from Nursing to DO?

[iHUMAN]

I am a current nursing student, i still have 1 more year until I graduate. I have been thinking that I would like to apply for schools of Osteopathic Medicine. Most people have told me that being in Nursing is the long route to med school, I chose nursing because it was one of my goals, to become a nurse, I love the profession, but I feel that I want to do something more (NP is not really grabbing my attention).
Well, i know that I still need to fulfill some prerequisites like organic chemistry, physics...etc. The problem is: my gpa is not that great (about 3.2) and had a poor performance in microbiology, and general chemistry 2 (got C's).
I have also worked in 2 research projects for a total of 3 years, would this help?
Would I have a chance on getting into Osteopathic Medicine school?
Also to mention, I am an International student

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[TriagePreMed]

International as in not even a green card? That would make it very tough for you.

3.2 right out of school is not so hot, but it may be overcome with the courses you'll take. From every nurse to doctor I've heard of is that ADCOMS don't like the school to school transition and expect a minimum of 2 years of working as a nurse first.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I am a current nursing student, i still have 1 more year until I graduate. I have been thinking that I would like to apply for schools of Osteopathic Medicine. Most people have told me that being in Nursing is the long route to med school, I chose nursing because it was one of my goals, to become a nurse, I love the profession, but I feel that I want to do something more (NP is not really grabbing my attention).
Well, i know that I still need to fulfill some prerequisites like organic chemistry, physics...etc. The problem is: my gpa is not that great (about 3.2) and had a poor performance in microbiology, and general chemistry 2 (got C's).
I have also worked in 2 research projects for a total of 3 years, would this help?
Would I have a chance on getting into Osteopathic Medicine school?
Also to mention, I am an International student

The 3.2 gpa is not going to prevent you from getting into DO school; however, being an international student is going to be a big obstacle. My PCP was a nurse before becoming a DO and I know other people who did that as well. I am a nurse as well who will apply next cycle and I do have a similar GPA as you with an ok mcat score. I think you should concentrate on getting good grades on your prereqs and then kill the mcat (preferablely 30+), hopefully some schools might give you a look even if you are an international student. There a few DO schools that are known to be friendly to international students.

 

[Catalystik]

Are you going to nursing school in the US? Most med schools would want you to have a certain number of undergrad credits earned at an accredited US or Canadian school, including all the prerequisites.

There are DO schools that accept internationals, even those without a greencard, so long as you can get the appropriate visa.

DO med schools have a grade forgiveness policy, so if you retake your low grades, only the most recent grade earned is included in your application GPAs, provided the credit hours are the same or greater.

Yes, research experience makes your application stronger.

 

[DrNunes]

On top of what the others already posted I will add a little more.

I was also once enrolled in nursing school (4 yr program)
But after completing my first two years in a year and a summer, I felt unchallenged and unsatisfied.
I was also working as a CNA and came to realize that nursing was just not for me. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the profession, but it just wasn't for me.
So I changed my major to something I really enjoyed, Sociology, a great major for personal growth and took pre-med prereqs on the side.
Some might ask "well why didn't you just stay with nursing and go into medicine after?" well yeah the job and money would have been nice seeing as how I am broke like no other right now, but I chose to drop out of the nursing program for good reasons and trust me it was not a light hearted decision. I did a lot of research and called a number of med schools I was interested in and most did not like the idea of using a nursing degree as a "step ladder" into med school. So nursing school straight to med school is generally frowned upon. But on the other side if you choose to stick with nursing for a while, years, then go to med school that isn't look on so badly, or badly at all.

 

[Total180]

Also adding to others' comments...I would make sure that your science classes counting as pre-reqs actually count as pre-reqs. Sometimes nursing sciences aren't equivalent to the pre-req sciences in the eyes of medical schools. Good luck!

 

[iHUMAN]

Are you going to nursing school in the US? Most med schools would want you to have a certain number of undergrad credits earned at an accredited US or Canadian school, including all the prerequisites.

There are DO schools that accept internationals, even those without a greencard, so long as you can get the appropriate visa.

DO med schools have a grade forgiveness policy, so if you retake your low grades, only the most recent grade earned is included in your application GPAs, provided the credit hours are the same or greater.

Yes, research experience makes your application stronger.

Yes, i am going to nursing school in Texas, i even graduated from a Texas high school (I've had an F-1 visa since high school).
I am going to talk to whoever I need to at my school to see the possibility of retaking those courses...It will be a long way before I can apply hehe

 

[Catalystik]

Yes, i am going to nursing school in Texas, i even graduated from a Texas high school (I've had an F-1 visa since high school).
I am going to talk to whoever I need to at my school to see the possibility of retaking those courses...It will be a long way before I can apply hehe

Be aware: The DO med school in Texas is the one exception to my grade forgiveness policy comment, since they use TMDSAS for applications rather than the same application service as all the other DO schools (AACOMAS).

TCOM does take internationals as quoted from
http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/2011cib/2011cib-whole.pdf

International students (non-US citizens or temporary
residents) eligible:​

​

​

​

​

Yes
Applicants are classified as either residents
or non-residents in accordance to the rules
and regulations set forth by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board. Applicants are​

classified regardless of immigration status

 

[iHUMAN]

On top of what the others already posted I will add a little more.

I was also once enrolled in nursing school (4 yr program)
But after completing my first two years in a year and a summer, I felt unchallenged and unsatisfied.
I was also working as a CNA and came to realize that nursing was just not for me. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the profession, but it just wasn't for me.
So I changed my major to something I really enjoyed, Sociology, a great major for personal growth and took pre-med prereqs on the side.
Some might ask "well why didn't you just stay with nursing and go into medicine after?" well yeah the job and money would have been nice seeing as how I am broke like no other right now, but I chose to drop out of the nursing program for good reasons and trust me it was not a light hearted decision. I did a lot of research and called a number of med schools I was interested in and most did not like the idea of using a nursing degree as a "step ladder" into med school. So nursing school straight to med school is generally frowned upon. But on the other side if you choose to stick with nursing for a while, years, then go to med school that isn't look on so badly, or badly at all.

I do like nursing, I think it is a beautiful profession, but I really don't see myself being a nurse for the rest of my life. I am in nursing right now because I want to learn how to be able to approach patients without being scared (of course, that is not the only reason why I choose nursing).
I have also heard that med schools don't like it when nurses want to make the transition from nursing to medicine. I don't want to regret being in nursing, but the sad thing is that it seems that it will make things harder than they could have been..
Thanks for your opinion

 

[Catalystik]

I don't want to regret being in nursing, but the sad thing is that it seems that it will make things harder than they could have been..

IMO, it won't be harder than it could have been if you use your training to get superb clinical experience as an RN, have a great explanation for "Why medicine and not nursing?", and take coursework with sufficient rigor to do well on the MCAT. It will just take you a little longer to get to your intended endpoint.