to get the BSN.
I wanted to get the BSN in case things don't work out and I won't get accepted into med school, or life just happens and I need to work full-time instead of going to med school. I am married and my husband works full-time, but who knows what's going to come our way in the future.

But I'm second guessing that route. The local University offers a Biology major as well as one in Health Science, where I could chose the pre-med track! I am very drawn to switching to one of these, especially since they will probably transfer more of my German credit hours (they will let me know what exactly they will accept sometime this week). Getting the BSN just seems like it would not get me to my goals the fastest... Kind of like taking many detours. And now I have to wait a whole year to apply again. I would take nursing and med school pre-req's during that year, but I don't think I would be able to fit all the med school pre-req's into only 1 year, plus the CC doesn't even offer everything I would need for that. So even after getting the BSN I would still not have all the classes I need for med school.
But the chances of finding a good job with just a BS in Biology or Health Science aren't as good as with a BSN. I'm torn!

I really want to become a Doctor, I can't imagine myself really being happy with any other job. But I guess I am still a little scared. Any word of advice?

Go on your kneels and ask God to fulfill his plan in your life. We can only plan but only God's plan will come to pass. If medicine is in your heart then pursue it wholeheartedly since nursing is not a science I'll go with biology

 

[SupermommyMD]

As a mother of two I understand wanting o make sure you have a back up plan in case don't go according to planned. I personally think that the BSN route is a good idea even though it is longer the longer route at least you have a piece of mind of knowing you will have job prospects. (I am actually kicking myself right now wishing I had gone that route instead of taking the science route.) Although you should probably think about these things:

• Will you absolutely hate being a nurse for the rest of your life if you are unable to get into medical school (If so don't go the BSN route).
• You will have to have a good explanation for the adcoms on why you don't want to continue with nursing and want to go to medical school.

If you go the science route it definitely is the more "riskier" route but then if everything goes right the payoff of getting to your goal faster is Great.

Only you can really decide if you want to gamble or take a safer but longer route. I personally would say go BSN route just to have that safety net since you have a family.

Best of Luck,
SupermomMD.org

 

[Satyaazo]

Go on your kneels and ask God to fulfill his plan in your life. We can only plan but only God's plan will come to pass. If medicine is in your heart then pursue it wholeheartedly since nursing is not a science I'll go with biology

Thank you Newtonian21 for your advice! I try to see me not getting into nursing school as a sign, that this is not the path I'm supposed to go. But then again it still scares me not to have anything to fall back to haha

As a mother of two I understand wanting o make sure you have a back up plan in case don't go according to planned. I personally think that the BSN route is a good idea even though it is longer the longer route at least you have a piece of mind of knowing you will have job prospects. (I am actually kicking myself right now wishing I had gone that route instead of taking the science route.) Although you should probably think about these things:

• Will you absolutely hate being a nurse for the rest of your life if you are unable to get into medical school (If so don't go the BSN route).
• You will have to have a good explanation for the adcoms on why you don't want to continue with nursing and want to go to medical school.

If you go the science route it definitely is the more "riskier" route but then if everything goes right the payoff of getting to your goal faster is Great.

Only you can really decide if you want to gamble or take a safer but longer route. I personally would say go BSN route just to have that safety net since you have a family.

Best of Luck,
SupermomMD.org

Thank you SupermommyMD for your advice! I would definitely not hate being a nurse, at least it would give me the chance to work in the healthcare field and take care of people, even though it is from a different perspective. I've read that some medical schools look down on nurses trying to switch, so your second point is a very important one to take into consideration...
May I ask, why you regret taking the science route?


Another option I was thinking about is squeezing in an EMT certification in case I decide to go the science route. That way I would be able to work and also gain some clinical experience... Any thoughts on this?

 

[RoygBiv3765]

If medicine doesn't work out, there are jobs with a Biology degree: teaching high school, research positions (there are some at the Bachelors level), tutoring, etc.

 

[Satyaazo]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, RoygBiv3765!

I start leaning towards a Biology degree... I used to work in medical and forensic labs, and I liked it. My passion is medicine so I will work hard on fullfilling my dream.
I want to thank everybody for their input ❤️ I'm excited to finally get this journey started!

 

[SupermommyMD]

Thank you Newtonian21 for your advice! I try to see me not getting into nursing school as a sign, that this is not the path I'm supposed to go. But then again it still scares me not to have anything to fall back to haha



Thank you SupermommyMD for your advice! I would definitely not hate being a nurse, at least it would give me the chance to work in the healthcare field and take care of people, even though it is from a different perspective. I've read that some medical schools look down on nurses trying to switch, so your second point is a very important one to take into consideration...
May I ask, why you regret taking the science route?


Another option I was thinking about is squeezing in an EMT certification in case I decide to go the science route. That way I would be able to work and also gain some clinical experience... Any thoughts on this?

Hey Satyaazo,

I regretted it because of the job aspect of it. There are jobs but they are low paying jobs. If I had taken the nursing route I at least would be able to make more then what I would currently be making and be able to better support my family instead of my husband being the main bread winner.

If you take the science route and you really want to be making any kind of money after you graduate and medical school does not work out... that means going back and doing a Master's degree and maybe even a PHd.

An EMT certification would work but I know a lot of EMTs (I worked for 2+ years at Emory University Hospital where I met a lot) and they found it boring and said they felt like glorified taxi drivers because the majority of the calls are non-emergency. But I think it is great training to get your foot in the door and hey when it is an Emergency call I'm sure it is very rewarding.

Best,
Cristina
SupermomMD.org

 

[SupermommyMD]

Sorry,

I also thought I mention if you do decide to take the science route. It is incredibly important to get research experience or working as a tutor or as a teacher's assistant if you want better job prospects. But again they are probably going to be low paying.

Also I don't really agree with RoygBiv on considering Biology because EVERYBODY gets a biology degree so your going to have a harder time differentiating yourself from everybody else. I would consider first Physics, then Chemistry as those will most likely give you better job prospects.

By the way I was a Neuroscience major. I loved it and learned a lot. Although it is still a growing field but depending on how long it may take you to graduate it may be a booming field!

Best,
Cristina
SupermomMD.org