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How would you prepare for medical school?

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First, ease it with the martyr complex.

Second, if medical school is your goal you should drop the nursing classes because medical school won't recognize nursing science courses as pre-med pre reqs. If the gen chem 1, bio 1 + labs you took were strictly pre-med and not associated with nursing then those can probably fulfill the requirements for most medical schools. Instead of your one hour commute, find a community college or preferably an accredited 4 year-university where you can finish out the pre-reqs and then take your MCAT.
 
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First, ease it with the martyr complex.

Second, if medical school is your goal you should drop the nursing classes because medical school won't recognize nursing science courses as pre-med pre reqs. If the gen chem 1, bio 1 + labs you took were strictly pre-med and not associated with nursing then those can probably fulfill the requirements for most medical schools. Instead of your one hour commute, find a community college or preferably an accredited 4 year-university where you can finish out the pre-reqs and then take your MCAT.

There’s no such thing as “pre-Med” biology or chemistry.

The common flavors are allied health (intro level used for undergraduate health science programs), and “majors-level,” which are the standard level bio and Chem courses. These are easily identifiable: “Allied health” classes don’t come in “level 1, level 2” flavors.

I used nursing science degrees as my undergrad. As a result, I was accepted to 5 medical schools including a goal allopathic program. Further, my job has allowed me to be DEBT FREE and to build a retirement fund and savings that will work to help me pay for medical school.

RN to MD/DO isn’t for anyone, but it absolutely CAN be done and has tangible benefits.
 
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...One more thing: Working as an RN has cemented that I KNOW I want to be an MD.

If more premeds did my path, they might decide they don’t want to do it and save years of their lives and hundreds of thousands in debt.

Plus, for me, I wasn’t ready to start medical school when I was 22, for a number of reasons.

Again, NOT A PATH EVERYONE SHOULD PURSUE, but I don’t regret it at all, and it seems there’s a glut of us on SDN who feel the same.
 
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There’s no such thing as “pre-Med” biology or chemistry.

The common flavors are allied health (intro level used for undergraduate health science programs), and “majors-level,” which are the standard level bio and Chem courses. These are easily identifiable: “Allied health” classes don’t come in “level 1, level 2” flavors.

I used nursing science degrees as my undergrad. As a result, I was accepted to 5 medical schools including a goal allopathic program. Further, my job has allowed me to be DEBT FREE and to build a retirement fund and savings that will work to help me pay for medical school.

RN to MD/DO isn’t for anyone, but it absolutely CAN be done and has tangible benefits.
Actually buddy there is a difference between the pre-med and nursing variants of those courses; I don't know what school you went to. You're giving OP anecdotal advice, for their best interests they should skip the nursing route if they know MD is the goal.

They seem pretty set on becoming a physician so what is the point of getting a degree they won't use?? I guess when OP finishes their nursing degree they'll automatically become debt free and have a retirement savings just like you!

Time is money, and if they can get a degree and apply ASAP they should do it.
 
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Actually buddy there is a difference between the pre-med and nursing variants of those courses; I don't know what school you went to. You're giving OP anecdotal advice, for their best interests they should skip the nursing route if they know MD is the goal.

They seem pretty set on becoming a physician so what is the point of getting a degree they won't use?? I guess when OP finishes their nursing degree they'll automatically become debt free and have a retirement savings just like you!

Time is money, and if they can get a degree and apply ASAP they should do it.

READ MOAR.

Yes, there is a difference. However, Athere is no such thing as “nursing chemistry” or “pre-Med biology.” Most places don’t even offer a degree in “premed.” It’s typically done with a degree and a “pre Med focus” I.E. “Biology w/ Premed Focus”

But please continue trying to talk down to me.

Time is money, I won’t be replying to your comments again.
 
READ MOAR.

Yes, there is a difference. However, Athere is no such thing as “nursing chemistry” or “pre-Med biology.” Most places don’t even offer a degree in “premed.” It’s typically done with a degree and a “pre Med focus” I.E. “Biology w/ Premed Focus”

But please continue trying to talk down to me.

Time is money, I won’t be replying to your comments again.
For the sake of addressing your cluelessness I never stated premed was a major, at most schools there are variants of every course for nursing, premed and engineering.

Sorry I triggered you snowflake
 
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I didn't take any "nursing" courses. I took algebra 161, English 101, medical microbiology and lab, Zoology 251/252/253/254 (a&p and lab), statistics, etc. There weren't any "watered down" nursing classes that I'm aware of.
 
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READ MOAR.

Yes, there is a difference. However, Athere is no such thing as “nursing chemistry” or “pre-Med biology.” Most places don’t even offer a degree in “premed.” It’s typically done with a degree and a “pre Med focus” I.E. “Biology w/ Premed Focus”

But please continue trying to talk down to me.

Time is money, I won’t be replying to your comments again.

My school (University of Miami) had "life sciences chemistry" for nursing students which didn't count for Gen Chem 1 so I did indeed have to go back and do 99% of the med school requirements minus Bio 1.
 
Yeah, nursing is good to pay the bills. 110,000 right out of school with a 2 year education sure beat what I was making as a specialist in the Army working much harder.
 
Holy smokes, you must live in a well-compensated area - that's CRNA starting money where I live, and well over new NP compensation. I started out under $50k/year... only manage to crack $85k working at least 48-60 hours per week. Good for you. :)
Oh nah, I live in Louisiana. But starting pay is 24 an hour, 5.25 for nights 6 for weekends, plenty of double ep pay (emergency pay, when my unit has 8 nurses and is calling for 10)which is 20.00 an hour extra, and overtime is time and a half.
 
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My job has the same starting pay, but way less impressive shift diffs/incentive pay ($4/hr nights, $1.25/weekends, and we're fully staffed now so the overtime is gone). Either way, it still pays way more than just about anything else you can do as a premed.
I think we will have overtime for awhile, just had 3 nurses quit to go do travel nursing. Did you get a sign on bonus? I got 10,000 for a 2 yr contract
 
Nah, they weren't short when I started. Some units in my facility were, but I'm picky about where I'm willing to work. They did pay for my relocation expenses, though, so at least I got something.

In general, I try to stay away from places with sign on bonuses. The money is nice, but there's usually a reason the place has a sign on bonus in the first place, and it's not because it's a great place to work. My first job was offering $25k for a while, and I know exactly why they were doing that. :laugh:
The hospital I work at is actually the second best place to work in the state. The local women's hospital is probably the best with a starting pay of 27 an hour, 6/6 differentials, and multi thousand dollar Christmas bonuses yearly. This hospital is a 800+ bed Franciscan magnet hospital. There are only a couple of other hospitals in the state I would be willing to work at. I think our state is just plain short.
 
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Yeah, nursing is good to pay the bills. 110,000 right out of school with a 2 year education sure beat what I was making as a specialist in the Army working much harder.

Ayyyyye yiii yiii... 110k, I don't even know how that's possible. I was calculating my base salary for work history for my residency job application they're making me fill out and even with prime pool float differential I'm making $38/hr right now with some bonus bucks here and there... and then there was the reality check that my current RN salary is 76k vs the 52k I'll be making as a PGY1 starting in July. Ouch.
 
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Ayyyyye yiii yiii... 110k, I don't even know how that's possible. I was calculating my base salary for work history for my residency job application they're making me fill out and even with prime pool float differential I'm making $38/hr right now with some bonus bucks here and there... and then there was the reality check that my current RN salary is 76k vs the 52k I'll be making as a PGY1 starting in July. Ouch.
Well my base pay was 24.00 per hour, with 5.25 for nights and 6.00 for weekends that I work as often as possible since I have no preference. I probably end up working at least 1/4 of my days on weekends let's say 0.25*6=1.5+5.25+24=30.75 I worked 39 hours a week (incidental overtime) so working just my 3 days a week would have been 1200 weekly, or 62,361 a year. I usually picked up at least 2 shifts a week, and the majority of those hours were over the overtime mark, which ends up being 45.36 an hour, or 1,180 extra per week (I never work less than 13 hours per night). Right here, that's an extra 61,347 per year. And that's not throwing in double ep days which I always got at least 1 per month. It's pretty easy at my hospital for a single young nurse to make bank.

Taxes sure suck though. And I'm only pulling the minimum full time hours now, what with being a full time student, autopsy tech, and shadowing.
 
Yeah, nursing is good to pay the bills. 110,000 right out of school with a 2 year education sure beat what I was making as a specialist in the Army working much harder.


That's more than I make as an NP!!!!!
 
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That's more than I make as an NP!!!!!
You probably worked much less and aren't forced to work nights though. When I made this much, I was working a minimum of 52 hours a week and sometimes 78 hours a week. Now what's nice is my coworker has been an RN for 15 years. She showed me her w2, and she pulled 109,000 last year. The kicker is, she only pulled an average of 48 hours a week. 35 base pay, 5.25 nights, 6 weekends, and she ONLY picks up double ep shifts. She wants to become an NP just for the accomplishment but said she would take a pay cut if she did.

I miss the money but BSN and stuff... at least the VFW is paying for it.
 
How would you prepare for medical school?
I'm an RN with a BSN and am pre med right now (will apply next july). I would keep your grades up >3.6 and get some good experience while you're at it. I've done pediatric surgical trauma for 3 years and am very close to the doctors that I work with. I am about to start shadowing them and will get letters of rec from them. Your experience as a nurse will be invaluable to you as you will see both aspects of medicine as well as understand the nurse to physician dynamic. Good luck!
 
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I'm an RN with a BSN and am pre med right now (will apply next july). I would keep your grades up >3.6 and get some good experience while you're at it. I've done pediatric surgical trauma for 3 years and am very close to the doctors that I work with. I am about to start shadowing them and will get letters of rec from them. Your experience as a nurse will be invaluable to you as you will see both aspects of medicine as well as understand the nurse to physician dynamic. Good luck!
Unfortunately LSU says they don't want Lor from friends, family or doctors that you work with
 
I didn't take any "nursing" courses. I took algebra 161, English 101, medical microbiology and lab, Zoology 251/252/253/254 (a&p and lab), statistics, etc. There weren't any "watered down" nursing classes that I'm aware of.


I think this is an issue with some programs and not with others; hence the years and tons of confusion over it. Example, my microbiology courses were the same taken by other biology students, period, end of story. You just have to know the specifics of what you are taking and what that means academically. It's kind of frustrating. Sarcasm: Yes. All nurses are stupid and must take dumbed down courses for general sciences requirement. LOL. Whatever.
 
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That's more than I make as an NP!!!!!

Depending on where you work and years of experience, one can clearly make over 6 figures FT. We have a number of NPs working with us as fellow RNs in infusion b/c they make 6 figures and their hours aren't as long, demanding and the BS doesn't run as deep as it does when they work as NPs. I think acute/critical healthcare beats the heck up out of people after a while, and so, it doesn't really matter what their advanced education is in....they just want to have some semblance of a life and a decent income.
 
You probably worked much less and aren't forced to work nights though. When I made this much, I was working a minimum of 52 hours a week and sometimes 78 hours a week. Now what's nice is my coworker has been an RN for 15 years. She showed me her w2, and she pulled 109,000 last year. The kicker is, she only pulled an average of 48 hours a week. 35 base pay, 5.25 nights, 6 weekends, and she ONLY picks up double ep shifts. She wants to become an NP just for the accomplishment but said she would take a pay cut if she did.

I miss the money but BSN and stuff... at least the VFW is paying for it.

Many NPs, especially in say specialty ICU coverage like CT, etc, work nights and deal with a lot of crap, and still have to stick round for rounds until late in the morning. It all depends on what you do as an NP.
 
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Unfortunately LSU says they don't want Lor from friends, family or doctors that you work with


PS. And that is BS too. Who knows you like the the docs and such with whom you work? Whatever.
 
Depending on where you work and years of experience, one can clearly make over 6 figures FT. We have a number of NPs working with us as fellow RNs in infusion b/c they make 6 figures and their hours aren't as long, demanding and the BS doesn't run as deep as it does when they work as NPs. I think acute/critical healthcare beats the heck up out of people after a while, and so, it doesn't really matter what their advanced education is in....they just want to have some semblance of a life and a decent income.
This is one thing I want but I fear getting my MD may be kicking myself in the teeth when it comes to family life.
 
PS. And that is BS too. Who knows you like the the docs and such with whom you work? Whatever.
They don't want Lor from physicians. Only prereq course instructors
 
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I think this is an issue with some programs and not with others; hence the years and tons of confusion over it. Example, my microbiology courses were the same taken by other biology students, period, end of story. You just have to know the specifics of what you are taking and what that means academically. It's kind of frustrating. Sarcasm: Yes. All nurses are stupid and must take dumbed down courses for general sciences requirement. LOL. Whatever.

My biology, chemistry, and microbiology classes were all pre-med, health sciences, and nursing students but were on different grading curves and ultimately considered different. Depends on the school.
 
There’s no such thing as “pre-Med” biology or chemistry.

The common flavors are allied health (intro level used for undergraduate health science programs), and “majors-level,” which are the standard level bio and Chem courses. These are easily identifiable: “Allied health” classes don’t come in “level 1, level 2” flavors.

I used nursing science degrees as my undergrad. As a result, I was accepted to 5 medical schools including a goal allopathic program. Further, my job has allowed me to be DEBT FREE and to build a retirement fund and savings that will work to help me pay for medical school.

RN to MD/DO isn’t for anyone, but it absolutely CAN be done and has tangible benefits.


Hey I’m not sure if you’re going to see this and reply but I’m going to try my luck because what you did sounds exactly like what I am planning on doing. Also I need advice. So I am currently in high school, and I’m going to have to start applying very soon. I want to apply to a nursing undergrad, then apply to med school after a year or two, when I’ve has some experience and saved up money. The thing is though, I’ve done some research and a lot say that med school don’t specifically prefer applicants who did a nursing undergrad because it’s kind of like being indecisive career wise or whatever. Is that true? Did you find it hard applying to med school and getting accepted? If so what helped you? And I really do prefer doing an undergrad in nursing because you’re learning and applying the work in the same time and I find it way more interesting than an undergrad in bio. Which would you recommend?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I appreciate it.
 
Hey I’m not sure if you’re going to see this and reply but I’m going to try my luck because what you did sounds exactly like what I am planning on doing. Also I need advice. So I am currently in high school, and I’m going to have to start applying very soon. I want to apply to a nursing undergrad, then apply to med school after a year or two, when I’ve has some experience and saved up money. The thing is though, I’ve done some research and a lot say that med school don’t specifically prefer applicants who did a nursing undergrad because it’s kind of like being indecisive career wise or whatever. Is that true? Did you find it hard applying to med school and getting accepted? If so what helped you? And I really do prefer doing an undergrad in nursing because you’re learning and applying the work in the same time and I find it way more interesting than an undergrad in bio. Which would you recommend?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I appreciate it.

Every admissions person is different. I was accepted to 5 schools, so they must not have all hated nurses.
 
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