considering transfering & going for BSN

[brgotch]

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I'm currently a sophomore pre-med majoring in zoology/minoring in spanish. Lately I've started considering changing my major to nursing. The problem is that in order to do that, I would have to transfer to a different school. I had a rough freshman year, and my GPA is not where it should be- I'm expecting just under a 3.0 after I finish this semester and a summer class. So my problem is that if I do transfer to a school with a nursing program, I will most likely not get into a large, well-respected school due to my GPA.
So I'm wondering, If I transfer into a smaller school- not a community college, but smaller and less known- and major in nursing, will it be harder for me to be taken seriously when it comes time to apply for med school?

 

[lord_jeebus]

If you are serious about going into medicine, do not get a nursing degree.

It will not help you and may hurt you.

EDIT: some people in this thread are more supportive of the idea. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=363119

 

[Yourmother]

The BSN plan makes not sense. Besides, you're taking up a nursing slot for someone who wants to become a nurse.

 

[Maxprime]

Bad idea

 

[searun]

The nursing degree is a bad idea if you want to be a doc. If you want to be a nurse, then be a nurse, but if you do not want to be a nurse, then just apply to med school.

It is pretty obvious. This is a really crappy idea if you want to go to med school.

And yes, I like and respect nurses.

 

[hermit]

Another one bites the dust.

 

[brgotch]

you're taking up a nursing slot for someone who wants to become a nurse.

this is a good point.
Anyone else care to elaborate? I appreciate the input, but could you give me a little more reasoning behind it?

 

[lord_jeebus]

this is a good point.
Anyone else care to elaborate? I appreciate the input, but could you give me a little more reasoning behind it?

This country has a shortage of nurses.

There is an expectation that everyone in a nursing program will use that training to become a nurse. There is a finite number of training spots available.

If you do not intend to work as a nurse after nursing school, that is one less nurse in the future workforce.

 

[brgotch]

This country has a shortage of nurses.

There is an expectation that everyone in a nursing program will use that training to become a nurse. There is a finite number of training spots available.

If you do not intend to work as a nurse after nursing school, that is one less nurse in the future workforce.

From the little research I've been able to do so far i've found that in oklahoma there are at least a few nursing programs that will accept anyone who meets their entrance requirements and have no limits on how many students they will accept.

 

[Farmer Jane]

There is no such thing as an unlimited nursing program. Clinical instructors can only legally supervise 8 students (that may have changed since I attended). There are never unlimited spots.

 

[diosa428]

Try a search. Using nursing as a premed major has been discussed repeatedly on this forum.

Also, why do you want to change your major to nursing? Do you want to work as a nurse ever, or do you just want to use it as a premed major? There's really no point in going through the hassle of transferring for a degree that you're never going to use.

 

[searun]

I suppose it is possible that someone who has been a nurse for x number of years wants to become a doctor, and does in fact become a doctor, I get that, but the idea of someone studying nursing as a strategy to become a doctor, well, that is just peculiar, sorry, but it is.

Just nut up, do the prereqs, and apply to medical school, do not try to get in through the back door.

 

[brgotch]

I just figured it would give me a lot of good experience that would help me get a little bit of a head start on the med school curriculum and give me some good clinical experience. I also thought it would be nice to have a somewhat temporary job in nursing if I couldn't get into a school I liked right away, but I'm not interested in making a career of it.
Thanks for the responses, everybody.

 

[njbmd]

I just figured it would give me a lot of good experience that would help me get a little bit of a head start on the med school curriculum and give me some good clinical experience. I also thought it would be nice to have a somewhat temporary job in nursing if I couldn't get into a school I liked right away, but I'm not interested in making a career of it.
Thanks for the responses, everybody.

Nursing school will not give you a "head start" on the medical school curriculum. Nursing classes are quite far from medicine or medical school in terms of coursework and prepare you to practice nursing. Needless to say, while some nurses elect to make a career switch and enter medical school, nursing and medicine are very, very different.

If you wish to work as a nurse, then change your major and attend nursing school as that is the preparation for nursing. If medicine is your goal, nursing is likely to put you further from it and not closer and nursing to medicine is a major career switch. You are far better taking your pre medicine pre-reqs and getting your uGPA high enough (in a major that you love) to become competitive for medical school. You can also get clinical experience on a volunteer basis and thus nursing is not needed for that.

Keep in mind that plenty of folks who had a rough freshman year are able to work hard and over come that rough year. Also keep in mind that going into nursing is not necessarily going to be "easier" than staying where you are but it will be different and you may not "thrive" in a different atmosphere especially if it does not lead to the goal that you ultimately seek.