Hello everyone,
I'm new here, and I have some questions I was hoping you might be able to answer.
First, let me explain my situation: I just graduated from a small, private university with a major in philosophy and a 3.86 GPA (would have been 3.9ish, but I had a horrible last semester).
Anyhow, I have been entertaining the idea of entering the medical field for quite some time, especially since I think getting a PhD in the liberal arts might not be the best career move.
I am going to begin school again at IUPUI this fall, but I am not exactly sure what I will be studying. I have considered pursuing the accelerated second BSN, as I can probably arrange to have my education paid for by a local hospital. After completing that program and working for a few years, I would go back to school, get an MSN as a psychiatric and mental health NP and then (hopefully) work in private practice as a psychotherapist.
The problem is I can't get medical school out of my head. If money and time were not an issue, I would choose medical school hands down, as I think I would be much more interested in the medical education itself -- I love science, and I even look forward to completing the science pre-reqs for medical school.
So, my question is, if I complete the BSN along with all the medical school pre-reqs and have 2 years of experience as an RN under my belt, is this going to hinder me at all if I choose to pursue medical school later? At the same time, I don't want to give up on the BSN because I feel like its an important fall back option...I don't want to spend 3 years doing a post-bacc for medical school and then not have my plans work out for whatever reason -- if they didn't, at least I could go back to school and become an NP.
If I did decide to pursue medicine after working as an RN for a while, what else would I need to do to be a competitive applicant? Obviously a high GPA and good MCAT scores, but I mean more in the way of volunteer work and clinical experience. I would think working as an RN would be helpful as far as clinical experience goes, but I'm not sure. Would my experience as an RN hinder me in any way, or would it help?
If my post seems confused and unorganized, I apologize. The whole endeavor seems daunting to me, and I'm not quite sure where to begin or what to do. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone might be able to offer.
I'm new here, and I have some questions I was hoping you might be able to answer.
First, let me explain my situation: I just graduated from a small, private university with a major in philosophy and a 3.86 GPA (would have been 3.9ish, but I had a horrible last semester).
Anyhow, I have been entertaining the idea of entering the medical field for quite some time, especially since I think getting a PhD in the liberal arts might not be the best career move.
I am going to begin school again at IUPUI this fall, but I am not exactly sure what I will be studying. I have considered pursuing the accelerated second BSN, as I can probably arrange to have my education paid for by a local hospital. After completing that program and working for a few years, I would go back to school, get an MSN as a psychiatric and mental health NP and then (hopefully) work in private practice as a psychotherapist.
The problem is I can't get medical school out of my head. If money and time were not an issue, I would choose medical school hands down, as I think I would be much more interested in the medical education itself -- I love science, and I even look forward to completing the science pre-reqs for medical school.
So, my question is, if I complete the BSN along with all the medical school pre-reqs and have 2 years of experience as an RN under my belt, is this going to hinder me at all if I choose to pursue medical school later? At the same time, I don't want to give up on the BSN because I feel like its an important fall back option...I don't want to spend 3 years doing a post-bacc for medical school and then not have my plans work out for whatever reason -- if they didn't, at least I could go back to school and become an NP.
If I did decide to pursue medicine after working as an RN for a while, what else would I need to do to be a competitive applicant? Obviously a high GPA and good MCAT scores, but I mean more in the way of volunteer work and clinical experience. I would think working as an RN would be helpful as far as clinical experience goes, but I'm not sure. Would my experience as an RN hinder me in any way, or would it help?
If my post seems confused and unorganized, I apologize. The whole endeavor seems daunting to me, and I'm not quite sure where to begin or what to do. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone might be able to offer.