former premed, currently an RN, and want to get into med school

[soon to be doc]

Hi guys, I am new to this website and this is my first post, which I posting because I could not find advise anywhere else no the web for my situation. Anyway, I graduated back in 2011 as a premed with a BS in biology, but unfortunately my GPA was not the best (3.0, mostly due to a terrible start in my college career), so I eventually changed careers to nursing. My goal is and has always been medicine, but I do enjoy nursing very much and take it very seriously. I am currently studying for my MCAT.

My questions are:
1. does the 4 years of nursing that I have done (2 years school, 2 years working) help me stand out as a med school applicant? or would it be considered "wasted years" (as I have heard before)?
2. would strong letters of recommendations coupled with a decent MCAT score counteract the effects of a bad GPA for med schools in the US?
3. would a profile like mine be competitive for caribbean med schools if the US schools are out of reach?

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[deleted804295]

To answer your questions:

1. They are neither wasted years nor will they make you stand out. RN to DO/MD is fairly common and you would be considered just like any other non traditional applicant.

2. Often non traditional applicants are recommended to take courses regardless of GPA to freshen up for the MCAT.

Theoretically a low GPA can be offset by a high MCAT and stellar ECs but theoretically anyone can be a rocket scientist, be diligent and get a post-bacc or enroll in an SMP, don't look for an easy way out.

3. Do Not Go Carribean. Some here will recommend it in rare cases but I hold to the safer opinion of never going Carribean even in rare cases. If you're at the point where you can't raise your stats consider career alternatives. Medicine is not the only career in the world and if you want to stay in medicine there are other alternatives e.g. Masters or PhD in nursing

 

[Catalystik]

Hi guys, I am new to this website and this is my first post, which I posting because I could not find advise anywhere else no the web for my situation. Anyway, I graduated back in 2011 as a premed with a BS in biology, but unfortunately my GPA was not the best (3.0, mostly due to a terrible start in my college career), so I eventually changed careers to nursing. My goal is and has always been medicine, but I do enjoy nursing very much and take it very seriously. I am currently studying for my MCAT.

My questions are:
1. does the 4 years of nursing that I have done (2 years school, 2 years working) help me stand out as a med school applicant? or would it be considered "wasted years" (as I have heard before)?
2. would strong letters of recommendations coupled with a decent MCAT score counteract the effects of a bad GPA for med schools in the US?
3. would a profile like mine be competitive for caribbean med schools if the US schools are out of reach?

what is your overall undergrad GPA if you include the RN coursework?
Have you taken any other classes since the second degree?
What are you scoring on MCAT practice tests, if any?

 

[IMGASMD]

Medicine is not the only career in the world and if you want to stay in medicine there are other alternatives e.g. Masters or PhD in nursing

Agree with everything @Sunbodi. Read this sentence carefully.

Medicine is not the only career, but if you’re serious, you will spend at least the next few years treat it as such. If you cannot, will not, then you should really think long and hard about going to medical school.

Second point I want to make, PhD in nursing, is not what you may think it means. You are likely to become an administrator and will never take care of a patient again. So find out about your career trajectory is.

NP maybe an alternative for someone like you, who has a nursing degree. But if you want to do anything other than primary care, you should not go that route.



Good luck.

 

[soon to be doc]

what is your overall undergrad GPA if you include the RN coursework?
Have you taken any other classes since the second degree?
What are you scoring on MCAT practice tests, if any?

I'll have to check my official transcript for my current cumulative GPA, but I would suspect a 3.1-3.2 now; I just took my diagnostic full-length practice MCAT and scored a 505 and no, I haven't taken any other classes since the second degree

 

[soon to be doc]

To answer your questions:

1. They are neither wasted years nor will they make you stand out. RN to DO/MD is fairly common and you would be considered just like any other non traditional applicant.

2. Often non traditional applicants are recommended to take courses regardless of GPA to freshen up for the MCAT.

Theoretically a low GPA can be offset by a high MCAT and stellar ECs but theoretically anyone can be a rocket scientist, be diligent and get a post-bacc or enroll in an SMP, don't look for an easy way out.

3. Do Not Go Carribean. Some here will recommend it in rare cases but I hold to the safer opinion of never going Carribean even in rare cases. If you're at the point where you can't raise your stats consider career alternatives. Medicine is not the only career in the world and if you want to stay in medicine there are other alternatives e.g. Masters or PhD in nursing

Thanks for the honesty. Its appreciated

 

[soon to be doc]

Agree with everything @Sunbodi. Read this sentence carefully.

Medicine is not the only career, but if you’re serious, you will spend at least the next few years treat it as such. If you cannot, will not, then you should really think long and hard about going to medical school.

Second point I want to make, PhD in nursing, is not what you may think it means. You are likely to become an administrator and will never take care of a patient again. So find out about your career trajectory is.

NP maybe an alternative for someone like you, who has a nursing degree. But if you want to do anything other than primary care, you should not go that route.



Good luck.

I actually want to be a CRNA if my medical pursuit proves to be unsuccessful. NP is also on the list of possibilities. By the way, what do you think of NP vs. PA for someone like me?

 

[Catalystik]

I'll have to check my official transcript for my current cumulative GPA, but I would suspect a 3.1-3.2 now; I just took my diagnostic full-length practice MCAT and scored a 505 and no, I haven't taken any other classes since the second degree

With a year of high grades in postbac upper-level bio coursework to freshen your academic record (and acquire class-related LORs), you'd be well positioned for DO med schools. MD isn't impossible, but you may well need a 3.7+ in a far more expensive SMP (Special Masters Program) to get consideration, plus a stronger MCAT score.

Your work as an RN has provided excellent active clinical experience. I'd hope you have engaged in some sort of non-medical volunteerism or community service over the years, as this has become increasingly obligatory for consideration at many/most med schools. You'd also need some dedicated physician shadowing (no matter how many docs you've observed at work). You don't need research. You might already have some work-related teaching, mentoring, coaching, and leadership to add appeal to an application.

 

[IMGASMD]

I actually want to be a CRNA if my medical pursuit proves to be unsuccessful. NP is also on the list of possibilities. By the way, what do you think of NP vs. PA for someone like me?

NP is probably much easier, even CRNA maybe easier route than PA. Apparently PA has becoming very competitive too.

Personally, I do not like noctors (not doctors). PA generally understand the distinction, some NP and CRNA does not.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

I second the year of post-bacc upper level bio courses. I suspect your sGPA is currently under 3.0, this will usually get you screened out really quickly.