finish out nursing degree?

[alizarin]

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Hi everyone,
I am 29, married with 2 small children, and I already have a BA in Fine Art from a few years back. I came back to school with the goal of getting an advanced nursing degree and eventually practicing as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Now I have 2 more years of nursing school left to complete my BSN. After a lot of thought over the past year, and with some experience in the hospital setting under my belt, I realized I wanted to be like a CNM, but with a more in-depth understanding of physiology, more autonomy, a greater scope of practice, and more flexibility as far as which clients I see and the geographic location of my practice. This sounds a lot like...an OB/GYN. So my direction has shifted. I am certain about this. I do not want to be an NP, a PA, a CRNA, etc. My husband is very supportive.
I have been working in med school pre-reqs among my nursing courses, and I am now at the point where from here on out I will have to take my pre-reqs in the summers because of scheduling conflicts with the nursing classes. The earliest I could finish my pre-reqs is May of '09 if I continue in the nursing program, but December or maybe even August of '07 if I just get out of nursing and focus on the pre-reqs. I feel silly continuing with this and putting my family through the extra stress and years of school when I don't want to be a nurse.
I wouldn't want to try to combine working 12 hour shifts as an RN with finishing the med school pre-reqs with spending time with my family unless it became absolutely necessary financially, and fortunately that is unlikely. Reasons to stay the course include having more background knowledge and experience that may be helpful in med school. Also, it is good to have a back-up plan. That said, I have made A's in every course I have taken since returnng to school, and I am reasonably confident I will do well in the rest of my pre-reqs, but then again, I have not taken Physics or the MCAT yet.
I plan on talking to a pre-med advisor about this, but I wanted to see if any of you had any thoughts on whether it may be worth it to stick with what I started. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions are welcome!

 

[FutureDocDO]

Two years is a long time. If it was me I'd apply while in nursing school. If accepted I'd quit nursing school. You wouldn't list your credentials as RN, MD/DO. Just an opinion.

Hi everyone,
I am 29, married with 2 small children, and I already have a BA in Fine Art from a few years back. I came back to school with the goal of getting an advanced nursing degree and eventually practicing as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Now I have 2 more years of nursing school left to complete my BSN. After a lot of thought over the past year, and with some experience in the hospital setting under my belt, I realized I wanted to be like a CNM, but with a more in-depth understanding of physiology, more autonomy, a greater scope of practice, and more flexibility as far as which clients I see and the geographic location of my practice. This sounds a lot like...an OB/GYN. So my direction has shifted. I am certain about this. I do not want to be an NP, a PA, a CRNA, etc. My husband is very supportive.
I have been working in med school pre-reqs among my nursing courses, and I am now at the point where from here on out I will have to take my pre-reqs in the summers because of scheduling conflicts with the nursing classes. The earliest I could finish my pre-reqs is May of '09 if I continue in the nursing program, but December or maybe even August of '07 if I just get out of nursing and focus on the pre-reqs. I feel silly continuing with this and putting my family through the extra stress and years of school when I don't want to be a nurse.
I wouldn't want to try to combine working 12 hour shifts as an RN with finishing the med school pre-reqs with spending time with my family unless it became absolutely necessary financially, and fortunately that is unlikely. Reasons to stay the course include having more background knowledge and experience that may be helpful in med school. Also, it is good to have a back-up plan. That said, I have made A's in every course I have taken since returnng to school, and I am reasonably confident I will do well in the rest of my pre-reqs, but then again, I have not taken Physics or the MCAT yet.
I plan on talking to a pre-med advisor about this, but I wanted to see if any of you had any thoughts on whether it may be worth it to stick with what I started. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions are welcome!

 

[mamadoc]

My own take on this is that you should switch out of the nursing degree program, just do your prereqs, and get on with getting into med school. You will see lots of advice here and elsewhere about "finishing what you've started," but in fact you have only dipped your toe into the "nursing waters," if you will, and the experience you've gotten has shown you where you'd really like to be. And it's not like you don't already have a bachelor's degree - you don't NEED that BSN in order to be a qualified applicant. So the "finish a degree program" advice doesn't need to apply to you.

Nursing school is not going to help you get into, or do well in, medical school. (trust me, I'm an ex-nurse.) Follow your gut - you sound like you know the answer already. Good luck!

 

[DrMom]

Seems like your time would be better spent focusing on the pre-reqs for med school. I'm with the quit nursing school crowd. 🙂

 

[njbmd]

Hi everyone,
I am 29, married with 2 small children, and I already have a BA in Fine Art from a few years back. I came back to school with the goal of getting an advanced nursing degree and eventually practicing as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Now I have 2 more years of nursing school left to complete my BSN. After a lot of thought over the past year, and with some experience in the hospital setting under my belt, I realized I wanted to be like a CNM, but with a more in-depth understanding of physiology, more autonomy, a greater scope of practice, and more flexibility as far as which clients I see and the geographic location of my practice. This sounds a lot like...an OB/GYN. So my direction has shifted. I am certain about this. I do not want to be an NP, a PA, a CRNA, etc. My husband is very supportive.
I have been working in med school pre-reqs among my nursing courses, and I am now at the point where from here on out I will have to take my pre-reqs in the summers because of scheduling conflicts with the nursing classes. The earliest I could finish my pre-reqs is May of '09 if I continue in the nursing program, but December or maybe even August of '07 if I just get out of nursing and focus on the pre-reqs. I feel silly continuing with this and putting my family through the extra stress and years of school when I don't want to be a nurse.
I wouldn't want to try to combine working 12 hour shifts as an RN with finishing the med school pre-reqs with spending time with my family unless it became absolutely necessary financially, and fortunately that is unlikely. Reasons to stay the course include having more background knowledge and experience that may be helpful in med school. Also, it is good to have a back-up plan. That said, I have made A's in every course I have taken since returnng to school, and I am reasonably confident I will do well in the rest of my pre-reqs, but then again, I have not taken Physics or the MCAT yet.
I plan on talking to a pre-med advisor about this, but I wanted to see if any of you had any thoughts on whether it may be worth it to stick with what I started. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions are welcome!

Hi there,
If your heart isn't into nursing, then get out of that program and move on with your pre-med courses. I would strongly caution you about trying to take your pre-reqs during summer session. The compressed time makes in-depth learning pretty difficult. You need to not only learn the material but you need to learn it well enough to apply it to the problems that you will encounter on the MCAT. Fall and Spring semesters are far better for in-depth learning.

Even if it takes you a bit longer, hold out and keep your average up. You do not want to risk your good GPA now for the sake of time savings.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[psychRN]

I am an RN with an ADN degree. The only reason I am finishing my BSN is because I need a bachelors to apply. After meeting with the dean of the adcom, he advised me to get whichever degree that I could finish quickly and then work on my prereqs. So I only needed a yr for the RN-BSN program. Then a yr for the prereqs. I definitely would not do all that time for a nursing degree that I did not even want. You already have a bachelor's, finish your prereqs. Sounds to me that you are leaning more of that way anyway. Nursing will be there for you to go back to if you like. Get on with what you are called to do at this point. Time is of the essence...

 

[MollyMalone]

Casting my vote for quit nursing school!

Good luck to you!

 

[md2011]

Hi everyone,
I am 29, married with 2 small children, and I already have a BA in Fine Art from a few years back. I came back to school with the goal of getting an advanced nursing degree and eventually practicing as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Now I have 2 more years of nursing school left to complete my BSN.

Wait, why don't you go for the accelerated BSN, which just cost you a year. If I were you, I would finish off nursing first, so get a full time job very quickly. While doing nursing and earning some money, continue on the pre-requisite and preparing MCAT at a comfortable pace. The employer might pay you tuition fee as well. When you apply med school, you also have a good job to rely on. You are only 29.

 

[1Path]

Wait, why don't you go for the accelerated BSN, which just cost you a year. If I were you, I would finish off nursing first, so get a full time job very quickly. While doing nursing and earning some money, continue on the pre-requisite and preparing MCAT at a comfortable pace. The employer might pay you tuition fee as well. When you apply med school, you also have a good job to rely on. You are only 29.

I agree with this post too!

 

[alizarin]

I really appreciate everyone's input. I know that as nontraditional students you all can relate to how daunting it can seem to take risks, especially when your family will also be affected by your decisions.

Now I feel a little less crazy for wanting to completely let go of my first plan. I did have someone advise me to finish what I started, but as someone pointed out, I already have a bachelor's so that doesn't apply to me so much.

Thanks again, everyone 🙂

 

[alizarin]

Oh, I didn't see a couple of posts earlier. Maybe I would be more inclined to finish the BSN if we really needed the money from me working full-time as soon as possible. However, for me at this point, working full-time as an RN plus taking pre-reqs plus studying for MCAT plus trying to be there for my husband and 2 little guys would just be adding unnecessary stress I think. If I did want to do that, the accelerated BSN sounds like a good idea. Thanks! 🙂

 

[PhDtoDO]

Most of my closest friends in medicine went into nursing, accept one friend who is into research like me.


I don't think the BSN will help you at all get into med school and you can certainly learn all of the 'extras' in med school especially with your background.

I have a masters and in a few weeks a phd...much harder than med school, trust me. I've wanted to quit a thousand times, but I need this degree and the experience to do clinical research later...it wasn't just to get into med school.

Unless you see yourself teaching nursing school (even then you don't need it) or need the BSN behind your name, or you really really want it....

You need to decide if its worth it...is it only a little bit more than your pre-reqs...will it trade off time with your family or effect your grades? will you have to wait another painful year to apply to med school when you want it now?

This is stuff that you really need to decide. Having other degrees I see how you've already put a lot into it, and I'm so stubborn, I've really never quit anything, but looking back, there were better ways for me to acheive my goals without the pain and anguish. I don't regret it now-but its done.

Best of luck@!

Either way, I'm sure you'll be fine. And remember, you're still young and have apparently done a lot with your years, so don't stress about doing it all at once, especially while your kids are young.

PhDtoDO

 

[psychRN]

If I did want to do that, the accelerated BSN sounds like a good idea. Thanks! 🙂

Unless I am mistakened, the accelerated BSN only applies to those who are already RNs with associate degrees.

 

[MollyMalone]

Unless I am mistakened, the accelerated BSN only applies to those who are already RNs with associate degrees.

There are some schools that have an accelerated program for those who already have a bachelor's. The one I know best is, I think, a year and a half.

 

[tara14]

Unless I am mistakened, the accelerated BSN only applies to those who are already RNs with associate degrees.

Well there are accelerated BSN programs for those with RNs (associate level) already but there are also accelerated BSN programs for those that already have a bachelors degree. They are typically a 1 year program.

 

[mshheaddoc]

The BSNs for 2nd degree candidates vary from accelerated (9 months - 14/16 months) to two years from what I have seen.

 

[chopstick1]

alizarin, I did something similiar, did a BSN program, went back for pre med for 3 yrs. (I am 33 now) the pro of doing that is getting experience, money, and good LOR's, plus it was a career. the con though is it's tough balancing everything. above all else the most important thing is maxing the mcat and grades. everything else is just extra. but if i had to do it all over again...I wouldn't change a thing

 

[babycapybara]

i'm in the same situation as you. I was accepted into an accelerated BSN program starting this fall but I decided to defer it for a year while I finish my med school pre-reqs and take the MCATS. I'm lucky that my school allows me to do this. I feel less like I'm taking a huge risk and if I don't get into med school or change my mind I know I can start nursing school next year.

I thought about doing the nursing program this year, then working and taking classes for a year. But why become a nurse if I only end up working in the field for one or two years? I'm sure it would be great experience, but I would rather just go for med school now and not delay it another 2-3 years.

 

[chrisjohn]

I thought about doing the nursing program this year, then working and taking classes for a year. But why become a nurse if I only end up working in the field for one or two years? I'm sure it would be great experience, but I would rather just go for med school now and not delay it another 2-3 years.

RNs can work ANYWHERE. The money isn't bad either. I had to work two years after completing a MS and I can tell you I wish I would have gone to nursing school instead of GS. Double the money with a 3rd of the effort.

Sooooooo, I'd finish. Matriculating may take longer than you expect.