PhD to MD?

[PhD-RN-to-MD]

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Here is my current situation: I’m 34 years old and an an assistant professor in a School of Nursing at a university. I completed my BSN, MSN and PhD back-to-back with no time off in between. I’ve been out of my PhD for 3 years. I have an eclectic clinical background, have numerous research publications, and have secured external federal research funding. But I’ve always wanted to be a physician. I had no family support and chose nursing because it was a quicker way to a paycheck to support myself. I just stuck with nursing and excelled in it. I really want to be a provider and do not way to do an FNP. I have loved the role of the physician in my nursing career and have finally decided to pursue it.

I need to complete a few years of pre-reqs and am signed up to start them at a community college (they offer the classes at times that I can take them). I have a decent UGPA (3.5+). My science GPA is lower (3.3ish) but plan to improve that with my pre-reqs.

Am I crazy to try and pursue medicine given my nursing career?

Is it important for me to get shadowing experience or will it suffice that I’ve worked alongside physicians for a decade?

Thanks!

 

[Nedsson]

So, I think that because your background is so unique ( there are a few rn to md folks on sdn, but I've not met any nursing faculty to date) its going to be hard to get solid advice specific to your situation...That said, here's my thoughts:

Q1. Are you crazy? A. Dunno. You've got a lot invested in nursing, and I'm not sure that all of it will matter that much to adcoms. Still, if you want it bad enough...only you can say. A question that you'll definitely be asked if you make it to interviews is "If you KNEW you always wanted to be a physician, why did you settle for nursing?"(I read your answer above, but I'm not sure some interviewers will like your answer...if only because you put what was expedient above your passion for medicine). I think that clinical experience (Full disclosure...I was a CCRN before deciding to pursue medicine) is definitely a plus in interviews (at least it was for me), but I think the value ascribed to your graduate nursing studies will depend greatly on the individual medical school. It's great to have research and publication, but having proved yourself in the sciences is an absolute must for most programs.

Q2. Is it important for me to get shadowing experience or will it suffice that I’ve worked alongside physicians for a decade? A. I think it depends. You said you went straight from BSN to MSN to PhD. Did you also work close to full time during these years, or was it mostly just pursuing your degree? If the former, you are probably ok for clinical hours. In the latter case, I'm not so sure some shadowing might not make your interest seem more legit.

Finally, this is just my 2p but here it is. My advice is not to take the pre-reqs at the community college. I fully appreciate how difficult it is to manage your schedule when working and going to school full time (the story of my life, sadly). One of the challenges that you have to overcome will be a (at least perceived) deficiency in the sciences. Your current science GPA does you no favors at this point either, especially given that you probably haven't taken the majority of science courses that most premeds find challenging ( year of both Ochem and physics w/lab, genetics, biochemistry, cell biology are all examples of this).I'm not saying this to be judgmental, just honest. Taking these at University level will help show adcoms that you can handle a med school curriculum (a good score on the MCAT will help as well). Many schools (I suspect most) also require a few upper division sciences as well, so you won't be able to take everything you need at a community college anyways. In addition...find something nonclinical that you love and volunteer in that activity. That's an area of my application that I neglected (It ended up not mattering much, but I wish I'd done it while I could).

Good luck!

 

[PhD-RN-to-MD]

So, I think that because your background is so unique ( there are a few rn to md folks on sdn, but I've not met any nursing faculty to date) its going to be hard to get solid advice specific to your situation...That said, here's my thoughts:

Q1. Are you crazy? A. Dunno. You've got a lot invested in nursing, and I'm not sure that all of it will matter that much to adcoms. Still, if you want it bad enough...only you can say. A question that you'll definitely be asked if you make it to interviews is "If you KNEW you always wanted to be a physician, why did you settle for nursing?"(I read your answer above, but I'm not sure some interviewers will like your answer...if only because you put what was expedient above your passion for medicine). I think that clinical experience (Full disclosure...I was a CCRN before deciding to pursue medicine) is definitely a plus in interviews (at least it was for me), but I think the value ascribed to your graduate nursing studies will depend greatly on the individual medical school. It's great to have research and publication, but having proved yourself in the sciences is an absolute must for most programs.

Q2. Is it important for me to get shadowing experience or will it suffice that I’ve worked alongside physicians for a decade? A. I think it depends. You said you went straight from BSN to MSN to PhD. Did you also work close to full time during these years, or was it mostly just pursuing your degree? If the former, you are probably ok for clinical hours. In the latter case, I'm not so sure some shadowing might not make your interest seem more legit.

Finally, this is just my 2p but here it is. My advice is not to take the pre-reqs at the community college. I fully appreciate how difficult it is to manage your schedule when working and going to school full time (the story of my life, sadly). One of the challenges that you have to overcome will be a (at least perceived) deficiency in the sciences. Your current science GPA does you no favors at this point either, especially given that you probably haven't taken the majority of science courses that most premeds find challenging ( year of both Ochem and physics w/lab, genetics, biochemistry, cell biology are all examples of this).I'm not saying this to be judgmental, just honest. Taking these at University level will help show adcoms that you can handle a med school curriculum (a good score on the MCAT will help as well). Many schools (I suspect most) also require a few upper division sciences as well, so you won't be able to take everything you need at a community college anyways. In addition...find something nonclinical that you love and volunteer in that activity. That's an area of my application that I neglected (It ended up not mattering much, but I wish I'd done it while I could).

Good luck!

Thanks for your response and insight! I will be interested to see how admission committees respond to my nursing history. I definitely do not see it as settling. It was a decision I made based on the context of my life (absolutely no family support, worked 2-3 jobs to support myself my last year of high school and throughout college). Nursing was in the healthcare field and provided me financial stability. But I understand that adcom folks may not see it that way.

In regards to your question about my clinical work history, I worked full time in the clinical setting (PICU, psych, dialysis) while in graduate school. Also, as a nursing faculty member, I have never left the clinical setting. I still bring students into the hospital and still periodically work per-diem as an RN.

Thanks for your thoughts about me doing the rest of my science pre-reqs at a community college. Hopefully, I can take a mix of classes from the CC and university.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

But I understand that adcom folks may not see it that way.

They will if you frame it that way.