Should I quit nursing school?

[acron97]

I am currently doing a second degree accelerated BSN program. My first degree is in molecular and cell biology. I thought I'd give nursing a chance since I am a little older than most people who go to med school and I liked the supposed philosophy of holistic care. I also thought I'd gain valuable experience by entering the health care field very quickly. The program is 12 months. I'm now 1/2 way done and I can already tell that I do not want to be a nurse for very long and am likely not wanting to go the NP route b/c I want to go into much more depth with the science component of medicine. I've already completed pre-med requirements (a while back~13yrs ago) and aced the classes. I dropped out of school for a portion of time, then came back to finish my MCB degree more recently and did pretty well considering I had been out of a hard science program for so long. The point is that my interest in science and medicine has been reawakened and I don't think nursing will give me the intellectual fulfillment that medicine might. Should I quit school and just go for med school. I've heard that nursing experience may not improve my chances for acceptance into med school. Any suggestions, and thanks much.

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[nu2004]

if there is a big cost factor involved, or a significant amount of time that you would be wasting, then i would say that you should probably consider it.

however, it *could* look bad to med schools if you started and then dropped. it could make them wonder if med school would just turn out to be a "phase" as well.

you sound like you'd be a great candidate for a DO school; not necessarily because you couldn't gain MD acceptance but because a DO school would likely be more in line with your desire to explore holistic perspectives of health care. the 13 year-old pre-reqs might be too old, which is a shame if you aced them.

my advice- finish the BSN, do a full post-bacc (18 or 24 month if you think you can handle it alongside work) and then at least if something goes awry along the way you'll be able to fall back on the BSN.

this is pretty conservative advice because i don't have any expertise wrt your current position, but i hope it helps. good luck!

 

[njbmd]

I am currently doing a second degree accelerated BSN program. My first degree is in molecular and cell biology. I thought I'd give nursing a chance since I am a little older than most people who go to med school and I liked the supposed philosophy of holistic care. I also thought I'd gain valuable experience by entering the health care field very quickly. The program is 12 months. I'm now 1/2 way done and I can already tell that I do not want to be a nurse for very long and am likely not wanting to go the NP route b/c I want to go into much more depth with the science component of medicine. I've already completed pre-med requirements (a while back~13yrs ago) and aced the classes. I dropped out of school for a portion of time, then came back to finish my MCB degree more recently and did pretty well considering I had been out of a hard science program for so long. The point is that my interest in science and medicine has been reawakened and I don't think nursing will give me the intellectual fulfillment that medicine might. Should I quit school and just go for med school. I've heard that nursing experience may not improve my chances for acceptance into med school. Any suggestions, and thanks much.

Most people who enjoy nursing don't have any problems with the "intellectual" fulfillment of nursing. The thing is that nursing is not a stepping stone into medicine and should not be used as such. If you know that you don't want to be a nurse then don't be a nurse. At some point in your quest for medicine, you might be asked why you didn't complete your nursing but many people start pre-med as chemistry majors and switch to biology and then switch to psychology etc. If you can explain your choices then that will be the end of that. Career switching is not that odd these days.

If medicine is your goal, then pursue medicine. If you have the grades from your former degree and you know that nursing is not for you, then don't continue in the program. It's a waste of time and money. Just have an explanation ready should you get an interview or two as to why you left the nursing program. I would avoid the use of terms like lack of "intellectual fulfillment" when making the explanation though.

 

[MSmentor018]

I am currently doing a second degree accelerated BSN program. My first degree is in molecular and cell biology. I thought I'd give nursing a chance since I am a little older than most people who go to med school and I liked the supposed philosophy of holistic care. I also thought I'd gain valuable experience by entering the health care field very quickly. The program is 12 months. I'm now 1/2 way done and I can already tell that I do not want to be a nurse for very long and am likely not wanting to go the NP route b/c I want to go into much more depth with the science component of medicine. I've already completed pre-med requirements (a while back~13yrs ago) and aced the classes. I dropped out of school for a portion of time, then came back to finish my MCB degree more recently and did pretty well considering I had been out of a hard science program for so long. The point is that my interest in science and medicine has been reawakened and I don't think nursing will give me the intellectual fulfillment that medicine might. Should I quit school and just go for med school. I've heard that nursing experience may not improve my chances for acceptance into med school. Any suggestions, and thanks much.

since you've already finished up your pre reqs, get your app together, finish nursing school, take the mcat. nursing exp may not improve your chances but it will not hurt...what will hurt is the interviewer thinking "what if this guy drops out of med school b/c he hates this too". plus you can work and score save up some money as a nurse until you get in. experience is always a bonus. i am a non trad, RN, and 2nd yr med student so I understand some of what you're going through. good luck