Is being a nurse a kiss of death for med school admission?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

zeek

Junior Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
May 8, 2002
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
I see that very few, if any, nursing graduates are admitted into med schools.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I know a few nurses at the clinic I work at who are going through the admissions process now. I think that atleast two of them have a better chance than I do. I think the only disadvantage might be if you have been out of school so long that you don't do well on the MCAT. I imagine many nurses do that. Come to think of it my father actually went from nurse practitioner to MD. I can't believe I had forgotten that.
 
Zeek, I am very interested in this, as well. As a nurse, I have "trained-in" many docs. I am of the old school, where the CEO of any business should start from the bottom. Likewise, MD's would benefit from the nursing experience. :wink:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
do you think it's tough cause they don't want to lose any more nurses? i worked in a rehab dept and the orthopedic surgeon at the hospital started off as a physical therapist. i thought that was interesting.
 
I met one nurse at an interview, and he had already been accepted to Vermont, and had several interviews to hear from (this was back in November). I don't think it would be bad at all, assuming that your grades and MCAT are good.
 
I have a friend who started as an EMT, became a Paramedic, Nurse, and is now in med school. I know his MCATs weren't great, but he feels that his great clinical experiences got him in.
 
I made this observation based on the historic data universities provide vis-a-vis their students. I saw that very few ( as a % of total class) nursing graduates matriculated at the top med schools.
 
I started out in nursing and I haven't had any trouble getting into the top med schools that I applied to (not to be arrogant, just to make a point that no one is going to "look down on you" or favor your app. less because you were in nursing... if anything, I think the clinical experience really "set me apart" and actually HELPED me to get in.) :)
 
I'm a nurse, and like Jessica, I was also admitted to one of the top medical schools. Just make sure your GPA and MCAT scores are competitive and you won't have any problem. Be prepared, however, to answer questions as to why you want to make the switch from nursing.
 
maybe you believe that there are not that many nurses who pursue medicine or get into medical school because maybe nurses like their jobs (no call, pretty good pay, probably less stressful) and so would rather not go into medicine. or maybe because some nurses haven't been to college (aren't there alot of nursing programs that you can enter right after high school?) and so can't apply to med school without the pre med courses. i would think having nursing experience (direct patient contact, working within many fields of medicine, a lot of time spent in the field) would be a major major plus!
 
Zeek, correct me if I am wrong, but in order for your conclusion to be correct, ( little to no nurses being accepted), you would need to know how many applied. I would be curious to know how many nurses actually decide to go this route. Is this info available somewhere?

For you nurses that have been successful in getting in a couple of questions:

Would you mind sharing your stats?
Did you get in the first time you applied?
Did your nursing experience compise a large portion of personal statement?
Based on your experience, is there such a thing as "nurse friendly" medschool?

Any info you guys could share would be great.
 
Top