Nursing student in need of honest advice/insight.

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

mapandterritory

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
125
Reaction score
3
I am currently a nursing student. Although I do enjoy what I'm studying, it's not what I really love. My family is somewhat traditional, and I felt pressure to major in nursing instead. By no means am I suffering at all. I will not graduate in debt, and I have only about 1.5 years left of classes (so I figured that I might as well finish the program). To top it all off, I can expect a well-paying job once I pass the NCLEX (thanks to volunteering/connections), and I learned to have more of a "backbone" from my experiences so far.

Medical school has always been in the back of my mind, even though I never seriously considered it until now. I've heard of nurses who've gone back to medical school, but that isn't the only path I have in mind. I'm also very interested in the possibility of going for a PhD eventually. The funny thing is that I used to not like math/physical sciences very much, but I spent much of my free time over the past two years taking advantage of resources like MIT's OpenCourseWare, iTunes U, Khan Academy, and Open Culture.There could be things that those online lectures/texts missed, but I gained confidence from being able to change my mindset on things.:)

All of these tangents going off in my head leave me with a dilemma... What am I going to do? Would it make sense for me to just finish the remaining pre-requisites after I graduate so I can apply to med school shortly after? Should I go for another degree and see how things go from there?

Let me clarify some things. I will have general chemistry and o-chem over with by the time I graduate (I expect to get A's in those courses). I've gotten grades of 95+ for microbiology, general chem I, biology, A&P, etc. Overall my GPA is hovering between 3.8 and 3.9. Unfortunately I don't test as well on nursing exams for a number of reasons, mostly because I over-think a lot of questions. Bad habit.

I was considering going back for another degree even while I work as a RN. I read how some people on here took post-bacc programs or took classes "a la carte" before applying. Even so, I will be able to get tuition compensation if I go back to school, and I also hope to do some research. I turn 20 in a few months, I'm still very young. I'm interested in several programs, including engineering, math, and the physical sciences. Even though I have to take the credits for physics. calculus, and so on, I learned a lot of it on my own.

Some of my professors have already offered me LOR's. I should be able to participate in some research next year, and I have some clinical experience and volunteering under my belt.

I am torn between the idea of just getting the remaining pre-reqs done after I graduate or spending a few more years in school getting my feet wet to study what I'm interested in and get a better idea of whether a MD/PhD program is what I want to do. It is definitely possible that I might not even go to medical school, but I was hoping for some advice if I go on that path.

I wish I could say that I have more specific questions and goals in mind, but I would appreciate any insight/advice if there are good intentions behind them. Thank you!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
Can you go to medical school? Sure, why not.

Should you go to medical school? No one else can answer that for you.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I am torn between what would be the most reasonable choice to make. In the end I will make the decision, but I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to go back to school for a few more years or just get the rest of the pre-reqs done. I also wonder if anyone else on here experienced something similar. I figured that some extra advice couldn't hurt. You're both quite right, and thanks for replying anyway. My apologies for not having clear questions and goals put out there, but I think writing all this cleared my head a bit. A mix of sleep deprivation and worrying about my dad's health has made my thinking quite fuzzy recently. I'll figure it out. :)
 
Shadow a doctor and attend lectures given by physicians if you can(my school holds these weekly). Those are probably the best things you can do to help figure it all out.

It will come to you. If you're absolutely ready, the type of degree doesn't matter just get the prereqs and the grades. Don't attempt the prereqs unless you're ready to get As. Bio majors do have a bit of an advantage for taking medically relevant courses so you may want to consider switching majors. However since grades are important, it's best to major in what will give you the best chance for a high gpa.

If you're not quite sure, stay on the same path. Time will get you somewhere.
 
Top