RN-->Med school?

[lax]

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I am a registered nurse with BSN, 28 yo female with a 6 month little boy. I started my college studies with the intent to become a doctor. I got off track having too much fun and financially needed to make a quick move. I decided to go into nursing with the intent to return to my dream of becoming a doctor. I have been a registered nurse in critical care (ICU, CVICU, Trauma ICU) for 5 years. I am trying to determine if CRNA school or MD school would be more appropriate for me at this time. I am not money driven in either pursuit. My husband and I are both RNs and do very well. I mainly want to become a medical doctor for the reason of directing patient care and obtaining the medical knowledge (which I am so interested in). The only reason that I want to be a CRNA is that it basically provides the most knowledge in nursing. I also believe it would be more fulfilling in that it requires more brain-power. I think I would probably be somewhat happy in choosing CRNA school and it would be more beneficial r/t to having a 6 month old. I could start as early as next summer in the program and graduate in roughly 2 1/2-3 yrs, have little debt, and have a somewhat fulfilling and very prosperous job. I am concerned that I still will want to be a medical doctor though. The red flag for me is that if I were to pursue MD- I would not choose anesthesiology. I would (I think) be more apt to choose ER medicine, possibly family practice, or even a specialty in internal medicine. I like "figuring out" what is going wrong (ie diagnosis) and don't believe anesthesiology would fulfill this desire. This is what makes me wonder about nurse anesthesia. I just have to choose family time vs career fulfillment...Also, of course, I am concerned that after I take the remaining prerequisites- Organic Chemistry I and II and Physics I and II....I may not be able to get into MD school and would've lost approximately 2 yrs. What if I don't do well on the MCAT?? My gpa is 3.6 - 3.7 (overall) and I did take Zoology I (B) and II (B), General Chemistry I (B) and II (B), Anatomy and Physiology I and II (Both B's), Trigonometry (B) and Microbiology (A). I took a practice test in MCAT and made a PS 6 (haven't taken Physics I or II yet), BS 6 (haven't taken Organic Chemistry I or II yet) and VR 8. Does anyone have any advice or insight? Thank you...

 

[nu2004]

have you taken the required biological science courses with lab? were your general chemistry courses with lab? they need to be for med school.

your numbers sound fine; your MCAT scores will go up dramatically once you have taken the pre-reqs and begun preparing for the real thing. i took my first MCAT before having taken the second half of bio, physics, or organic chemistry and my score ended up being ~12 points higher on the real thing.

weird question - would your husband be okay with you going on to obtain the MD, and then being the major breadwinner, person with the most advanced degree, etc.? i'm sure you've considered it and i only ask because i was friends with a woman at the hospital in which i worked and she was in a position quite similar to yours. had a couple small children, was very bright and didn't feel like she was getting the intellectual stimulation and responsibility out of nursing that she craved. however, her husband was fairly conservative and her desire to go on to pursue the MD was severely rocking the boat in their home, first of course because it would mean that she would have to cut back on her hours while doing her pre-reqs and stop working altogether for med school (so, 6-7 years of greatly reduced family income with 2 small children was a problem), and second i suspect because he just didn't want her to excel him in education, professional status and breadwinning.

anyway, good luck making this difficult decision!

 

[windjammer]

I was having the same exact delema you are having. I was planning on going the CRNA route but didnt know if I would be happy. You have to do what makes you happy otherwise you will resent not doing it. I am 35 and was ready to go to CRNA school and had to pick one or the other and stick to it. I chose the MD/DO route. I even obtained my MS (Nursing) degree and changed my mind to take the medicine route and I am in prerequisits now. Sure there are days where I feel I could have just done the easier route of CRNA but I know I will be much happier in the long run. Choose what you feel will be best for you and your family in the furture.

 

[lax]

Thank you for your input. I just don't know. Honestly, there is no question that I would rather go medical route, but I don't have any support other than my husband. He would have to continue to work and I would have to take out loans to pay for school, and hopefully, a share of my lost income. What I mean by saying I have no support is that I don't have any babysitters that live nearby. I would be fine until (if lucky) I was admitted into medical school and had all that intense studying and clinical requirement and even residency. I am not so worried about residency though bc my son would in preschool or kindergarden,etc at that time. So, the earliest I could get into medical school would be 2010, because I still have a year of Organic Chem and Physics and have to take MCAT...so if all went well, I could apply to med school next summer and matriculate in 2010. If all went bad, then I have lost 2 years...and if things went really bad and I did poorly in organic chem/ physics trying to get in medical school...that would ruin my chances of nurse anesthesia too. Boy, this is tough....

 

[Dickman]

Just go for it, there is really nothing worse in life than carrying around a load of "what if" 's. 30 is not too old for med school, the point is that you are going for it. If you weren't a strong candidate, then it might be a waste of time, but your GPA sounds solid, especially because I am assuming that included your nursing classes. I'm actually 29, hoping to get in next year, and my wife is nothing but support, which is very important. But we've found that when you move forward together, than everything seems to work itself out. Just don't become focused on that one thing.

 

[lax]

Yes, those classes were with labs. The gpa I quoted did involve the BSN degree (nursing bachelor's). Prior to the nursing bachelor's, I had 3.5. BSN= 3.9. I think my sciences gpa was around a 3.4. My husband is supportive of me going back to school to gain more education. He is just more proactive of me going the CRNA route due to time in school (CRNA grad 3 1/2 yrs from now vs Med school grad 6 yrs from now), debt (CRNA school= approx 50,000 vs medical school= approx 200,000), and work hrs away from family. Also, we don't have much support as far as babysitters. There is also that possibility I would flunk org chem I or II and/or physics I or II and/or MCAT would turn out to be not competitive. Plus, he doesn't think I would want to work as much as is required with MD. I guess what I am going to do is go to the second best route for me and that would be CRNA and if I still want to continue to pursue MD- I can pay off house,etc with CRNA salary and have that to be satisfied with if I am not competitive enough to get into MD school. Of course, I am not even promised admission into nurse anesthesia school, either. Thank you all for your advice. I wish I would've just stayed focused and not skipped college classes like I did and partied like I did. Well, my life is definately not bad. Good luck all.

 

[viostorm]

I was a paramedic before going to medical school. I think it is good you are carefully considering it. The really good thing is your GPA is good, so there is a pretty decent chance if you decide to pursue medicine it you will have an admission offer provided you keep on track.

If you decide to pursue medicine, you'll be trading what seems to be a very comfortable life in for sleepless nights, endless hours of studying, frequent episodes of public humiliation, missed times with your family, and a somewhat numbing of the psyche. Believe it or not, you will enter medical school one person and leave someone else. That person you become may not fit perfectly with your current life.

You will be left that either your family must change with you or you won't fit with your family anymore. Will your child be ok if you aren't there on her 3rd birthday and are you ok with that?

You and your family must be willing to sacrifice day in and day out because they must share you with your patients. You have a responsiblity to those whose life you hold in your hands and your family must also bear the brunt of that responsibility. As a perfect example, recently on psychiatry my attending missed his 30th wedding anniversary with his wife because of a patient emergency.

The benefits of being a physician? Well, someone will walk because you were there and fixed their leg, you will deliver a child that will have a wonderful happy life with their family, you'll allow a 60 year old man to spend 10 more years with the love of his life because you saved him from his heart attack. You'll give someone the precious gift of healing ... however it comes at price of your soul, your health, and your family. You will be with the child with cancer on her 3rd birthday but may miss your own childs 3rd birthday. Or even worse, taking care of some lowlife drunk who tells you to "screw off" and that he will sue you while your husband takes your boy to his first baseball game.

You need to ask yourself what will you sacrifice so that someone else can live?

Look deep inside.

There is only one answer that will let you be the physician you need to be. That answer is simple and one word: everything.

I have so many regrets ...

I can say this, the simple things in life never tasted so sweet. Just meeting my wife for a quiet 10 minute lunch between running from one place to another ... if there is heaven ... that is what it feels like.

Good luck with your pursuits!

 

[lax]

Well stated. I appreciate your insight. Being that you come from a very flexible career prior to MD school, it hits home. I do enjoy my family time. I think at this time I should pursue CRNA. I thank you for your time and good luck with your career, also.

 

[njbmd]

I am a registered nurse with BSN, 28 yo female with a 6 month little boy. I started my college studies with the intent to become a doctor. I got off track having too much fun and financially needed to make a quick move. I decided to go into nursing with the intent to return to my dream of becoming a doctor. I have been a registered nurse in critical care (ICU, CVICU, Trauma ICU) for 5 years. I am trying to determine if CRNA school or MD school would be more appropriate for me at this time. I am not money driven in either pursuit. My husband and I are both RNs and do very well. I mainly want to become a medical doctor for the reason of directing patient care and obtaining the medical knowledge (which I am so interested in). The only reason that I want to be a CRNA is that it basically provides the most knowledge in nursing. I also believe it would be more fulfilling in that it requires more brain-power. I think I would probably be somewhat happy in choosing CRNA school and it would be more beneficial r/t to having a 6 month old. I could start as early as next summer in the program and graduate in roughly 2 1/2-3 yrs, have little debt, and have a somewhat fulfilling and very prosperous job. I am concerned that I still will want to be a medical doctor though. The red flag for me is that if I were to pursue MD- I would not choose anesthesiology. I would (I think) be more apt to choose ER medicine, possibly family practice, or even a specialty in internal medicine. I like "figuring out" what is going wrong (ie diagnosis) and don't believe anesthesiology would fulfill this desire. This is what makes me wonder about nurse anesthesia. I just have to choose family time vs career fulfillment...Also, of course, I am concerned that after I take the remaining prerequisites- Organic Chemistry I and II and Physics I and II....I may not be able to get into MD school and would've lost approximately 2 yrs. What if I don't do well on the MCAT?? My gpa is 3.6 - 3.7 (overall) and I did take Zoology I (B) and II (B), General Chemistry I (B) and II (B), Anatomy and Physiology I and II (Both B's), Trigonometry (B) and Microbiology (A). I took a practice test in MCAT and made a PS 6 (haven't taken Physics I or II yet), BS 6 (haven't taken Organic Chemistry I or II yet) and VR 8. Does anyone have any advice or insight? Thank you...

Since you are not in medical school and have never gone through any clinical clerkships (sorry,nursing is not the same), you don't know what you would or would not enter in terms of a medical specialty.

Your job now, if you want to get into medical school, is to take the pre-reqs, take the MCAT (score well) and apply. Any speculation about scores or specialties at this point for you is just that, "speculation".

Figure out what you want and find a way to get the job done. There is plenty of time after you are in a position, to consider specialties. Right now, all you have is nursing experience which is far different from medical experience as you well know. Don't put the "cart before the horse" so to speak and take care of the things that you can do right now. Only you know what you want either with nursing (where you do have some experience) or without nursing. The medicine decision-making needs to come later after you have made a decision as to whether or not you want to leave nursing and after you have taken the pre-med pre-reqs.