PA school or NP school or MD/DO school!

[NPorPAorMD2b]

Have any of you on here ever had friends or family members that made you feel that they didn't think you could handle medical school? I'm a freshman in college at a community college. They tell me that "I can do anything I set my mind on", but I sort of feel like in the back of their minds they don't think I could handle the work. I've never been the very top of my class. I've got a 3.75 right now, but I've just taken general education classes right now.I've got this feeling that being a doctor is something that I really think that I would like. I know that my family and friends would support me on anything I choose, and I know that I could handle it without them, but I am a family oriented person. How much of a negative light do you think admission committees look at community colleges. If I don't go to medical school I'm thinking about being a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. I'm really sorry for such a loaded first post!!

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[crazy_cavalier]

Have any of you on here ever had friends or family members that made you feel that they didn't think you could handle medical school? I'm a freshman in college at a community college. They tell me that "I can do anything I set my mind on", but I sort of feel like in the back of their minds they don't think I could handle the work. I've never been the very top of my class. I've got a 3.75 right now, but I've just taken general education classes right now.I've got this feeling that being a doctor is something that I really think that I would like. I know that my family and friends would support me on anything I choose, and I know that I could handle it without them, but I am a family oriented person. How much of a negative light do you think admission committees look at community colleges. If I don't go to medical school I'm thinking about being a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. I'm really sorry for such a loaded first post!!

I'm not going to lie. Adcoms definitely consider your undergraduate institution. Coming from a community college will be a major disadvantage. A solid MCAT score can help to offset this.

PA is also a very good field you might want to look into. There are lots of options, don't keep yourself limited.

Good luck.

 

[NPorPAorMD2b]

Thank you so much for answering my post! I'm still trying to decide what route is best for me. Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[Nebuloso]

I'm not going to lie. Adcoms definitely consider your undergraduate institution. Coming from a community college will be a major disadvantage. A solid MCAT score can help to offset this.

PA is also a very good field you might want to look into. There are lots of options, don't keep yourself limited.

Good luck.[/QUOTE

I will disagree here. Attending a comm college is not a "major" disadvantage. Many people attend CCs b/c tuition is typically 1/2 that of a univ, and if med schools simply consider CCs to be second rate, it's a kind of economic discrimination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying med schools are all above this, but for the most part I think you will be fine attending a comm. college especially if you take a majority of your more rigorous classes at the 4-year (after transferring). Do O-chem at the 4-year. Lots of trash is talked about the community colleges, just ignore it and do what you can.

 

[kdburton]

Thank you so much for answering my post! I'm still trying to decide what route is best for me. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Well correct me if I'm wrong, but most community colleges only offer the general classes right? So you would have to transfer to a 4-year university at some point anyways. If thats the case then make sure that the med schools you might apply to accept credits that you took at a community college. Otherwise I think I've seen a fair amount of people on here who started out at a community college, transferred to a 4-year and successfully got into med school. I think that most people can do whatever they set their mind to for the most part (obviously there are some exceptions), so just keep your head up and keep working hard. I would suggest talking to a school counselor that knows about all the pre-med requirements too because they probably have some good information for you.

 

[NPorPAorMD2b]

Well correct me if I'm wrong, but most community colleges only offer the general classes right? So you would have to transfer to a 4-year university at some point anyways. If thats the case then make sure that the med schools you might apply to accept credits that you took at a community college. Otherwise I think I've seen a fair amount of people on here who started out at a community college, transferred to a 4-year and successfully got into med school. I think that most people can do whatever they set their mind to for the most part (obviously there are some exceptions), so just keep your head up and keep working hard. I would suggest talking to a school counselor that knows about all the pre-med requirements too because they probably have some good information for you.

Yeah, you're right about the classes. I can take O-chem at the CC, but I know that It would look a LOT better if I waited and took it at the 4-year university. By the way, what do MD's/DO's think about a nurse practitioner? Thanks guys for your replies! Please keep them comming!

 

[hadokenny]

My friends dad went to a CC...he got into USC med school and is now one of the top surgeons in LA. As long as you believe in yourself and work hard, going to a CC wont keep you from med school.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

I will disagree here. Attending a comm college is not a "major" disadvantage. Many people attend CCs b/c tuition is typically 1/2 that of a univ, and if med schools simply consider CCs to be second rate, it's a kind of economic discrimination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying med schools are all above this, but for the most part I think you will be fine attending a comm. college especially if you take a majority of your more rigorous classes at the 4-year (after transferring). Do O-chem at the 4-year. Lots of trash is talked about the community colleges, just ignore it and do what you can.

Indeed. You do realize, though, that your reasoning illustrates how coming from a CC could be a disadvantage by virtue of the fact that you encourage the OP to take the "more rigorous courses" at a 4-year institution?

Bottom line realism and wake-up call: the undergrad institution does carry some weight. Yes hard work will get you where you want to go and it depends on what YOU put into it, but it's grossly naive to ignore or deny the fact that the college you went is a factor in all this.

 

[silas2642]

Thank you so much for answering my post! I'm still trying to decide what route is best for me. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Shadow some doctors, PA's, and/or NPs. Going for the MD is not something you really want to do unless you are 110% sure that this it is what you want to do with your life.

About the CC thing, I would think that it would be best to transfer to a four year university; it doesn't have to be Harvard or anything (despite what people on this board may tell you).

 

[CruiseLover]

Nurse anesthesists are in great demand right now. You need a Bachelor's of science in nursing. You have to have a year or two of experience in working in surgery or ICU. You receive a master's degree and salaries in my midwest state start at about $115,000 and go up to about $160. If you really want to do this cheap. Go to an associates degree nursing program. This can cost about $3500 for 3 years. After that, work at an institution that has tuition reimbursement. So while you are working 3 12 hour shifts per week, pulling in about $45,000 per year, you go to school for free to complete your bachelor's. Since you're already getting your experience, you can head straight to grad school which takes 2 years fulltime. At the most, you will be going to school about 6 years undergrad, 2 years grad and ending up with NO DEBT!

I have a drive for medicine and I'm going that route. But pediatricians and GPs in my area are making less than nurse anesthesists. I'm being told by doctors in my community I'm crazy. Sometimes I think I am. But I'm accepted to med school and going for it! Good luck with your decisions.

 

[jwsmiths]

Indeed. You do realize, though, that your reasoning illustrates how coming from a CC could be a disadvantage by virtue of the fact that you encourage the OP to take the "more rigorous courses" at a 4-year institution?

Bottom line realism and wake-up call: the undergrad institution does carry some weight. Yes hard work will get you where you want to go and it depends on what YOU put into it, but it's grossly naive to ignore or deny the fact that the college you went is a factor in all this.

It does carry weight certainly and I also suggest taking Phyics, Bio and O-Chem at the 4yr - but for a different reason. 4Yr Universities probably will help you to better judge how well you will be able to handle the courseload at medical school. CC's are great for misc classes but the work load is lower b/c their aimed towards working people who have 40hr/wk jobs and families. 4yr univ professors couldn't care less about your life outside their class.

 

[mshheaddoc]

I disagree completely with those who say community colleges aren't the same. First I'd talk with medical schools you are considering to apply for and you'd be surprised. There are MANY people at my school who went to CC first then transferred to a 4 year institution. Mainly though due to commuting time. I live 75 miles away from my institution and many people commute. Therefore the CC is another option to get your BASIC sciences done. Usually chem/bio/micro/physics and maybe ochem.

If you want to go to Harvard or some Ivy or top 20, maybe they might question you but every other school I talked with never questioned the community college roll. Its becoming an EVER increaasing component in current college/university financial plans. Additionally, gives many people the opportunity to explore before deciding on a career path.

How many of you have taken a community college science class? You think its any easier? I really really really really beg to differ. You cover the same material as your peers in other schools. I've taken 3 science classes and will have taken quite a score of other classes. I know for a fact that they will not harm my chances for school.

Main point: Don't worry about it, you will have to transfer to a 4 year college for PA or MD/DO school and you are aware of this. Contact some of the schools you might be interested in and see what they say. Take things on this forum with a grain of salt.
I was in the same position as yourself on deciding what to do. I had applied to an accelerated BSN program (I'm non-trad) but fate didn't have that in the cards for me and now I have decided that MD/DO is for me. I have known others on this board that decided PA or RN/NP/BSN was for them. You have plenty of time to do your research and remember, getting your nursing degree then going back for more education isn't a bad thing. Many people in my classes are doing that now.

 

[mshheaddoc]

Indeed. You do realize, though, that your reasoning illustrates how coming from a CC could be a disadvantage by virtue of the fact that you encourage the OP to take the "more rigorous courses" at a 4-year institution?

Bottom line realism and wake-up call: the undergrad institution does carry some weight. Yes hard work will get you where you want to go and it depends on what YOU put into it, but it's grossly naive to ignore or deny the fact that the college you went is a factor in all this.

Yeah it carries weight with the fact that you need to have a BS/BA or 90 credits in order to apply for most DO/MD/PA programs. There's no getting around that. Therefore a 4 year institution with upper division level sciences are recommended. You don't have to, but most people recommend them.

 

[mshheaddoc]

As to figuring out what direction you want to go,


Shadow NP's

Shadow PA's

Shadow MD/DO's

Volunteer in the hospital to see how things work


And whomever was talking about the CRNA's just make sure you are aware how competitive those programs are right now and only will increase in the future. Its not like everyone has CRNA programs. *http://www.anesthesia-nursing.com/school.html* Its a great program and they are currently trying to expand but if you are doing it just for the money, I've heard of people who ended up miserable in the end. Just a friendly statement from some one who was on the same route a few years ago!

 

[OSUdoc08]

As to figuring out what direction you want to go,


Shadow NP's

Shadow PA's

Shadow MD/DO's

Volunteer in the hospital to see how things work


And whomever was talking about the CRNA's just make sure you are aware how competitive those programs are right now and only will increase in the future. Its not like everyone has CRNA programs. *http://www.anesthesia-nursing.com/school.html* Its a great program and they are currently trying to expand but if you are doing it just for the money, I've heard of people who ended up miserable in the end. Just a friendly statement from some one who was on the same route a few years ago!

You can do all of these simultaneously. Become a volunteer in the ER, where you can follow around all of the above in the same shift, and get an idea about how each of them work.

This will enhance your application, since you will have shadowed a physician, earned volunteer hours, and began a relationship with a physician who can write you a recommendation letter.