Possible to get an associate nursing degree while being pre-med?

[Raihan Mirza]

I will be done with my pre-med requirements by May of 2010. I was thinking about getting a nursing degree starting September 2009. I was also thinking about taking anatomy and physiology this summer. I was hoping that most of the classes I take as an undergrad will transfer in my associate degree. I was also hoping to get an associate degree before I graduate as an undergrad. What I am asking is that, would it be possible to get an associate degree while getting a bachelor? I mean I have heard people becoming successful paramedics while getting a bachelors degrees. I plan on taking night classes for my associate degree, while taking morning classes and afternoon classes for my bachelors.

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[AdmiralChz]

If you want to put in the work, then I don't see why you couldn't. Many people get their associates at a community college and then transfer to a 4-year university for 2 years to get their bachelors... this seems similar to what you want to do?

 

[LizzyM]

Nursing courses generally have labs and clinical rotations that are a huge time sink. The grading is often a bitch, too, and could really screw up your gpa. Furthermore, taking a slot in an associate degree program that would qualify you to sit for the RN exam but then not to take the exam & work as a nurse is taking a slot away from someone who wants a career in nursing at a time when there is a nursing shortage. (When has there NOT been a nursing shortage?)

All in all, a bad plan.

 

[binko]

Yeah, don't get an associates in nursing if you don't want to be a nurse. It's more demanding than you likely anticipate. An MPH or a masters of health administration would serve you better.

 

[Raihan Mirza]

If its physically possible for me to become a nurse as a pre-med I definitely want to do it till the end. The reason why is because I really want to get the amount of patient contact as a nurse. I also was thinking of working as a parttime nurse while in medical school. I feel by being a nurse I can become a better doctor.

 

[njbmd]

If its physically possible for me to become a nurse as a pre-med I definitely want to do it till the end. The reason why is because I really want to get the amount of patient contact as a nurse. I also was thinking of working as a parttime nurse while in medical school. I feel by being a nurse I can become a better doctor.

As others have advised, nursing is more time consuming than appears at face value. You think that you can work as a nurse and still take pre-med coursework and perform at a high level but quickly find out that after a 12-hour shift of nursing, you have little energy left for anything other than you bed. Your nursing won't suffer but your grades in pre-med will.

There are better ways to get patient contact than nursing that don't require long hours. Volunteering in the ED is one way to do this. If you are so strapped for cash, you should look into other allied health careers that don't demand as much time such as CT or ultrasound technician. Even being an MRI technician would give you more time for your coursework as it isn't as physically demanding as nursing.

Being a nurse won't make you a better physician. Being a good medical student will make you a better physician which doesn't involve nursing at all. The two professions are totally different even though they share the same workspace occasionally.

 

[briton]

If its physically possible for me to become a nurse as a pre-med I definitely want to do it till the end. The reason why is because I really want to get the amount of patient contact as a nurse. I also was thinking of working as a parttime nurse while in medical school. I feel by being a nurse I can become a better doctor.

I've worked for two years as a CNA and have got PLENTY of patient contact without having to take nursing classes and jeopardize my GPA or, as Lizzy says, taken a slot away from someone else.

 

[caroladybelle]

As others have advised, nursing is more time consuming than appears at face value. You think that you can work as a nurse and still take pre-med coursework and perform at a high level but quickly find out that after a 12-hour shift of nursing, you have little energy left for anything other than you bed. Your nursing won't suffer but your grades in pre-med will.

Being a nurse won't make you a better physician. Being a good medical student will make you a better physician which doesn't involve nursing at all. The two professions are totally different even though they share the same workspace occasionally.

As a nurse, I agree with these points.

Nursing classes/clinicals require a lot of hours of lab/class time/prep that are not reflected in credit hours alotted.

In addition, despite the "shortage", new graduate nurses are having difficulty in many areas, in getting that first job. Most good first employers want the new grad to work fulltime for a while as well as commit to working for them for several years....our "version" of internship. They would also be reluctant to offer parttime employment and/or new grad internship to someone who is not seen as being as invested in nursing.

The other major (MAJOR!!!!) problem, is for most good nursing programs in any major school/area, openings are quite limited and competitive. There are waiting lists for 6 monthes to several years in many areas. If the program requires more than grades and has an admission committee, you may be required to be interviewed or write an essay. As well as usually your academic record is reviewed by the the admission committee. If there are indications that your primary interest is medicine and not nursing, chances are they would be reluctant to offer you an opening if you are aiming for just doing a couple of years before you get your medical degree.

Much on this BB has been made that an opening in medical school/a good internship "should" go to the best candidate, but also the one that will devote more of their life/time to medicine........ as the openings/internships are a scarce commodity. In this economy, there are a large number of applicants for each nursing school position and these openings are scarce.

For my program, in 1990, there were over 500 applicants for 60 places. The numbers are higher now.