Personal statement help from RNs to MD/DO

[Noeljan]

Hey everyone,
A little info about me: I am 24 years old, I completed my BSN in May 2003. I am now finishing up my BA in bio with a minor in Chem, and applying to medical school (taking my MCATs most likely in August). So, for all of you who received your nursing degrees prior to medical school, what kinds of things did you include as to why you were chosing medicine as opposed to staying in nursing (personally, I don't even think the question should be as important in that nursing is a major just like anything else, so why not ask EVERYONE why they didn't stay in their fields), but we know they do....so any tips as to how to word this. I have several ideas.
First, deep down I knew I would apply to medical school (even from my 1st year) but I worked as a CNA, and thought it would be good to get my RN. I come from parents who didn't finish the 9th grade, so it's drilled in your head to make sure you have a guaranteed job. They really don't understand
Second, when asked about why not NP...I think I will say that I want to completely practice medicine to the fullest extent. At this point I see myself being a surgeon(but I know that could change). I do think experience is important, but I don't think anything can replace an education. I do think NPs, PAs are a great idea, but not for me.
One thing that bothers me about the nursing profession is the battle over educational requirements. I feel education needs to be valued all the way around. If they want to keep drilling more and more education into nurses, they can't expect nurses to still do CNA work, or even janitors work (I dont think I will talk about this, but it does really bother me)
Any other tips would be greatly appreciated🙂
Thanks
J🙂
ps I made sure they can't use the whole nursing sciences are not hard, etc...Well I finished in the top in my prereqs (including biochem and organic) and am actually winning an award for being in the top 1% for thr entire year at my school for Organic🙂 BTW I think that whole idea is ridiculous, as my nursing classes were 10 times the work as the "pre-med" reqs. I mean some of the nursing pre-reqs I took as a freshmen are what senior "pre-meds are now taking after they had courses like biochem and organic.

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[joey_f44]

what was your gpa when you graduated nursing school and what is it now.. Just curious i dont think i want to settle on just being a nurse myself either

 

[RNnowDoclater]

Hey everyone,
A little info about me: I am 24 years old, I completed my BSN in May 2003. I am now finishing up my BA in bio with a minor in Chem, and applying to medical school (taking my MCATs most likely in August). So, for all of you who received your nursing degrees prior to medical school, what kinds of things did you include as to why you were chosing medicine as opposed to staying in nursing .

Hey,

I would also like to hear answers to this question. I'm a nurse who will take a post-bacc program in a couple years.
I have something in mind such as: My family never encouraged more than community college education and it wasn't until I was 22 that I discovered nursing as an option for me. After doing well and completing nursing school, I worked as an RN and realized that I wanted to do primary care and that I wanted to expand my academic mind in a very medical way. I realized, hey! Medical school IS in my reach.
Thank goodness I have a couple years to iron that out 🙂

 

[ms. thing]

I am also an RN that is starting medical school in the fall. I graduated with a BSN in 2003. When I wrote my personal statement, I tried to sell the fact that I have more clinical and "hands on" experiences compared to the other regular pre-meds(no offense), so I have a clue what medicine is all about. Through my application cycle, I did not receive any negativity concerning leaving nursing to attend medical school. but in every one of my interview, I was usually asked why are you wanting to become a doctor ( have a very good answer for this). It was I my first time around the block and I got accepted the first time, so I am pretty grateful. Good luck.

 

[meantobe]

I am planning on going to medical school as well. I just graduated from nursing school in December, and I have already discovered that I do NOT want to continue to be a nurse. I want to be the care provider, and I want to be responsible for being sure that patients get the best care available. I can't do that as a nurse. I'm just starting down this road, so I'm sure I;ll have a lot of questions. ANybody want to be my cyber-mentor??? 😀

 

[r90t]

Having interviewed people of all different backgrounds for med school, it is easy to distinguish a fabricated statement from a truthful one, after interviewing the person. Be yourself in your statement and your interview. Also, don't pad your application without being able to back it up. We interviewed one guy who couldn't explain what his "published" research was, though he listed it on his publication.

A nurse to physician was the person who convinced me that a career change into med school was possible. I owe her a lot and will pass on her good will.

Questions that may pop up are..did you like nursing? Why do you want to be a physician? What type of medicine do you want to do? If you say primary care, the next question could by....so why not NP? What did you like about nursing?

 

[Futbolene]

Hey Noel many congrats on the continued educational success and progression...as an RN to DO myself I did find it a task to try and explain my decision to "switch teams" as some called it...to me Nursing is the ultimate Pre-Med...I will go so far as to say that all physicians should at some point be required to attend Nursing school or at a minimum shadow a nurse in order to understand what it is that these hard working people do...I do feel there is a professional gap...expertly designed or shamefully perpetuated...either way it is a gap I hope to bridge...and hopefully along the way impress upon either a fellow med student or my fellow co-workers that we are all ultimately on the same team...we are all here for the benefit of our patients...

 

[bennyhanna]

As RNs, a broad focus is given to patient care as an advocate, understanding your patients emotional needs, spiritual etc.... whereas, doctors are more focused on the ailment to treat the patient than the patient.

How do you think this previous nursing training will benefit your medical career, and how might it hinder it?

BB

 

[tahitian3]

I have a question for Noel. If you finished your BSN last May then you must have been working on your Bio and Chem classes during nursing school right? Or did you just take an overload of classes and finished in a year after getting your BSN?
Also, do you have any tips for doing well in Chem? I'm very proud of you, as a female, for doing so well in the hard sciences.

 

[bennyhanna]

do you have any tips for doing well in Chem? I'm very proud of you, as a female, for doing so well in the hard sciences.

There is a great book on Chemistry called "Chemistry Concepts & Problems, 2nd ed" by Clifford C. Houk and Richard Post. Available on amazon.com for around 10.00 It covers the basics and usually the first 8-10 chapters of general chemistry I but it will help you understand it better, it also has great reviews on amazon.

BB

 

[RN-to-DO]

Sorry to bump a 12-year-old thread. I know, I know. For the RN-MD's out there, what were your stats (e.g., GPA, years exp, unit, MCAT, science GPA, volunteering, extracurricular, etc.)? Did the ADCOM allow you flexibility with poor stats (e.g., Low GPA, low MCAT, no volunteering, etc.) because of your credentials and experience? Are you happy with your decision and would you do it again?

Tags: RN MD RN-MD RN-DO BSN-MD BSN-DO personal statement admission essay

 

[mikey014]

actually looking at another thread seems like he or she made the decision.