Stupid plan?

[Thales]

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So, right now I'm majoring in pre-med and psychology. My A&P teacher is trying to persuade me to switch to nursing, family has a history in nursing. I am definitely interested in nursing because it will allow me to get into medicine, get my hands dirty. I'm thinking of getting my BSN, if I were to go that route and practice as a nurse for about 1-2 years would I be at a disadvantage if I then took the MCAT and applied to Med school? I was told that it would look bad on an application for me to go from nurse to doctor.

-R

 

[Cboseak1]

Doing nursing and eventually possibly going to med school shows indecision. Be that as it may, the important part of your bachelors is going to be focusing on gpa and mcat, picking something requiring dedication like nursing isn't going to allow for this. You have an easy major now just stick it out and follow your dreams. Don't listen to anyone about how to get into med school, unless they have an md after their name

 

[cabinbuilder]

There are many nurses who go ont to medical school. However, it is a not a stepping stone to medicine. It is a very long route. The nursing bachelor's degree does not prepare you for the prereq's required to take the MCAT. It will put you a few years behind since you would have to go back and take the medical school pre-req's in addition to the nursing courses. If going to medicial school is what you want then focus on what you need to do. If you want to go to work now and "get your hands dirty", then get a nurses aid's license or be a phlebotomist or EMT and work with patients while doing the pre-req's that you need.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Don't do it.

A degree in nursing puts you at a disadvantage vs. any liberal arts BA/BS.

Some users here may not like to believe it, but those users have never been on an admissions committee.

 

[Luv2Cut]

Well if you want to be a doctor, then why would you go that route? You seem impatient and want to get hands-on experience. I understand this notion. But if you want to get into med school, you should be concentrating on learning chemistry, physics, biology and preparing yourself to take the MCAT. You can always volunteer and find other opportunities for clinical exposure.

Also, think of it like this, if you go the RN/BSN route then you are taking a spot from someone that actually does want to be a nurse. I know someone that actually wants to do this. I told them its the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why take the longer, tougher route when you don't have to. I don't get it.

 

[mzblue]

Nursing is different from medicine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Do you want to be a doctor? If the answer is yes, stop wasting your time listening to *****s or going off tangents. If your answer is "maybe," you need to do more exploring before you commit yourself into any route.

 

[ObLaDi]

If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor. Even if it only takes you 2 years to get an RN license you will still need to complete a bachelors in order to apply to medical school. No matter which path you choose, you still need 4 years of undergrad. If you really want to get some patient care experience right away, why not get your CNA or become a hospital orderly?

 

[Thales]

Just as an update, I went back for two semesters and ultimately had to take this summer off because of a lapse on financial aid. I decided to take AP1/2 and loved it. With my GPA from when I majored in computer programming I'm sitting at a 3.5 after these two semesters in. I am currently enrolled in a CNA certification course outside of college to get some clinical experience and I'm really excited about the prospect of hands-on experience with residents/patients. Money is tight so I'm living with my folks, a very humbling experience but it has allowed me to focus more on my education. I even went to the 13th Annual Medical School Dean's Day at FSUcom and plan to go again this year.

Thanks again for the suggestions and feedback on this thread, I intend to keep it relatively up to date.

-T

 

[The right Path]

Nice to hear your update! Good luck!

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

A degree in nursing puts you at a disadvantage vs. any liberal arts BA/BS.

Some users here may not like to believe it, but those users have never been on an admissions committee.

That may be true, but only as a generalization. There are always exceptions. (Being a nurse first doesn't seem to have messed up this guy's career.) Maybe the OP is an exception too.

That said, I do believe that being a nurse first is always a circuitous path to being a physician, so I would recommend against it if the OP thinks he/she is definitely headed to medical school.

 

[isoquin]

You're always going to be able to find a token nurse in any given med school. You can't look at the end product and assume it applies to you though. If you want to be a doctor, aim for being a doctor. Don't choose your profession simply because your family is of that profession. If you take a circuitous route to get to med school, you need a good reason as to why. I don't think I see one in your explanation, and if you were one of the applicants I used to interview, that would be one of my first questions.

 

[NightGod]

That may be true, but only as a generalization. There are always exceptions. (Being a nurse first doesn't seem to have messed up this guy's career.) .

There's a difference between "was a nurse for five years and realized I needed to be a doctor to be fulfilled in my career" and "was a nurse for five minutes because I thought it would look good on a med school application".