RN going to DO School....Am I crazy?

[DamianBlane]

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Not sure if this is the best forum, apologies if it isn't.

I have an interest in Med School, obviously moreso towards the Osteopathic approach. I am an RN with 4 years experience in critical care/emergency/trauma. From what I have experienced I find that my favorite doctors to work with are the DO's for their basis of practice and approach towards pt care. Everything I have read points to Osteopathic medicine as my preferred approach to med school. I would want to go into Emergency Medicine for a specialty.

Is it unreasonable to think I could go to Med School? Is DO school intense to the point that I would be unable to work a shift here and there with my RN license? I have talked to a few docs I work with who pretty much all say that my experience as a nurse will greatly help with DO school.

Again, I don't know if this is crazy but it has always been an interest of mine since I got into the field.

Thoughts?

 

[572776]

Not sure if this is the best forum, apologies if it isn't.

I have an interest in Med School, obviously moreso towards the Osteopathic approach. I am an RN with 4 years experience in critical care/emergency/trauma. From what I have experienced I find that my favorite doctors to work with are the DO's for their basis of practice and approach towards pt care. Everything I have read points to Osteopathic medicine as my preferred approach to med school.

Is it unreasonable to think I could go to Med School? Is DO school intense to the point that I would be unable to work a shift here and there with my RN license? I have talked to a few docs I work with who pretty much all say that my experience as a nurse will greatly help with DO school.

Again, I don't know if this is crazy but it has always been an interest of mine since I got into the field.

Thoughts?

you can do it👍 but don't work while you are in med school

 

[kdur]

I am a RN (10 years in the ED) who is just about to graduate from a D.O. school.

Medical school is a lot of work and the first 2 years you are studying alot (if you want to do well). Having nursing experience really does nothing to help you in the first 2 years. The level of difficulty is huge compared to nursing school. Where nursing will help you is in the 3rd and 4th years as these are the clinical years and you will have a level of comfort and familiarity with how a hospital works that your peers may not have.

As for working during school; I tried that during the first year but it wasn't really worth the time lost from studying (I was really only able to pick up about 7 shifts in 6 months). You may be more efficient at studying and it so you may be able to work more. But for me I valued my study time more than the few extra dollars that I would have made.

So if you are willing to put your life on hold for the next 7+ years, go for it!
I am glad I did.

 

[primadonna22274]

Take the prereqs. Do well in them and score a solid MCAT. If your RN training only included "science for nurses", you have quite a bit more biology, chemistry and physics to learn. Score great letters of recommendation from your mentors. Write a very clear personal statement that expresses your reasoning for advancing your education in medicine and not nursing.
Now, as for work during med school: you can do it *occasionally*. I am a PA and have been able to work very part-time 2nd year of DO school but I hardly worked at all 1st year. It was just too much. You have to manage your time and choose what to give up. I don't watch TV--at all--so I have more hours in my week than those who do. Working was pretty much a financial necessity for me last semester but this semester is better. I made peace with Bs but wonder if I could have made a few As if I hadn't needed to work.
I would caution you that my experience may not be applicable to yours. As a PA I have already learned a great deal of the medicine we learned in systems over the past year--med school enabled me to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and learn the science behind the medicine much, much better. Your nursing background will help you for sure, but medicine is very different.
Good luck!

 

[graduate2be]

If you are really feeling it, go for it! 🙂
I wouldn't try to work in med school if I were you. Its not unheard of, my pizza delivery guy is an OMS II at AZCOM (helping his wife cover childcare expenses) and I had a friend at UAB that managed a Blockbuster Video during her MS I and II years so that she could keep up with her child support payments, but med school is going to be so time consuming as far as your studies that you won't have the time to work. Maybe you can work during breaks or summers when you aren't studying for board exams but I can't see more than that. Wish you luck!

Not sure if this is the best forum, apologies if it isn't.

I have an interest in Med School, obviously moreso towards the Osteopathic approach. I am an RN with 4 years experience in critical care/emergency/trauma. From what I have experienced I find that my favorite doctors to work with are the DO's for their basis of practice and approach towards pt care. Everything I have read points to Osteopathic medicine as my preferred approach to med school. I would want to go into Emergency Medicine for a specialty.

Is it unreasonable to think I could go to Med School? Is DO school intense to the point that I would be unable to work a shift here and there with my RN license? I have talked to a few docs I work with who pretty much all say that my experience as a nurse will greatly help with DO school.

Again, I don't know if this is crazy but it has always been an interest of mine since I got into the field.

Thoughts?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using SDN Mobile

 

[survivordo]

There were a couple of RNs in my class that worked shifts during med school. They seemed to make out fine and most enjoyed the extra $$$.

It is true that your experience will help you in med school but please don't be one of those people that is constantly "Well, when I was a RN we did it like this..." There is nothing in the world more annoying to me.

Survivor DO

 

[scpod]

There were a few RNs in my class. A couple of them did work some shifts. I taught anatomy and physiology classes five nights a week for the first two years so you can get through it with working. It saved me quite a lot on borrowing becuase I made an extra 25 grand a year doing that. It is also nice to get "away" from med school sometimes. It is probably dependent upon the person. I could probably could have done better gradewize if I'd not worked and just studied. But I made it to chief resident in my residency and signed a contract as an attending at my number one choice spot. It turned out just fine.

 

[gocatgo]

No, you're not crazy! There are 3 RNs in my class and all have done well in med school so far--however, they didn't work any shifts. Definitely don't work during school-focus on studying! 🙂

 

[Osteotastic]

There is nothing wrong with being an RN.

You are looking at 7 or more years of extremely hard work and a huge amount of loans. Be ready to put every other aspect of your life on hold for this. Do not go for the holistic reasons. That is a sale's pitch and is not enough.

If you're willing to sacrifice everything else and want to be a Physician and work very very long hours and study countless hours. If you're willing to do that and take it where -ever it leads you - most likely across the country - maybe not at first for med school but most likely for residency - you will have to be willing to live far from family. If you are willing to do all of this then consider going.

Do not take this decision lightly. It would be doing you a disservice to give you anything less than this honest response. I am not being pessimistic. If I were being pessimistic I would do a much better job of it.


I should add-
On balance are most of my colleagues glad that they went to medical school and are now Physicians? I would say yes.

 

[Bones DO]

All the RN's I know of in my class have done well. Go for it and good luck!

 

[valkener]

You should do well with all your experience. There are many physicians who were nurses before. Yo can definitely work during your first summer and on other breaks.

 

[n3xa]

There is nothing wrong with being an RN.

You are looking at 7 or more years of extremely hard work and a huge amount of loans. Be ready to put every other aspect of your life on hold for this. Do not go for the holistic reasons. That is a sale's pitch and is not enough.

If you're willing to sacrifice everything else and want to be a Physician and work very very long hours and study countless hours. If you're willing to do that and take it where -ever it leads you - most likely across the country - maybe not at first for med school but most likely for residency - you will have to be willing to live far from family. If you are willing to do all of this then consider going.

Do not take this decision lightly. It would be doing you a disservice to give you anything less than this honest response. I am not being pessimistic. If I were being pessimistic I would do a much better job of it.


I should add-
On balance are most of my colleagues glad that they went to medical school and are now Physicians? I would say yes.

I think there needs to be more posts like this. People really do need to consider just how much they are willing to sacrifice. Two of the four people who left medical school so far were non-trads.

+1 for avoid using that whole holistic approach for going DO

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Yes ( 😉 ).

Take a look at the facts:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox..._computers_are_the_future_of_health_care.html

In all honesty, primary care (including reimbursements for primary care) is the future, and nurses are leading the forefront on that, simply because there are more of them. If the title doesn't matter to you, then advance your practice as a nurse and don't shell out all that astronomical money for med school unless you are 150% sure you are going to be a surgeon or radiologist (for example, lol...and even they, along with anesthesiologists, are losing reimbursements).

Also, check out: http://www.slate.com/articles/doubl...ners_should_do_primary_care_on_their_own.html

Good luck!

 

[calvinhobbes]

Or, to put it another way... "When an additional 32 million or so Americans are covered through the Affordable Care Act next year, the primary care physician shortage could be catastrophic; it's estimated to climb as high as 45,000 too few primary care physicians by 2020. Anyone who's looked for a new physician recently has probably heard some variant of this: "The doctor isn't taking new patients, but you can see the nurse practitioner or the physician assistant."" ... "It's time to unlock the gates to the primary care club. There will be plenty of patients for everyone."

 

[Dharma]

Only go to med school if you can't bare the thought of not becoming a physician. If you have the slightest of reservations or second thoughts, DON'T do it and stick with the nursing route. Seriously, if any of the above holds true for you, it is just not worth the time, money, or angst.

That said, if you REALLY want this (i.e. can't think of anything else you'd rather do) then by all means go all out and attack it! No doubt that you can make it happen. Lots of great advice here on SDN on how to do so!

Best of luck.

 

[Dharma]

There is nothing wrong with being an RN.

You are looking at 7 or more years of extremely hard work and a huge amount of loans. Be ready to put every other aspect of your life on hold for this. Do not go for the holistic reasons. That is a sale's pitch and is not enough.

If you're willing to sacrifice everything else and want to be a Physician and work very very long hours and study countless hours. If you're willing to do that and take it where -ever it leads you - most likely across the country - maybe not at first for med school but most likely for residency - you will have to be willing to live far from family. If you are willing to do all of this then consider going.

Do not take this decision lightly. It would be doing you a disservice to give you anything less than this honest response. I am not being pessimistic. If I were being pessimistic I would do a much better job of it.


I should add-
On balance are most of my colleagues glad that they went to medical school and are now Physicians? I would say yes.

👍 GREAT ADVICE.

 

[koojo]

We had quite a few nurses in our class. Yes, you can do it 👍

 

[Lacktherof]

I was a nurse prior to med school for about 7 years. If you can't see yourself doing anything else, than become a physician. It's hard work, but worth it.

 

[Arthroscope]

I was an RN and an Xray tech prior to going to med school at age 28. It was rough taking the MCAT and being out of undergrad for a few years.

Medical school is tough, not going to lie, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. What no one tells you is that, just getting by is difficult in itself, but if you want a good residency, its murderous. Theres no way to work and stay in the top 10% of your class/boards, its one or the other, and don't be surprised even if you study 100 hrs a week that you are in the middle 50% of your class. You need to devote 110% of your time to this, and its a big sacrifice to your social life, friends and family.

It also takes forever. I was 26 when i went back for post-bacc classes, so if you add that up, including med school, residency, and possibly fellowship, it is taking 10+ years of my life devoted to doing this including my pre-med time, which was tough in itself working my RN job and trying to take post bacc classes and study for the MCAT to make the deadline to apply early to schools etc.

Also, like an above poster said, RN school was basically a total joke compared to medical school. When I was an RN I knew I didn't have the same knowledge as a physician, but I thought I knew a decent amount of stuff, turns out I really didn't know jack. The level of difficulty of RN school (which I slept through basically) and medical school is astronomical. Plus, if you are the old guy/gal you have to tr and kep up with the young guys who's brains are sharper than yours, not an easy task.

EM is also a very competitive field, so better kick butt in med school when you go.

All in all was it worth it? for me it was, but thats a personal thing.

 

[primadonna22274]

Not to take away from what the RN posters here have told you, but I must say that my PA training was absolutely invaluable in med school. I studied half as much as most of my classmates and worked part-time (by financial necessity). My grades are good, probably top half of class, and my board score projections are looking good. It can be done.

 

[Arthroscope]

to the above poster, you may be right, but you went to PA school where you learned a decent amount of clinical medicine. Most PA's I have met have a similar knowledge base to that of a 3rd year med student IMO. According to my PA friends, their school was essentially like taking a crash course for usmle step 2 ( their words not mine), which explains why they did well on step 2 with less studying than most.

Coming from RN school to med school, I can tell you, the education base is not even in the same universe. You are going to need to study. Hard.

 

[primadonna22274]

Oh no argument from me. PA school was definitely hard but I loved it. Med school has been hard and I've loved it far less but I am 14 years older and more tired LOL.
Just pointing out that experiences are different and some folks are blessed with a good memory and it doesn't have to be a miserable experience. I still would never advise anyone to go to med school who thought they could be happy doing something else. For me there is nothing else. It's not quite sane 🙂

 

[survivordo]

BUT: forget about working part time when you are in medical school. This, however, is crazy:

This is bad advice, I have seen plenty of RN's/EMTs work a shift here and there. You are not going to support yourself but you can certainly pickup a little extra cash. Think about it, there are multiple times a month we waste 12 hours, if you are motivated you could be working instead. However, you may want to consider not working any shifts for the first month or two until you get "acquainted" with medical school and then slowly ramping it up to a number you feel comfortable with after that.

Survivor DO

 

[primadonna22274]

Totally agree with SurvivorDO. My classmates wonder how I can work but I don't watch TV (at all) whereas they may spend 10-20 hr/wk watching their shows. It's all about time management.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

While I think you wouldn't have any problem with DO school, I have to agree that becoming a midlevel may be more practical, economical, and reasonable for you at this point. NPs practice rights seem to get broader and broader every year - they're even practicing without direct physician oversight in some states - and they get to do this with a substantially smaller investment of time, money and effort vs physicians. In this environment, you have to look closely at the numbers and ask yourself if it really makes sense to go down the long, winding, arduous road of becoming a physician when you could likely do 95% of the same work, make at least 3/4 as much money, and do it in a quarter of the time and heartache by just becoming an NP.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Only go to med school if you can't bare the thought of not becoming a physician. If you have the slightest of reservations or second thoughts, DON'T do it and stick with the nursing route. Seriously, if any of the above holds true for you, it is just not worth the time, money, or angst.

Personally I've always found these type of statements overly dramatic.

With that said it is a lot of work, more than most can imagine until you're in it.

 

[EmergencyMonkey]

I didn't read all the other comments, but I would say some of the best doctors are those that have already made the medical sacrifice in whatever capacity. Those are the ones who know exactly what they want out of medicine and are willing to take that next step in their own lives. Those are the ones who know the importance of patient care and how to balance clinical medicine with caring for people.

 

[JGimpel]

Rock the MCAT, get into DO school.
Show up on day 1 with more medical knowledge and experience than most of your class.
Profit!

 

[willackerman]

Considering your experience, I think you can do well. I have a bunch of classmates who were RNs as well, so that gives you an idea to go for it.

 

[Didierdrogba]

I am just curious, can anyone comment on the difference of basic science curriculum at a DO school vs at a nursing school?

 

[primadonna22274]

I am just curious, can anyone comment on the difference of basic science curriculum at a DO school vs at a nursing school?

Light years apart.
DO basic science is the same basic science as MD curriculum.
Nursing science is "science for nurses", usually at a survey level eg. chemistry, A&P, microbio, pharm...much more superficial coverage.

 

[Didierdrogba]

Light years apart.
DO basic science is the same basic science as MD curriculum.
Nursing science is "science for nurses", usually at a survey level eg. chemistry, A&P, microbio, pharm...much more superficial coverage.

Let me be more clear then. I feel that what I learn at my medical school is already pretty superficial, I don't see how basic sciences can be taught at an even more superficial level. Can if nurses (or PA's) were to prepare for and take our step 1 board exam, can they pass baesd on what they learn at nursing school?

 

[primadonna22274]

Let me be more clear then. I feel that what I learn at my medical school is already pretty superficial, I don't see how basic sciences can be taught at an even more superficial level. Can if nurses (or PA's) were to prepare for and take our step 1 board exam, can they pass baesd on what they learn at nursing school?

Not at all. You are not being taught superficially. If you are you may be in trouble for step 1. I have been a PA for 13 years and I know how the curriculum differs. I could not have passed step 1 as a PA without the deeper knowledge in pathophysiology, microbio, immuno, cell biology/histo that I got in M1. I probably could have passed most of the medicine questions on step 1 although so many of those questions are asked circumstantially...you'll think you know the answer but then aha! We're not gonna ask you the answer...we wanna know "what's the mechanism of action of the best drug to treat this problem" or "where does the receptor bind to relay the message"...we did not learn cell signaling and all that other useless crap in PA school. I guarantee you nursing science never touches on it.

 

[Didierdrogba]

Not at all. You are not being taught superficially. If you are you may be in trouble for step 1. I have been a PA for 13 years and I know how the curriculum differs. I could not have passed step 1 as a PA without the deeper knowledge in pathophysiology, microbio, immuno, cell biology/histo that I got in M1. I probably could have passed most of the medicine questions on step 1 although so many of those questions are asked circumstantially...you'll think you know the answer but then aha! We're not gonna ask you the answer...we wanna know "what's the mechanism of action of the best drug to treat this problem" or "where does the receptor bind to relay the message"...we did not learn cell signaling and all that other useless crap in PA school. I guarantee you nursing science never touches on it.

Thanks for answering

 

[RN2DO]

I am a RN and worked every weekend, every vacation and holiday while in DO school. My commute was 1.5 hours each way and I have 3 kids. You can do it if you need to. I did not have a choice so I just did it. Looking forward to starting residency!

 

[Isha2018]

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[Isha2018]

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[Gither]

I've been a nurse for about 8 years. I recently got my first acceptance to DO school (ATSU-SOMA). Super-excited!!

Two questions:

Do the medical school professors treat RNs or NPs any differently or expect you to perform better than the recent 22 y.o. undergrads?

Did anyone move out to the med school area and get a RN job (full-time, part, or PRN) several months before med school started?

No one should care you were an rn and treat you differently. You'll be ahead of the game third year with regards to How a floor or department works but that's about it. The only thing I really ever hear from my rn to Med school friends is How they can't believe they used to think they knew it all. Or How dumb they feel thinking another doctor was dumb except they just didn't know how much they didn't know.

 

[OCDEMS]

MS1, FWIW:

My lesson to you: do not discount your previous clinical education.

Medical school is hard, but it's not impossible. From what I can tell, medical education has found an absolutely brilliant way to select for very smart and intelligent people, pile them in a room, and relatively ensure that 95% of them have the brains and drive to become doctors. So, in this regard, it's not like climbing Everest without oxygen or any other event in human experience that requires extreme ability. But it is more like this:

Every day someone will take you out front of your home, at say 8 AM (that's when lecture starts), and flog you with books full of knowledge. You're expected to absorb 70-85% of the knowledge associated with each beating, with progressively more absorption per strike. The floggings will start out slow, but a beating is, well, a beating. It's not pleasant. But the beatings will grow in intensity and they don't stop...for 7-8 years. There is a culture in medicine, perpetuated by physicians, that medical education is "grueling." Our professors use that adjective more than any other to describe their days learning to become physicians and they enjoy, with strange admiration, passing that experience on to their students. At first it may come off as a weird form of hate and discontent, but it's actually affection for the process. They believe that good physicians must endure this same curriculum, complete with this underlying understanding that it must be hard. The reality is that there is a tremendous amount of information to absorb and assimilate in order to take care of people. This is especially true for our generation, where never before has their been a better understanding of the biochemical and genetic causes for a variety of diseases.

Getting to medical school is hard, but it's hard because it allows faculty to select for individuals who are most likely to succeed, i.e. tolerate the beatings. They need to put a ton of information down your throat (fire hose analogy) without you throwing up, i.e. dropping out. Faculty can make it hard without a high likelihood of them loosing their entire class. Few other professions do such a good job of selecting for such a cohort, and I'm sure we could argue about the downsides of this method of selection. One of the really cool things about medical school is that, for the first time in your life, you'll be surrounded by equally adept learners. Maybe not geniuses, but the comparative olympic athletes of school. Everyone around you has taken the same courses, has the same basic understanding of the scientific process, and an appreciation for the value of education. Sure, some can cite Shakespeare and one or two will be able to tell you the finer points of how to build a bridge, but everyone will have a basic scientific foundation for learning the human body. Everyone is there to be a physician, a surgeon, or a researcher and everyone is equally motivated. This is still true for DO schools. You'll still be one of the 5% admitted for your particular seat, so don't believe the haters. I haven't met anyone who isn't bright and, because of the mission of the osteopathic community, I often find a good deal of non-traditional students like myself, which I think adds a great extra element to a class. For this reason, I believe DO schools are owed a lot more credit than is thrown their way. Many of these schools have expanded the window of MCAT and GPAs for accepted students and still routinely produce equally qualified physicians without high attrition. Bravo.

So, you're an RN. You'll still take the beatings everyday, but now you get to wear a heavy sweater on your back, so the beatings hurt a bit less. You took some of your beatings already, in nursing school. That's how previous clinical experience helps. It doesn't supplement the education, nor does it make you invincible or immune from the suck, but it does make it a bit easier to integrate the material, especially when one of the hardest things for many of my classmates is applying the factoid nature of medical school to clinical applications. You'll be able to do that easier. Good luck.

 

[Isha2018]

Thanks for the thoughtful post. 🙂

 

[bonifask]

Well we are all a little crazy, right? I am an ed RN and just got accepted to DO school. These last three years of prep have been difficult while working but I think it will only help prepare me for the time commitment and stress of medical school. Good luck to you and private message me if you have any questions!

 

[NOsaintsfan]

OMS II here and a non-traditional student with quite a few years of work experience prior to med school (not medical related) so take my advice for what its worth.

Only go to medical school if you cannot possibly imagine yourself doing anything else.

Re-read the above sentence and make sure it sinks in fully.

There is no way you can possibly know what you're getting yourself into with medical school before you start. Sure we can all tell you that its hard and that you will have to sacrifice a lot. I could tell you that you will most likely study 7 days a week for most days of the year, that you will study 60-80+ hours a week and that it will be one of the most difficult things you have ever done but until you are thrown into this environment and have to do it yourself its very difficult if not impossible to TRULY understand what that will mean.

So with that in mind make sure you want medicine and cannot possibly imagine doing anything else.

The amount of knowledge you will acquire will be amazing and there are plenty of very rewarding things that go along with becoming a doctor. That said its very hard and very demanding. Make sure your family/friends understand that you will be basically "absent" for at least the first 2 years. You will miss many birthday parties and social events (like almost all of them). If you have kids (I have 2) you will see them far less than you currently do.

All this isn't to scare you away from being a doc, rather it's to advise you to take a moment and try to sort out the allure of being a doc and any perception of prestige or glorification you may have about the field and make sure you understand its a VERY LONG and HARD ROAD.

There is very little sympathy in medical school for the fact that its your spouses birthday or your kids are sick or you have the flu or whatever. You will still be expected to have studied and be prepared for the next test.

If this sounds like something you would be willing to do/sacrifice for 7+ years to be a doctor then go to medical school. If you have read what I wrote above and even a small part of you winces or thinks it would be awful then reconsider medical school. Do more soul searching, make sure you can embrace what I have wrote and are COMPLETLY comfortable with it. Best of all if anyone is reading this and saying to yourself that I'm crazy or that I must be exaggerating, it can't possibly be that demanding then MOST DEFINATLY do not go to medical school. I can assure you I'm writing the truth.

Keep in mind medical school will be enjoyable and an amazing time but your idea of fun and amazing will probably be different from what it is now. Its not all doom and gloom by any means but make no mistake the road is long and filled with much stress and frustration.

On a side note, DO NOT pursue a DO degree just because DO docs you have met were nice, friendly, cool or whatever. If your not sure what OMM is then find out and make sure your are really interested in that. If you don't love the idea of practicing OMM and have the ability to get into a MD school by all means go that route. DO school will teach you everything you need to be ready for residency and you will get the same medical knowledge foundation as our MD counterparts so don't worry about that, however if your not planning on practicing OMM then going to an MD school will leave you with more options when you get ready to match into a residency.

Best of luck to your future, whatever you decide.

 

[ChrisGriffen]

From the above post:

Only go to medical school if you cannot possibly imagine yourself doing anything else.

That is by far the most important thing to ask yourself. Its probably the only thing you should be considering.

As a footnote, don't be intimidated by the hours. Not to jab, but med students always exaggerate their study hours, especially on this site.

 

[MSmentor018]

totally do able. I was ER/ICU RN for 10 yrs, got a BSN, then 3yrs additional pre reqs, DO school, MD residency, now emergency medicine attending

 

[swansy14]

I have a very similar background to you-- 4 years critical care/ER trauma experience. I went to a fairly competitive liberal arts college that also had a nursing program (so I got a BAN).

Since nursing obviously doesn't go into the depth of the hard sciences that medical school requires, I had to take some pre-reqs -- organic chem, physics, biochem -- and the MCAT. I didn't do particularly well on the MCAT, but good enough, and here I am in DO school!

People who say you can only be successful in medical school if you 'can't dream of doing anything else' are being dramatic. How can we not think about doing other things? The economy sucks, all we ever hear is how health care is getting costlier, people are getting sicker and fatter, etc; etc. I wonder all the time why I didn't become an environmentalist or an artist or a teacher. Of course there is such richness in medicine: the patient experiences, the feeling of making a difference, the flexibility and leadership opportunities.

I think the biggest decision you need to make is why you would want to go to DO /MD school instead of doing a DNP program. I figured, since there is a big push to make DNP programs longer and more comprehensive, I would rather go to med school for 4 years and not be limited than go to DNP school for 3 and still have someone telling me what to do. However, there are some major perks to being an NP, especially if you like compliant, low-risk patients.

Finally, (sorry this is getting long) I would also disagree with everyone who says nursing didn't help them in school. Could I walk into med school and ace any classes with only my nursing? No way. But, I will say that for me it's helped every step of the way. It makes biochem more interesting (the biochemistry of DKA? Some thought it was just another lecture, but I had specific patient experiences running through my mind), anatomy more relevant (remembering all the lines you've put in people and where, hah), the 'how to be a doctor' classes and the simulated patient experiences are way easier for those of us who already know we're good at interacting with patients. You work in an ER for 5 minutes and you know how to diffuse drama, especially if you're a nurse! You likely have already told patients' families that their loved one isn't going to make it, you've gone to bat for a patient who has endured the wrath of a crappyy, mean doctor. You could probably diagnose hundreds of conditions on pattern recognition alone (a skill we need to un-learn and then re-learn in med school), and you know a ton of drugs that puts you way ahead of any 22 yo.

Go to med school if you can get in, if you want to, and if you know what's coming. You might always wonder 'what else' but that makes you human!

 

[Isha2018]

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[DocMonty]

Not sure if this is the best forum, apologies if it isn't.

I have an interest in Med School, obviously moreso towards the Osteopathic approach. I am an RN with 4 years experience in critical care/emergency/trauma. From what I have experienced I find that my favorite doctors to work with are the DO's for their basis of practice and approach towards pt care. Everything I have read points to Osteopathic medicine as my preferred approach to med school. I would want to go into Emergency Medicine for a specialty.

Is it unreasonable to think I could go to Med School? Is DO school intense to the point that I would be unable to work a shift here and there with my RN license? I have talked to a few docs I work with who pretty much all say that my experience as a nurse will greatly help with DO school.

Again, I don't know if this is crazy but it has always been an interest of mine since I got into the field.

Thoughts?

You most definitely are not crazy! 🙂 I had quite a few RN's in my class when I went through and they did well especially in years 3-4 with clincials. Just remember that this is a COMMITMENT in a very big way!!! Lot's of studying and hard work.
That being said I would do it all over again, I love being an osteopathic doctor and I use OMM all the time. A very powerful tool to have in your toolbox..if you know how to use it. I very much urge you to shadow a DO attending to see osteopathic medicine at work first hand and really decide if DO school is what you want.
To me, There is something very primal, magical and organic about using your hands to heal patients. Very satisfing not only to the patient but to me as well. Plus I get to do regular medicine as well and blend both arts which I love as I like to be able to solve medical problems employing both disciplines.

Best of Luck with your decision if you decide DO I promise you will not regret it!!😀