med school

[kate333]

hi,

did any want get accepted to med school by having a BSN. if so can you put down your GPA and MCAT score.

thanks,
kate

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[NurseyK]

I do not have a BSN -- my BS is in Exercise Science; my suggestion is that you add/make sure you have your med pre-reqs. Other than that -- just write a good essay, apply your experience (?) in Nursing, do well on your interview. My personal experience: the DO schools "appreciated" my background more than the MD schools (I got a lot of grief from that end).

Good luck to you!

Kat

 

[md03]

I don't have a BSN either. I went to a NP program that didnt' require a BSN.

However, I did have to apply twice. The first time, the interviwer peered over his glasses at me and said "So, have you taken any HARD classes lately?" (My MSN was only 3 years old at the time)

When I got rejected, the admissions committee recommended that I take upper lever undergrad or graduate level basic science courses, and try again. I did, got in and now am in the top of my class. (most rejection letters don't contain recommendations, this school is unique in that regard)

Lesson: There is a general tendency in the MD community to assume that nurses aren't as smart as MD (after all, if you were smart enough, you would have gone to med school in the first place, wouldn't you?)

Not that a BSN will keep you out. I dont' think you need another BS. But I strongly recommend taking basic science classes (examples: biochemistry, microbiology [not the kind you take in nursing school, the kind that a biology major would take], virology, physiology [again, the biology major kind], genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, etc. Not only will this help "prove" you are "smart enough", it will also be a big help to have some exposure to these things prior to starting medical school. I took a total of 6 of these...2 in the summer, 2 in the fall, and 2 in the spring (I interiewed for the second time in the middle of the spring semester, and got in.) Plus I worked 2 part time jobs. It was hard, but it paid off.

One thing that I didn't do that I wish I had done. Call the admissions department at your closest med school and make an appointment to talk to someone about your credentials and what would improve them. You need to do this BEFORE you apply, othewise, they wont' see you. Go in full interview regalia, bring your transcripts and MCAT scores. Many, many schools have someone who will meet with you, discuss your chances and make recommendations. If I had done this before I applied the first time, I could have saved myself some time and money.

Good luck

 

[tedsadoc2002]

I got in and I had a BSN. My situation is a little different in that it took me 10 years to decide I wanted to go back to school. I took the basic prerequisites prior to application. I am graduating in 8 days and will be a DO in Emergency Med.

No, you don't need a BSN, but if you have started already and your thought is to go to med school, make sure to sit down with an advisor (NOT a nursing advisor) preferrably a pre-med advisor, and go over the classes you will need to help you take the MCAT and gain admission to med school.
md03 gives some good advice. Also give the osteopathic schools a shot, they tend to accept students that had other careers prior to med school (more readily than allopathic schools, just my humble observation).

 

[tedsadoc2002]

heelpain,

I am wondering if you missed the point of md03's post. md03 isn't saying that nurses aren't smart enough, as you might note it was in quotes.

I don't know if you are or were a nurse, I was and went through the application process. This is a sentiment though not out and out stated, it is implied that if you were "smart enough" you would have gotten in to med school first, not nursing school.

The sciences that are required for a degree in nursing are often perceived as a "watered" down version, though some BSN's take the exact same Chemistry, Bio, and Orgo that the pre-meds take.

I hope that I have made it a little clearer. That sentiment that nurses are "less" than docs exists, believe me I have felt it's heat.

 

[Rachael]

Kate 333,
Hello! I got in with a BSN. I did have to take some other pre-med science classes like physics, calc, organic, etc. I agree with the above suggestion that a pre-med advisor would be helpful. Good Luck!!!

 

[WSUreds]

Hey Rachael, I sent you a PM about your school.

 

[md03]

Just to clarify,

I certainly did not mean to imply that I think nurses aren't as smart as doctors!!! I know for a fact that isn't true. Witness just one example: the at the hospital where I use to work at an attached clinic as NP, a new ER doc (they used a "rent a doc" service) was blasted by the nurses and subsequently asked not to return to the hospital because he got mad at the ER nurses for wanting him to intubate a patient in full code!!

Be aware, nurses that the anti-nurse attitude is rampant in medicine. I/O's or vitals not on the chart by 5am when interns/med students start rounding? It's blamed on the nurses being lazy! No one takes into account that the nurses have an incredibly high patient load and also have to supervise unlicensed personnel. The average doc/med student has NO CLUE what the average floor nurse must go through.

Some of the other posters are right, DO schools tend to be friendlier to former nurses and other allied health personnel. I go to a state MD school that tends to be more friendly that average to nontraditionals, and I can think of 5-6 NP/RN/PA off the top of my head in the M2-4 classes right now. It's probably defintely worth investigating both.