Help! What should I do?! RN to MD here!

[SIGMACHIGUY]

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After reading the posts on SDN, I'll have to say that it is sooo inspiring to me to find others in the same shoes as me. I thought I was the only person in my situation and that I was "too old" for med school and that "I wasn't good enough to get in anyways." So here I am, really considering applying but I wanted to ask for your comments and thoughts, I'd really appreciate them!

Basically, I had the "way too immature to handle UG college" blues but I think I had a really horrible case of it, more than the average person. I was quite unmotivated and took the independence I gained in UG too far...I wanted to hang out and meet new people more than I wanted to study. I knew college was important but for some reason, I just never felt the sincere urge to study and do really well in my classes. I did graduate with a BS in biochemistry but with a HORRIFIC GPA of 2.65. I'm 27 now and graduated when I was 23. Since then, I've done a lot of "growing up" and am sincerely a COMPLETELY different person. I worked in the biotech/pharmaceutical field for nearly 4 years doing research and pharmaceutical production. I excelled in my jobs and during those years realized just important it is to have good career that you are sincerely passionate about. I've always loved science, even thought my UG GPA doesn't show it. I had thoughts to be a doctor but I never thought I was "good enough" or "smart enough" to become one. I loved the healthcare field though and decided to apply to nursing school while I was working, about a year after I graduated from my UG.

I've been in an ADN program for nearly a year now and have a little over a year left and the further I go into the program, the more I realize that nursing isn't for me. Having exposure to the residents, doctors, nurses, etc. in my hospital rotations just confirms to me more and more each day that I want to be a doctor, not a nurse. My background in biochemistry and the way I think/approach things is not congruent with nursing and I'm sick of having the "I'm not good enough" thoughts running through my mind...it's been a larger and larger struggle for me ever since I started nursing school this past January. I just feel like even though I thought "I'm not good and smart enough for medical school" that I'm just not reaching my true potential in nursing school and that I'm settling for nursing. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely respect the entire field of nursing but it's just not for me the more I go into the program. I do have full intentions of completing the RN program however since I'm nearly 1/2 way through and I wouldn't be applying to medical school until the next round of applications anyways which is next year.

So sorry to ramble on but it really eats me up inside and I've just been almost "not happy" because I feel that medicine is my true calling. So my question to you all is what do you think I should do to pursue medical school? I have an UG GPA of 2.65 and a 4.0 thus far in my nursing program which includes miscellaneous classes that I took over the summer such as statistics and pathophysiology. These classes and the nursing program are at a city college so I'm not sure if they will be looked down upon. I believe that I will have about a 3.0 GPA by the time I apply. I intend to do well on the MCAT too but one can never predict for sure...but I honestly feel that I have the motivation and drive and dedication to succeed on both the MCAT and in medical school, if I can get in.

So what do you all think I should do? Just study my butt off for the MCAT and apply with my ugly GPA? I do have volunteer activities within my nursing program now and my professional experience with research in the biotech/pharma fields...though I'm not too sure how much that will really help. Do I even stand a fighting chance given that my MCAT scores, LORs, personal statements, etc. are strong? Or should I consider a post-bac program because I don't stand a fighting chance because my GPA was so horrible? Is my situation even good enough to try to apply? I think I would do well in interviews having had professional exposure even though I'm sure med school interviews would be different.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions, feedback...much appreciated!!! FIRE AWAY! 🙄

 

[SIGMACHIGUY]

Oh and btw...not sure if it matters but I received my BS in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego which is somewhat known to have a strong sciences program. Obviously too strong for me at the time with my embarrassing GPA...🙁

 

[gman33]

Do you know what you AMCAS science GPA would be?
That info would help to give more specific advice.

If you are sure you want to be a doctor, it can be done, but you have a long road ahead. If your science GPA is low, do a post-bacc program (formal or informal), and maybe retake all the prereqs as a start. Then you will need another year or two of science classes to bring up your GPA. It's almost hopeless to bring up you overall GPA, but you can show a strong upward trend by doing well in post-bacc work. If nursing isn't for you, get out of the program as soon as you can. It won't do much good for your app. After a year or two of UG work, you will probably need some type of master's degree as well. Maybe a SMP program. You can find info by searching SDN.

So I would say you have 2-4 years of coursework before even thinking about applying. Maybe less if you want to apply to DO or Foreign schools. When the time comes, prepare well for the MCAT as you will need a good score.

If you want to go down this road, think carefully about the commitment and don't think that there is a shortcut. Good luck.

 

[mamitch4]

What field(s) of medicine do you think you might be interested in? There are several paths from RN--> near independent practitioner, like nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and nurse midwife that you might find satisfying if you are interested in anesthesiology, family medicine, or OB, for instance.
Explore all of your options. When pre-meds ask me, I tell them that if absolutely anything other that being a physician will satisfy them, then they should pursue it. But if nothing else will, then put your heart into it, and you can eventually make it happen.
Good luck

 

[SIGMACHIGUY]

Mamitch4 - actually my passion has always lied with anesthesiology. My original plan was to pursue medicine in college until I ran into a CRNA which made me re-route my plans and to pursue nurse anesthesia instead. But I've found myself feel like I'm settling for nurse anesthesia and that I want to become the very best that I can be therefore my wanting to pursue medicine instead now. I've done research for the past 7 years between a CRNA and an anesthesiologist and I know that pursuing a CRNA is the better value or "bang for your buck" by far. But it's not about money to me nor even value I've come to realize...it's about being satisfied within and pursing your dreams no matter how challenging the road ahead of you is. I've thought about time with family and factors but how can you worry about all that if you aren't sincerely satisfied within? How can I give back and love my family into the future when I question my career choice? I've always been one to be the best but I had no direction in UG and hence had a horrible GPA. I've learned and matured through the years especially working professionally for 4 years after UG. And the one thing I've learned is no matter what, you have to be happy with yourself and your life before you can give back to the world. And for me, I've realized that medicine is that missing link that I've always longed for but never thought I was good enough to do. It's time for me to pursue my dream that I've always known deep inside and to step up to the plate and swing my hardest. I'm not too old, it's not too late, I'm not alone...😳

 

[Blade28]

Oh and btw...not sure if it matters but I received my BS in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego which is somewhat known to have a strong sciences program. Obviously too strong for me at the time with my embarrassing GPA...🙁

Nice, same undergrad as me! 👍

That's not an easy major at UCSD.

 

[vtucci]

You will probably need 1-2 years of a post-bac program with upper level science courses to demonstrate that you can handle the medical school curriculum. A formal post-bac program might be a good idea for you.

You have some experience in the medical/allied health professions. I would also recommend you get involved in some research and try to get a publication. Research can be icing on the cake with applications.

Needless to say, you need a kick ass personal statement, LORs and need to do well on the MCAT. Plenty of people have been in your shoes with a low sci GPA and have turned it around- just plan accordingly.

For the MCAT, I recommend Examcrackers esp for those of you who were not english/humanities majors. It really helps with the verbal portion of the exam.

For LORs, get into the professors's office from day 1 and start talking to them about your interests. DO a search and read up if they have written books/articles and talk to them about it. You can really shine doing this- particularly if you really like or are intrigued by one of their works.

 

[mamitch4]

Sigmachiguy- Here in my 4th year, I've also found a strong love of anesthesia and am in the process of applying to residencies. But I can't help but wonder what I would have done if I had known about CRNA's before I got into this whole med school mess...
Before you go crazy working on a post-bac or redoing years of your undergrad work, you might want to consider the DO path. They calculate your GPA a little differently, replacing the grades for repeated classes rather that just averaging in another grade. I had decent undergrad science grades with a couple of failures (eek!). I retook these 2 classes (online, as I couldn't find anywhere near-by for me to retake), replaced these two F's with A's, and voila! dramatically increased science GPA. DO schools are also typically more receptive to applicants with lower numbers and more "life-experience." 😉
I wouldn't recommend an osteopathic residency, but with strong USMLE (allopathic board) scores, allopathic anesthesiology residencies are definitely open to DO candidates. Just something to think about.

 

[CycleCA]

I wouldn't recommend an osteopathic residency, but with strong USMLE (allopathic board) scores, allopathic anesthesiology residencies are definitely open to DO candidates. Just something to think about.

I wonder how competitive anesthesia residencies are for DO's trying to get into an allopathic residency? Do you know how competitive anesthesia residencies are, in general?

 

[mamitch4]

I wonder how competitive anesthesia residencies are for DO's trying to get into an allopathic residency? Do you know how competitive anesthesia residencies are, in general?

Here is some NRMP match data from 2007. It's a little tough to figure out how DO's figure into the picture, but you can get an idea about how competitive anesthesia is in general.
To DO's looking to match into an allopathic residency, I would strongly recommend taking the USMLE. This allows programs to compare you (apples to apples) to applicants from MD schools.

http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2007.pdf

 

[CycleCA]

Here is some NRMP match data from 2007. It's a little tough to figure out how DO's figure into the picture, but you can get an idea about how competitive anesthesia is in general.
To DO's looking to match into an allopathic residency, I would strongly recommend taking the USMLE. This allows programs to compare you (apples to apples) to applicants from MD schools.

http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2007.pdf

Thanks 😀 Looks like I'll be studying like a fiend for the USMLE's 👍