Need Some Help.

[byGOD]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am 20 years old. Since about sophomore year of high school I have wrestled with the idea of becoming a doctor, particularly psychiatry, though I love all of medicine. However, the price of medical school, along with the idea of delaying children, and not seeing friends and family turned me off. I chose to become a computer science major, having never actually taken a CS course, and thinking, because I was good at Calc I and II in high school, I would bode well.

I was wrong. I ended my first semester with a 1.8 GPA on academic probation. I broke down to my mother, who turned me away and criticized me (as immigrant parents do) for not having it all figured out at 18.

I ended up switching my major to nursing, figuring I would just become a mid level provider. I kept on the nursing track, jumping from my 1.8 to making the Dean’s List with a 3.9. Woohoo, but now what? Almost everyday from that day onward, I woke up thinking about becoming a physician. I suppressed that thought though, and just tried to focus on nursing school.

I can no longer push back my desire to become a physician. I’ve got about four semesters left, not including two summer sessions I’ll have available to me (totaling four summer semesters). I came into my college with about 30+ credit hours from AP courses I took in high school, some of which should cover some prerequisites.

Moving past my sob story, here is my scenario so far:

• I need to take Physics I & II, Chem I & II (as my school has a separate chemistry course for nursing), Organic Chem I & II, and perhaps BIOL I & II with a lab unless some med schools do take AP credits

• My current GPA is a 3.0 flat. This is primarily due to my nursing school being graded as such:
  • <77.5% = F
  • 78-84% = C
  • 85-92% = B
  • 93%+ = A
  • There are no +’s or -‘s, only flat grades.

• I am getting plenty of clinical hours from my nursing clinicals. I have had my instructor state that she has never seen a student get patients to open up and discuss sensitive parts of their lives as much as I have. I am hoping I could use her, as well as one of my anatomy professors (who recommended I become an SI for anatomy) as future LORs

• If those clinical hours above are not good enough, I have several CNA jobs lined up, particularly neuro & cardiovascular. I can balance these jobs with school, as I already work 24-34 hours a week at a grocery store. I can definitely cut my hours and work as a CNA.
  • Sort of off topic, but it bothers me that a good chunk of people in my life think they’re “above” washing and taking care of patients. Ironic considering their beliefs show the Creator becoming a man and literally washing the feet of His creation, but to each their own.

• I also have options to shadow plenty of doctors in my area, ranging from pediatricians & neurologists to ENTs.

• I am a member of healthcare careers club at my school, and have hundreds of hours volunteering at my church’s bingo. I also want to create a “Men in Nursing” club to help assist my fellow men in the field of nursing (this is just a thought)

• I also created a company licensed in the state of Indiana. I am bringing this up, because it was medical device company that I started with an engineering friend. I was the one that filed a provisional patent on the device, organized presentations to other entrepreneurs via 1 million cups (check them out, pretty cool), and brought together teams of engineers to help design the product (I’m not knowledgeable in any aspect of engineering).
  • The device was a grip device that I hoped could help patients going through rehab, as well as athletes trying to strengthen their grip. Despite me contacting multiple universities though (as my college had someone damage all their 3D printers and doesn’t have an EMG), I received no response. The idea has since been sitting idly.

• I’m also attempting to write a research paper just estimating anesthesia provider coverage (CRNAs & anesthesiologists) in the small region I live in. I hope I can get it published in a student journal.

• Other things I do for hobbies include running, weightlifting, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, though I have taken a short hiatus due to finances.

Quality input would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[nobadwaves]

First, stay on the mats.
Second, medical schools should admit you based on running, weightlifting, and jiu jitsu. This mainly a joke, but I think physical fitness should be a part of what a "holistic" applicant. It honestly could replace the mainly useless undergraduate research experience and CASPER score. VO2 max, HA1C, and ability to escape side control are the new metrics. Not to mention these hobbies are also effective coping strategies to deal with stress in the field.
Third, take a second and breath. You are young and have time.
Fourth, ace your medical school prerequisites and ensure you are taking all the requisite and most/some of the recommended courses for the programs you want to apply to. So, look at the MSAR for each school and make sure you are checking the boxes.
Fifth, med schools may or may not look upon your nursing degree clinical time favorably or unfavorably. That said, land a CNA job and start racking up the hours.
Sixth, you'll need some volunteer work with disadvantaged folks so find a food pantry, homeless shelter, etc to start getting the 150-250 hours.
Seventh, ace your MCAT.
Eighth, apply broadly.

Note - You may need a gap year to get all this stuff done while working, volunteering, juggling flaming swords, and jumping through hoops, which is totally OK.

 

[byGOD]

Note - You may need a gap year to get all this stuff done while working, volunteering, juggling flaming swords, and jumping through hoops, which is totally OK.

Thank you for the reassurance. I definitely overthink everything which is both a blessing and curse. As for the gap year, I just applied to a scholarship that I think I am going to win. If I do, I 100% intend on cutting my hours at the store I work at and just intend on working as a CNA for only 12-20 hours a week.

I also wanted to ask, what do you think about the grading scale I'm on? Do you think I could explain that to programs and they'll understand?

 

[R. R. Hendrini]

I definitely don't think you should be worried about time (since you're 20) and I would be prepared to taking a gap year or two to ensure you can do well in your pre-reqs, as well as shift your application more towards med school from nursing. I think the main question you should be prepared to answer is "Why med school? And why not nursing?" - Med schools will want to know why you want be a physician versus working as a nurse/PA or other mid-level provider. What is it about being a physician specifically that made you want to switch careers (besides that you like science and you like helping people). Was there a physician in your life that was particularly inspiring? Is it the autonomy with a MD/DO that means you can practice in more rural areas, practice more independently, or opens the door more broadly to running clinical trials or research? You need to have a clear mission and vision for your future as a doctor, not just in healthcare.

In getting your pre-reqs, you may want to consider finishing your degree and then completely a formal "career-change" post-baccalaureate program aimed for students switching paths to pre-med. This can help with ensuring success with courses (smaller, dedicated cohorts of other career changes), more research lab opportunities, built in MCAT prep, and dedicated pre-med advisors. If these are too expensive, a DIY post-bacc may be the way. I took a bunch of classes at a local community college which was super inexpensive! Most US MD/DO (if not all of them) accept all the pre-reqs from community colleges and understand that we can't all afford to pay for courses from four year institutions. Use as many MCAT free resources as possible. Anki, Jack Westin, AAMC has some free resources as well. This can help.

Volunteering opportunities should align with your mission. Whether that is serving underserved communities (rural medicine, unhoused/low SES communities), disadvantaged populations, etc. So if you care a lot about cerain medical conditions, patient populations, healthcare systemic shortcomings, try and find volunteering that aligns with that. Have some non-clinical volunteering as well, such as therapuetic riding or food pantry, like mentioned above.

For clinical experience, I think CNA could be great, but also look at some pre-med versus sticking with nursing clinical experiences. If you have a lot of nursing experiences already, consider switching gears to help diversify those hours and also support your commitment to switching to pre-med from nursing. I worked as a medical scribe in several specialties (outpatient and ED), some of my peers worked as Medical Assistants or Phlebotomists. Even doing EMT or something else could help.

Definitely start shadowing! Shadow as much as you can and with different specialties. Use that time to interact with the physicians or reflect more seriously on why you want to be in their position. How do they interact with the patients, with their peers, as a part of the healthcare team. What sets them apart from other roles in healthcare and why is it important that be you. Use this to keep in mind why physician and using anecdotes or experiences from this can really help bolster why you wanted to switch.

Keep up with your hobbies and make sure to stay positive and patient. I am a non-traditional student so I know it can feel daunting looking at all the things you need to do to get ready!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Whether you believe the internet, many YouTube videos showcase nurses who went to medical school.

Shadow physicians and keep working in clinical settings.

Talk to prehealth advisors on lining up the coursework you need.

Heed the above advice about serving community outside of a clinical setting.

 

[polymerization]

I agree on finishing your BSN, getting licensed, and then moving on to a career-changer post-bacc where you can take your prerequisites.

Doing it this way is going to take twice as long, and that's fine, because what you're sowing in time, you are reaping in security. And it's OK to be upfront about that when it does come time to apply: the medical path is structured to massively disadvantage working-class folks.

You just never know. I would have preferred to have been a nurse for 10 years after having basically failed out of school instead of a scribe, or an MA, or whatever else. I could have gotten back on the horse more quickly, and with more of my wits about me.

The worst thing you could possibly do is switch into a biology or chemistry program, apply to medical school, fail to gain entry, and then you're just out of luck with no meaningful entry into tech, nursing, or science. You would have wasted a year applying unsuccessfully, probably working a minimum or near-minimum wage job.

As a nurse, you put yourself in a better position to play the long game and take a more stepwise approach to your education. And, I mean, I know I would be swayed by hospitals offering tuition reimbursement for a PMHNP education to their staff nurses, as a last resort.

Oh, and just a piece of friendly advice: don't tell anyone your plans at work. Just don't do it.