Nursing before medical school?

[Jack-of-all-trades]

I am starting a 2 year nursing program in the fall. I have no doubt at all that i want to go to medical school though. My original plan was to do the program first and then do med school pre reqs while I work as a nurse but I'm starting to kind of realIze that this is a bad idea. I don't think that it would make sense to go to nursing school for 2 years to just work for maybe 3 years before med school when I could be completely focused on med school.

My problem is though is that I can get through nursing school completely free because I was awarded a nursing scholarship. I also already accepted the spot in the program and I don't really want to drop out even though I don't really want to the program because I don't want to look like a quitter. What is your opinions on this? Is it worth it to go through nursing school because it is free and I would have a job for a couple years before med school?

Thanks in advance for all responses

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[eagles22]

I am starting a 2 year nursing program in the fall. I have no doubt at all that i want to go to medical school though. My original plan was to do the program first and then do med school pre reqs while I work as a nurse but I'm starting to kind of realIze that this is a bad idea. I don't think that it would make sense to go to nursing school for 2 years to just work for maybe 3 years before med school when I could be completely focused on med school.

My problem is though is that I can get through nursing school completely free because I was awarded a nursing scholarship. I also already accepted the spot in the program and I don't really want to drop out even though I don't really want to the program because I don't want to look like a quitter. What is your opinions on this? Is it worth it to go through nursing school because it is free and I would have a job for a couple years before med school?

Thanks in advance for all responses

Nursing is actually a great career and you may end up liking it. At my hospital, they work less than the residents and make more money.

How competitive are you to get into med school? You have a guaranteed free spot in a program for a good career. If you drop out without a certain backup, you're going to burn a lot of bridges.

 

[popopopop]

Once in a while this topic pops up. You might get some luck searching.

"I don't think that it would make sense to go to nursing school for 2 years to just work for maybe 3 years before med school when I could be completely focused on med school. "

You already said it best.

 

[@Hazel-rah]

Only you can decide.
But don't go to nursing school if you don't want to be a nurse. You'll be very unhappy.
If you want to be a physician, go to medical school. Don't go to nursing school with ulterior motives. It's a waste of a lot of resources in my opinion.

Here is a simple algorithm:

Do you want to be a nurse?
YES-->go to nursing school
NO-->don't go to nursing school

Do you want to be a physician?
YES-->go to medical school
NO->don't go to medical school

If you answered yes to both then you need to do some shadowing and interviewing. Good luck!

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Nursing is actually a great career and you may end up liking it. At my hospital, they work less than the residents and make more money.

How competitive are you to get into med school? You have a guaranteed free spot in a program for a good career. If you drop out without a certain backup, you're going to burn a lot of bridges.

Thanks for the response. Im only a freshman in college but I think that I would be competitive for medical school but I agree that i might regret dropping out in the future

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Thanks for all responses so far

 

[Gilakend]

I personally (as a fellow pre-med) think if you could see yourself doing something else, you should do that. You essentially lose your 20s when you decide to become a physician and, by most calculations make less than minimum wage for at least 3 years while 200k in debt. Obviously it will all be worth it in the end if it's truly your passion, but it's a long road when you could see yourself doing something else. NP will probably have much more autonomy in the future making then closer and closer to equal to PCP.

Just my very uninformed, SDN educated, $0.02.

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

I personally (as a fellow pre-med) think if you could see yourself doing something else, you should do that. You essentially lose your 20s when you decide to become a physician and, by most calculations make less than minimum wage for at least 3 years while 200k in debt. Obviously it will all be worth it in the end if it's truly your passion, but it's a long road when you could see yourself doing something else. NP will probably have much more autonomy in the future making then closer and closer to equal to PCP.

Just my very uninformed, SDN educated, $0.02.

Thanks for the response. In all honesty I really can't see myself doing anything else except maybe pa school. I would rather go to pa school than np school if I decided against medical school.

 

[DizzyDesi25]

I received my BS in Bio because at 17, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. After graduating from undergrad and taking a gap year to figure out my life, I opted to become an NP through a direct entry program, which allowed me to work as an RN why completing my MSN. I realized midway through that I loved medicine, and have now decided to apply to medical school. That being said, I have learned so much about myself and healthcare during this process, have had opportunities to become involved in my local community, and have paid off most of my student loans. I wouldn't recommend going into a direct entry masters program if you are unsure, but becoming a nurse could be a great experience for you. You may love it and eventually become an NP! Regardless, we all have a different path. Just be sure to listen to your instincts-you'll be happier that way and that's what is most important.

 

[aldol16]

Is it a LPN program or an RN program? Career prospects are better for RNs than LPNs and if it's a 2-year RN program, I would strongly consider that since I think that's a really fast way to an RN. I think usually you have to do a four-year BSN program before taking your NCLEX to become an RN. I'm not too familiar with nursing, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea if it's a free program. You can become a nurse and work for a few years to save up money for medical school - nurse to MD is not an uncommon career path.

But of course you have to find nursing to be at least a little rewarding - if you'd be miserable working as a nurse, then there's no point in doing nursing. The other option of course is to go straight through undergrad and to medical school - the advantage of this path is that you'll be younger and have a longer career as a doctor in the future. But you won't have the money saved up so you'll have to see if you can get scholarships for medical school.

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

I received my BS in Bio because at 17, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. After graduating from undergrad and taking a gap year to figure out my life, I opted to become an NP through a direct entry program, which allowed me to work as an RN why completing my MSN. I realized midway through that I loved medicine, and have now decided to apply to medical school. That being said, I have learned so much about myself and healthcare during this process, have had opportunities to become involved in my local community, and have paid off most of my student loans. I wouldn't recommend going into a direct entry masters program if you are unsure, but becoming a nurse could be a great experience for you. You may love it and eventually become an NP! Regardless, we all have a different path. Just be sure to listen to your instincts-you'll be happier that way and that's what is most important.

Thanks for the response

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Is it a LPN program or an RN program? Career prospects are better for RNs than LPNs and if it's a 2-year RN program, I would strongly consider that since I think that's a really fast way to an RN. I think usually you have to do a four-year BSN program before taking your NCLEX to become an RN. I'm not too familiar with nursing, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea if it's a free program. You can become a nurse and work for a few years to save up money for medical school - nurse to MD is not an uncommon career path.

But of course you have to find nursing to be at least a little rewarding - if you'd be miserable working as a nurse, then there's no point in doing nursing. The other option of course is to go straight through undergrad and to medical school - the advantage of this path is that you'll be younger and have a longer career as a doctor in the future. But you won't have the money saved up so you'll have to see if you can get scholarships for medical school.

Thanks for the response. The program is a RN program

 

[Mr Giggles]

If the RN program is free and you will not be in debt then do it. i was offer something like that many years ago and i really regret not taking the offer at the time.

Sent from my SM-G935P using SDN mobile

 

[whats-up-doc]

If it's free, it might be worth it just to go through it so you'll have a nice job while doing your pre reqs. The downside is wasting time but what's two more years...

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I am starting a 2 year nursing program in the fall. I have no doubt at all that i want to go to medical school though. My original plan was to do the program first and then do med school pre reqs while I work as a nurse but I'm starting to kind of realIze that this is a bad idea. I don't think that it would make sense to go to nursing school for 2 years to just work for maybe 3 years before med school when I could be completely focused on med school.

My problem is though is that I can get through nursing school completely free because I was awarded a nursing scholarship. I also already accepted the spot in the program and I don't really want to drop out even though I don't really want to the program because I don't want to look like a quitter. What is your opinions on this? Is it worth it to go through nursing school because it is free and I would have a job for a couple years before med school?

Thanks in advance for all responses

With the nursing scholarship allow you to take the the bio chem and physics classes that med schools expect but nursing should also accept?

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

With the nursing scholarship allow you to take the the bio chem and physics classes that med schools expect but nursing should also accept?[QUOTE/]

The nursing scholarship is only enough to actually pay for the nursing classes. I can only use the scholarship for nursing classes and clinicals and I do not think that there would be any left over for any science classes or medical school pre reqs. Basically I would be able to get all of nursing school free but the scholarship would not cover any other classes

 

[PreMedMissteps]

With the nursing scholarship allow you to take the the bio chem and physics classes that med schools expect but nursing should also accept?

The nursing scholarship is only enough to actually pay for the nursing classes. I can only use the scholarship for nursing classes and clinicals and I do not think that there would be any left over for any science classes or medical school pre reqs. Basically I would be able to get all of nursing school free but the scholarship would not cover any other classes

You are misunderstanding. the first two years are not nursing classes. they are just regular classes that are pre-nursing classes which are similar to Premed prereq classes. Often you can take the harder premed ones and they're acceptable for a pre-nursing

So instead of taking the pre-nursing versions of bio, chem, orgo, etc, you'd take the harder versions that are acceptable to both nursing programs and med schools.

 

[popopopop]

You are misunderstanding. the first two years are not nursing classes. they are just regular classes that are pre-nursing classes which are similar to Premed prereq classes. Often you can take the harder premed ones and they're acceptable for a pre-nursing

So instead of taking the pre-nursing versions of bio, chem, orgo, etc, you'd take the harder versions that are acceptable to both nursing programs and med schools.

This is school/program dependent. Usually pre-nursing/pre-health classes do not count for pre-med classes. I have heard of some nursing programs requiring many of the same pre-med pre-reqs though.

 

[bannie22]

Its a tough route.

 

[raiderette]

You are misunderstanding. the first two years are not nursing classes. they are just regular classes that are pre-nursing classes which are similar to Premed prereq classes. Often you can take the harder premed ones and they're acceptable for a pre-nursing

So instead of taking the pre-nursing versions of bio, chem, orgo, etc, you'd take the harder versions that are acceptable to both nursing programs and med schools.

There are plenty of programs that are RN but not BSN. There are no pre-nursing classes. It is a common route in my home state, though the programs are very competitive.

 

[jqueb29]

If it's free, it might be worth it just to go through it so you'll have a nice job while doing your pre reqs. The downside is wasting time but what's two more years...

$400k (before interest) minimum in lost salary

 

[PreMedMissteps]

You are misunderstanding. the first two years are not nursing classes. they are just regular classes that are pre-nursing classes which are similar to Premed prereq classes. Often you can take the harder premed ones and they're acceptable for a pre-nursing

So instead of taking the pre-nursing versions of bio, chem, orgo, etc, you'd take the harder versions that are acceptable to both nursing programs and med schools.

This is school/program dependent. Usually pre-nursing/pre-health classes do not count for pre-med classes. I have heard of some nursing programs requiring many of the same pre-med pre-reqs though.

There are plenty of programs that are RN but not BSN. There are no pre-nursing classes. It is a common route in my home state, though the programs are very competitive.

Are you at a 4 year college? Or is this an AA route to a RN?

@popopopop you misunderstood. I was recommending taking the premed versions of the sciences because nursing programs accept those as well. Many nursing students who are considering med school take the "science for majors" versions of bio, chem, etc, so that they can kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Are you at a 4 year college? Or is this an AA route to a RN?

@popopopop you misunderstood. I was recommending taking the premed versions of the sciences because nursing programs accept those as well. Many nursing students who are considering med school take the "science for majors" versions of bio, chem, etc, so that they can kill two birds with one stone.

The program is a 2 year associates degree program. There are no pre reqs except for intro chemistry and algebra which I have already took. The program is only nursing classes

 

[PreMedMissteps]

The program is a 2 year associates degree program. There are no pre reqs except for intro chemistry and algebra which I have already took. The program is only nursing classes

OK that's a totally different situation. Well it's up to you as to whether you want to spend the next two years on nursing?
You're going to have to pay for a four-year degree anyways