Transition to Med School

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I'm back from the beautiful island of St. Lucia! I definately did NOT want to come back.... :cool: Good thing is that my sister-in-law just put up a pool, so at least I can pretend I'm in the islands, bobbing in the water on a little Floaty. :p

I took the advice Ted, and it was a good call...no Hospital this summer. I really wanted to work, but not at the expense of possible litigation down the road (PS: it's gotten much worse over the past few weeks). Sooo, hubby is a professional Magician and we've been taking the show "on the road". It's been fun and relaxing -- just what I wanted the summer to be.

Whelp...I'm off to finish doing the sand-filled laundry and go bake in the rays outside (on my porch :( ).

Talk to you soon...safe trip home to ya.

Kat :D
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Hey, glad to hear that you are back! I've been back since Monday, long involved story with moving. On my way out right now, will post. I am on orientation (general hospital stuff, like benefits and physicals etc). We'll talk! ted
 
Hey Kat-
Just wanted to say hi. Enjoying your summer? I'm so jealous you got to go to St. Lucia... :D

I just realized we only have one more whole month of vacation... :mad: :p
 
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Congratulations on your accpetance to medical school! You should be proud of your achievement.
 
Well, residency has started for real! :eek: Over the last 3 weeks, I've had my head crammed with hospital policies, A,B,C, IV, O2, monitor scenarios, disaster and bioterrorism, scavenger hunts, and of course the requisite "so now that you are info loaded, let's see if you can regurg it on a last day of the classroom sessions" quiz.
:mad: Last night, my second day of residency, I was in the peds e.d. The pace was one that I could handle and I even used my osteopathic palpatory skills to help me confirm a diagnosis on a 5 year old non-English speaking child. :clap: :clap: :clap: . It was great to use these tools.
So Kat, DOtobe, others, (good practice before classes start and the mad rush toward the boards begin) do you remember what palpatory findings will help you confirm the diagnosis of appendicitis? It worked on a rather stoic little boy :cool:
Hope you are all having a great summer. I may not be as free to post as I have in the past, but I will certainly drop by and check in from time to time. PS, the endless reading assignments never stop.

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine, PGY-1
somewhere in the city
 
Welp ---

I finally found my old password, so now I can change it and NOT forget it!

Ted, it sounds like all is well with you -- and VERY busy! I know you're just luving it ;)

School has begun again (this past Monday), and we're starting off with CV system. The first test is on Monday (hey, "welcome back", huh? :p ). I managed to find and dig out all my old CV/EKG stuff -- maybe I'll save a few $$$ on books....HA! :D

I've managed to collect all the board review stuff I wanted to buy, now I just need to think of a study schedule/time frame to go with it....The more I'm thinking about it, I don't think I'm going to take USMLE. With my luck: (1) I'll get a bunch of Biostats questions and then I'll be sunk, (2) my worst fear is kicking a$$ on COMLEX and doing so-so on USMLE and having that score follow me around while I'm looking for residencies. PLUS, now that the AOA and AMA have both insisted on including a Practical portion of Step II (starting w/2004 or '05 -- ie: my class), I'm not going to spend that extra time and stress with taking 2 full sets of Step II (in essence, 4 exams). Not to mention the extra $$$ spent to cover the cost of exams, travel, food, lodging, etc......Just some thoughts running thru my head....

Kat :D
 
Hey Kat,

Did the summer fly by or what? You were talking tests, I was talking graduation, then you vacation, then me moving and starting residency and the next thing you know another cycle has started. La la, how this life goes on!!! :cool:

Today is a lovely day (off) on LI. There's actually a breeze and it's cool. Work's been more fun now that I'm in the adult ED, peds just hasn't grabbed me. :rolleyes:

If you are going to take the USMLE you need only take Step 1 and you do not need to report it if you don't fare as well as you had hoped. If you are looking to come back to NY, see which programs will take just your COMLEX scores.

Having been on the national board of SOMA, I had heard that the AOA/AACOM were thinking about this diabolical idea. My heart definitely goes out to you since COMLEX refuses to enter the 21st century and start testing via computer ( and making the test a little shorter +pissed+ ).

Well, it's time to go enjoy the rest of my day off. Good luck on your tests. I'll post when I can.

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1
somewhere in the city
 
Well, I'll say congrats...takes hard work to do what you did. I think some may have kept quiet because they may be wondering if you'll treat nurses differently once you're a physician.

Sometimes, it's just too hard to get real excited about another doctor in the mix. No one wants a flame war, but I wonder why some of you doctors cannot acknowledge that there is really some bad behavior out there among your colleagues. Just the ignorant comment about "changing diapers" says it all. Think for a minute...you put down nurses, but who are you counting on to follow through on the orders you write, keep you apprised of your patients' conditions, and occasionally cover your butt when you make a mistake. You can't have it both ways...if you expect less than nothing, don't look for more than that.

Most nurses I know would walk on broken glass for a doc that treats them as a respected co-worker; by the same token, infantile behavior (like I was treated to by a cardiologist last night in the ED) will get you nowhere fast. By the same token, the ED doc that was on last night is terrific, and I am always glad to see that he's working...great doctor, great teacher, and just an overall nice guy.

Anyway, best wishes in your new venture; I'm sure you'll be a great doc. Anyone that ignores you because he/she is jealous has some growing up to do.
 
I am quite confused about your post fab4fan. Was there another post prior to yours that was deleted, or perhaps you are randomly selecting posts that you have read and responding to them (and not referencing them) because I can not imagine that you were posting to me.

I realize this thread is very long and it is very hard to go over all of the posts, but I was an ED nurse long before (very long before) I went to medical school. You think I wasn't treated badly? You bet, by doctors as well as my nurse colleagues however I have always been of the mindset that I don't mistreat others just because I have been. That is pure foolishness and not in the vein of my lifestyle of being a faithful Christian.

My colleagues did not find out about my acceptance to med school and frankly back then I didn't really care a bit what they thought. My decision to go to med school was partially fueled by some of the nonsense that nurses will throw at their colleagues (and was thrown at me with a vengeance).

Unfortunately, you will find docs as well as nurses that are angry and unhappy people and will bring their unhappiness into the work place and take it out on whomever. Please do not try to imply that this behavior is limited to physicians. It runs throughout the allied health professions as well and I have seen it, heard it and had to stomach it for years and am again in a situation where I am and will be seeing it for a while to come.
Life goes on.

Thanks for the congrats, and if you weren't referring to me thanks anyway.




:cool: :cool: :cool:
ted, DO
Emergency Medicine-PGY 1
somewhere in the city
 
Hey guys,
Can somebody please help me out :confused: . I want to know how did you guys make it in med school and what did it takes. I am in Nursing school now and I want to become a doctor after I finish.
Any advice will do!!
 
Hey Ted -

Good to hear that you are doing well! I'm just picturing you running around in your (now) LONG white coat....hehe!

Medschool continues to be...well...medschool. Cardio system is well underway, with our 2nd Exam looming on Monday am. We are starting to organize ourselves to pick out rotation sites for next year (a completed MS-III rotation schedule must be handed in by Oct) - kinda exciting knowing I'm out of the classroom and doing something that I love again. I have no regrets not "working" this summer - traveling with my husband's Magic Show was a fun and relaxing time (esp playing with our Bunny - what a little ham she is! www.magicbycarlo.com ). I also am just about done buying all the Board Review material I want (only one last book is on order, per our Bookstore). My goal is to get First Aid read/studied by Christmas, then work on the individual subject books from there (in conjunction with what I just did in First Aid). That way, I can keep "refreshing" the material in my head (read: slamming the info in my head with a hammer). Then, from there, go to books with questions, questions, questions. It looks and sounds good in theory....hopefully it's do-able in reality. I guess my big thing is taking time out from studying my current "class" and substituting Boards. I mean, what I'm doing in class isn't just for "class," it's for Boards too... :eek: balance, balance, balance....I'll figure it out as I start to settle-in to the semester a bit more...

Kat :)
 
tedsadoc: Actually, my post was in response to the person who started this thread, and felt that co-workers were not very supportive. I believe it was NursieK.

But I'll offer you my congrats too, since you've also worked very hard to get through med school. :)
 
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tedsadoc: Forgot to add that I know that bad behavior is not just limited to doctors...nurses have their own weird games (that I refuse to get drawn into).

BTW, very cool that you're a DO; I work at a hosp that is an osteopathic facility, and we get med students, interns, residents, etc. One thing I've really appreciated is that most of the interns I've dealt with are great about sharing knowledge.:D
 
Hi folks-
I had some time (imagine that) and I read through/skimmed this thread from the beginning and it's so amazing to see your lives (particularly kat/ted) from start to finish.

So here's my plan: I currently live in Nebraska and I want to go to the state school here and get my BSN in nursing, and while I am working at the hospital I will slowly finish my prereq's for med school. After three-four years I want to hopefully have finished my prereqs, apply to med school, and go on my way to be a physician. I of couse would desire to be married and have a family during these years.

What do you guys think?

Ted-what is it like, being a christian and being in med school and being a doctor, especially with all these controversial topics that are coming up (ie stem cell research, euthanasia, abortion, etc). Just thought it would be interesting to get a insider's look about these issues.

Joo
 
Hi,

Believe it or not, I actually have a day off:) so I figured I'd browse around my old haunts.

To respond to LJoo, It can definitely be done the way you are describing it. One tip that I will give you is to work at learning and getting a very good understanding of the pathophys, micro, and pharmacology that you have in nursing because these will be your building blocks for some of your toughest courses in medical school.

About my Christianity, I was baptised 2 years ago (during my 3rd year). Prior, though I was pro-choice, I did not believe in abortion in fact I turned down a position as a new grad RN in an antepartum unit (I really wanted to work there, geez they were even offering me a daytime slot) because they wanted the nurses to participate in the saline abortions. I never believed in euthanasia. These topics were not brought up or taught in my med school, nor did any of my preceptorships or rotations deal remotely with any of these things.

People in my program and that I work with already notice that I am "different" in that I don't curse or swear at anything, I am not abrupt or push people out of my way (one attending asked me why I didn't when everyone else did) and I try hard to treat people the way I would like to be treated. Yes, I am the "oddball" in the bunch but I think courtesy can be contagious, even in a place like NYC!

Any other questions, don't hesitate to post. Acts 17:26-28.

:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
ted, hi
where are you at in nyc? you're clearly done w/med school, so where are you for residency?
nyu is definitley a top choice of mine for med school and perhaps even undergrad-but if i can't go to nyu for both, then i'm going to see about doing my residency there.
 
Thought I'd just bump this up! Hey Kat, what's up in 2nd year? Hopefully it's treating you well. Doing OB-Gyn. Caught a beautiful little girl on Thursday morning. My "no tear" streak is up to 8 (this one plus the 7 boys I delivered in a rural FP rotation during 3rd year)!!! Gotta run, lots to read.
 
Hey Ted! Good to hear about all of your "kids"....hehehe! Keep up the good work! :clap:

2nd year is going, and going....we finished CV and are in the middle of Resp now. We are smack-dab in the middle of a "5 exams in a row" streak (Mon, Fri, Mon, Wed, Mon) OUCH! :eek:

Needless to say, I'm buried....Thankfully, I'm "bunny-sitting" my beautiful bunny Hermione (Her-my-oh-nee) while my husband is doing some magic gigs out in Las Vagas (bunnies can't fly in airplanes safely). There's nothing like watching a little baby bunny clean it's furry face and "binky" with happiness about parsley when you are stressed out! :laugh:

Talk to you soon....I have to get back to my "Bunny Slave" duties! ;)

Kat :D
 
:D Hmmmm, bunnies. It's interesting what we wind up doing for "fun" in the middle of a testing tear (believe it or not, I almost had those Sunday afternoon panic attacks from back in second year just reading what you have to do). Glad to hear from you again, just took a breather from reading, figured I'd browse a bit. Best of luck on the exams. Bye.
 
Heeeeyyyyyy ----

Just had to bump 'er up to the top again!

Finished the great glutton of testing and came out on the other side Okey-dokey. Back to the 1 test every Monday +pissed+

Just started Heme/Onc.... :rolleyes: ....and that's all I have to say about THAT...

Hope all is well, Ted.

Kat :)
 
doin' just swell out here. The cold, grey, rainy days and early dark nights only serve to cause me to want to get right back on a plane and return to AZ!!!!

just got through delivering a beautiful baby girl. this rotation is fast coming to an end. I look forward to vacation starting at 5 pm Thursday after sign-out rounds!!!!!

Glad things are going well in med school Kat. Keep me posted:cool: :D :cool:
 
Hey there!

Survived 1st Heme/Onc Exam....one more to go in this system and we flip to Renal. :p

We're about to get tested on Cranial/Sacral vodoo..ah-hem...I mean OMM this coming week. As you can see, I'm buying into this concept full-tilt :rolleyes: Ya know, I'm pretty accepting of a lot of stuff in OMM, but this....?....!....[cue in scary muzak]

I actually caught myself worrying about losing the "OMM touch" by going into an allo residency, but, honestly, I can't see much use of OMM in a hopping ER -- oh, OK, maybe the 0300 s/p MVA bounce-back from few days ago that c/o M/S neck pain when it's "slow", some myofascial/trigger points/counterstrain *MAYBE* or the h/o migraine c/o usual H/A? again big *MAYBE*. I don't know to many DO's in my area that still do OMM (inclu FP and IM). Bottom line, from what I hear, is risk. So, I don't believe an osteo residency is the answer to my concern. I guess just my family and friends (and the bunny -- YES!) continue to get Tx. Yes, honest, I treated the bunny w/myofascial and (what I hoped) was dural sinus drainage/cranial.....she fell asleep next to me, chattering her teeth for joy! Honest! If bunnies could drool I think she would have.... :laugh:

Ted, I'm glad you're cranking out those kids...they don't know how lucky they are to have had YOU deliver them! :clap:

Kat :)
 
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :cool: :laugh: :laugh:

Those new citizens of NYC should know just how lucky they are!!!

I like craniosacral and I actually wished I had learned it better (oops more controversy). I have to admit the only times I used manipulation was in the peds ed (not much chance of bad pathology, osteoporosis, end-stage CA you know) and that was back in July. L&D was too busy to stop and do techniques (especially when a laboring mom is in transition, watch out, you might get drop kicked).

That bunny certainly is lucky, I wished I had someone doing cranial on me right now z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z (sleeping peacefully).

best of luck on your next section. do you have any tips on good stuf to review respiratory (or didn't you guys do that already)? My niece is having a devil of a time up there in snow country with that section and I have to admit, if it hadn't been for the fact that I was an ICU nurse and had a lot of respiratory physio, I don't know how I'd have done, because that portion was not well taught at our school. DISCLAIMER: (Future med students to my former med school do not pm me on this, I don't have further comment). Any hints are much appreciated. Visit us again soon.

ted
 
AH, yes, the nursing knowledge (as "lowly" and "un-pre-med" as it was...oo, sorry, was perusing other threads...) was what I referred to also. A friend of mine recommends BRS Physio, Path, and Step-Up for Step I book....she did well in Resp (we did that system before Heme/Onc).

GL to your niece!

Kat :)
 
thanks for the advice, Kat. I'll let you know how it turned out:cool:
 
:cool: :cool: :cool: many thanks! hey everybody, how are you doing? Thanksgiving was great, hating this NY weather but hey, what can you say when last year at this time it was in the 50's and now it's in the 20's:mad: :mad: :mad:

makes me want '05 to get here in a tearing hurry so I can get back to the desert.

ted
 
Just figured I'd wish all a belated Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year. Laptop was on the blink, fixed now. How is everyone? Hopefully well. Doing Peds this month (oooh nooo, disease transporting spuds:D ), let me know what you are up to, Kat, neuro, anyone?

ted
 
Hey Ted!

Hope you had a good holiday!

Disease transporting spuds...hehehehe :laugh: {Telepathically sending you some extra PMN's and NK's.....}

We're on to 2nd semester 2nd year which means: GI, Endocrine, Repro, Psych, and.....that little tiny thing called "Boards" :eek:
The school is incorporating various Board reviews in each subject every week, so at least each subject matter is being glazed over our eyes (and ears) yet one more time. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I feel a bit of the "Oh, no! Already?"'s going thru my brain! Time does fly when you're drowning.... ;)

Ahhh, back to GI for test in the am....

Kat :D
 
Still hanging in there with a sinus infection and the peds population, kids are for the most part good, parents that's for another chapter (somehow, their synapses must have lost some fire power):D :p :D Good luck Kat!

May be going back to Guatemala this year for the mission, stay tuned (hopefully, I'm not broke) Bye all

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1
somewhere in the city :cool: :cool: :cool:
 
No trip to Guatemala this year folks, stuck here in the now flooded city area (snow, warmth causing meltdown now rain, what else can happen here:confused: )

Got to get ready for the inservice exam. Hope everyone else is okay. Figured I'd bump this back up.

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicne PGY-1
somewhere in the city
 
Hey there! Just had to bump it up!

GI is done (finally.....it was the system that went on and on and on....). Going to start Endocrine on Monday. We're going to take the Shelf tests next weekend. I figured I'd take them to see how I'm doing as far as studing (too much detail? too little detail?). $$$ a bit, but I think it's going to be worth it.

Went to OPTC today (basically, Opthal exam training) and had an eye dilated. I can't wait until it wears off; everything's so dern blurry....

Only 10 more weeks until the end of the semester -- but who's counting? ;)

Keep on making us proud, Ted!


Kat :D
 
Hey Ted, thanks for da bump!

Are you away from the little human incubators yet? or do I need to overnite you some more anti-bacterial soap and a good charcoal-filter mask? ;)

We've oh-ficially finished up with Endocrine. We had a week of Human Sexuality...yes, you just read that right. I felt like I was back in high school -- with the one addition of the porn flicks with the John Madden play-by-play....."This is Bob and Jane. Notice when Bob touches Jane's mons.....{etc}" :rolleyes: and, yes, there was even an exam at the end of the week....{sigh}

On to Repro for the next 3 or so weeks, and finishing up with Psych..ah-hem...I mean, Behavioral Health, and OMM.

I'm finally starting to see that there's light at the end of the tunnel....I took of this weekend to re-charge and refresh, considering we don't have a Spring Break, and we're going hot and heavy with studying until Boards. I relaxed so well these past 3 days, for a moment I even forgot what I was doing out here 7 hrs away from my husband! ;)

Tomorrow I'm going to check out some bunnies. We've decided to add another into the show. Our current bun has gotten a case of "big butt" and can't fit in her illusion anymore (oops!). Not that she's overweight, she's appropriate for her size...it's just that her "size" is a bit too big now. I've been making a lot of calls to breeders, with a LOT of strike-outs. Keep your fingers crossed that this breeder tomorrow has a young white male with a calm temperment! You can imagine the $$ we're losing not having a bun in the act. It's always a draw -- esp the kids shows. :love:

That's all that's up here, I'll keep you informed of the "bun progress." (The poor people that sit by me get inundated with bun stories every day!)

Hope all is well out there in Residency-land....

Kat :D
 
Who cares what others say about you, be proud of yourself, youve worked hard, and now youve got what so many try for. Go celebrate.
 
Hey there! Needed to bump!

Almost done with 2nd year -- 8 more days and 3 more tests! woo-woo!!! Then the cranking for Boards begins! :p

Ted - I hope all is well with you out there!


Kat :D


P.S. We got a new bun! He's 4 mos old, 2.3# (before the neutering ;) ), blue-eyed white Polish. He's wonderful! He loves people and likes to be held for "pets"! After a small transition period (read: after I got scratched and bit for 2 days), our 1 yr old doe Hermione LOVES the little guy! They play together and wash each other's faces....only for a limited time each day for now until he's fully potty trained and his hormone levels decline and he stops spraying. They're in love....awww :love: :laugh: We should start to get some pics of him up on the website soon!
 
First, congratulation for the difficult steps that you have taken toward getting what you want in life! I'm a nurse, who will be facing the same situation as you did very soon... I haven't even taken the MCAT yet, but already I'm afraid. I hate to be so negative about my own kind(aka nurses) but nurses are even known to eat their young(nursing students). How did you manage? Also, more importantly, I wanted to know how the schools felt as far as your nursing back ground, with your desire to go into medicine. Were they interested? Discouraging? Because I've heard, that for many reasons, including the nursing shortage, nurses who attempt to enter med school are frowned upon... that wouldn't discourage me from going out there to get what I want, but I just want to know what I'm getting myself into. Any response would be great... I'm just so worried!:confused:
 
I think Ted and I have answered this somewhere else...but I just can't find it! OK, here goes....

**IMHO**

The only "problem" I had was with the MD schools. I got a lot of negative jive over the phone (Ex: "So, you want to be like that nurse on ER that wanted to go to medschool?" :rolleyes: ). I didn't get one peep of that out of the 5 DO schools I called. If anything, they were MORE interested in me b/c I was a nurse, older, and had some "experience" under my belt that would afford me a more well-roundedness as a doc. They were the ones that encouraged me to apply (no, they didn't know my grades at that point), and during interviews, they encouraged incorporating my past experience into my future life, and building on my (then) current knowledge base vs. tearing down my past and rebuilding the way they wanted me to be (MD school response to me). I was floored. I felt wanted. DO school was "right" for me.

Most importantly, I haven't looked back. I have no regrets "going DO," and I am honored to be a part of the profession.

Just my $.02 --- you will have to hop into the mix and decide for yourself which schooling is a better fit for you. I know there's another nurse or 2 out there in SDN-land that went MD and is happy. Ted and I seem to have had similar experiences (I believe from knowing each other in a "previous life"....cue in creepy muzak.... ;)). Is it a function of age? years of experience? personality? I don't know. You will figure it out when the time comes. Know yourself well. Trust yourself. You'll be fine.

GL!


Kat :D
 
:clap: :clap: :clap: I'm doin' the happy dance for ya!!!! Congrats Kat, you're almost to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

About that creepy music, try the theme song to "The Twilight Zone". But personally (since I agree with your assessment of having known each other in another lifetime), somehow I hear the theme song to "The Andy Griffith Show". Don't ask me why, but that's what popped into my head.

Bunny love, should replace that vile and evil old song about those muskrats, eeeesh. (OOPS, I'm dating myself, a bit here eh?). So how many bunnies do we have now? Are they the "magical" bunnies (IOW, they're in the act, right or is this just the fun pet type activity rather than having your standard dog or cat thing)?

So as you fly towards the finish of 2nd year, I have two weeks left in ortho and medicine is LAST AND MY INTERN YEAR WILL BE HISTORY hahahahahahahahahahaha (diabolical laugh:eek: :eek: :eek: )

Anyone interested in the ted story should turn to page 2 of this thread and: (tune to Beverly Hillbillies) it tells a little story bout this girl named ted, a poor little nurse that turned to medicine instead, and then one day she was. . . well tune in again next week my friends to this locality, to have a bit of sarcasm and ted's hospitality:laugh: I've been on call, forgive me for the insanity, I need to sleep and all will be well. Night all!

ted:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
Howdy everyone.

Woke up this morning(ungodly hour for a saturday) and read most of what is on this thread. Past ER RN(what are the odds of that ?? ).

My story is a bit different. Did the masters, and was looking at PhDs in nursing when I realized what am I thinking?????? I had one school tell me to focus on a thesis that was less medicine, and more nursing!!! Needless to say, back to med school for me for several reasons. I want more autonomy, and I want to do research....i love research. :love I don't want to do the psychosocial interventinos and preventative research projects that are so common in nursing research. To each his own I guess.

I'm lucky in that I work around physicians mostly now(very few nurses), and I really haven't told anyone I want to go back to medical school. I don't know if you had the paralyzing fear of failiure(AKA not getting in) keep you from sharing the info - but it is one of my problems. Maybe i'm afraid of change, I don't know. All I do know is that I can't do this for the rest of my life...i would be miserable! Did any of you face the same fears/doubts???

:rolleyes
 
Welcome to the club! I was more afraid of the negative vibes from the nurses I worked with. I did however make this deal with myself. I had to go on a medical leave of absence from work anyway, so I figured when I started my post bac classes, if I don't do well, I still have a job to go back to and no one will be the wiser (or the unhappier, which would have been me). I surprised myself with the tenacity and perseverance I displayed with these courses and did very well the first semester. I stayed out another semester (so as not to compromise my health and my school work) and did even better! I decided at this point there was just no turning back. The only thing to do is stop thinking about it and (as the commercial says) "just do it". Otherwise, you will be second guessing yourself forever. If you were able to get a Masters degree, you do have a lot of what it takes to continue your education. Med school was no picnic in the park, it is very challenging, so if you can't see yourself doing what you are doing another year, month, week, day or hour more, give it a try. You'll never know what you can accomplish if you don't.

ted (the former ER nurse), D.O.:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
Happy Nurses Week to all at SDN!!!!!:clap: :clap: :clap:
 
Hi, I've lurked on this thread from time to time but am compelled to chime in at this point. I'm a former RN finishing my third year of med school (6 more weeks aahhhhhh). Like others have expressed, I worried how nurses would feel about me - treat me as a traitor, perhaps?:rolleyes: I was apprehensive and unsure - and in fact tended not to discuss my previous career if I could help it.

But last night in L&D a nurse said to me, "So, what kind of nursing did you used to do?" out of the clear blue. Surprised, I asked her, "How did you know I was a nurse?" and she laughed and laughed. I STILL am not sure what it was I did or said that made it so obvious but I was honored!

I've befriended a few other nurses during my rotations this year, and they've all been very kind and accepting of my career switch. No one's called me a traitor yet! :p Mostly I've gotten "good for you, you must have a lot more energy than me" sorts of comments.

I should note that when I was working on applying to med school I was not working as a nurse. I have heard lots of stories about pre-med nurses who were undermined by their colleagues in their workplace. Sad, but in some ways I guess I understand it... when everyone's stuck in a demanding work environment, and one person is trying to get OUT of that environment, some resentment is probably inevitable. I'm sure it's not an experience that's limited to nurses.
 
So i feel the need to share this experience. Went in to register for chem 1. Retaking it because it has been a decade(I feel so so old!!!) since I took it. So in the process to trying to sign up for his class at the college in town, i had to go through 3 advisors, finally to have the associate provost sign off on letting me take the class. Apparently, there is a "C Rule" which states that if you got a C or above in a class, you can't retake it! This applies to the state university system. I will have to get persmission for every single class i want to retake!!! But the frosting on the cake came when the provost asked me why i wanted to leave nursing! Caught me off gaurd. Apparently this college just implemented a 4 year nursing program, so she was loooking at me as if I was a defector of some sort!

It feels nice to come here and read posts by mamadoc and ted because you are so reassuring in a sea of ambiguity. The more I read, the more confidence I gain in this road i'm choosing. So for what it's worth, thanks a mil for all the positive optimistic words! On a day like today, it has made a world of difference.:D
 
:cool: :clap: :clap: :cool: Go get 'em dreamaloud:D :clap: :clap: :D


ted, DO
Emergency Medicine, PGY-1
somewhere in the city
 
I've got another week or so left and then "THE" exam will be upon me.....it's a good thing b/c I'm getting soooooo fried studying everyday, everyday, everyday....:mad:

I hope this exam is straight forward b/c every review question-book I'm picking up has some really ambiguous questions.....+pissed+

....gee....can ya tell I've had just about enough?....:laugh:....gotta spend more time with the Bunnies. :love:

My husband has the little bun on the road with him most nites and weekends recently with shows, which leaves our doe rather lonesome. Bunnie-Mommie to the rescue!!!

{sigh} I've finally gone 'round the bend....


Kat :)
 
:D :D :D COMLEX, straight forward? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, that was a joke, right?:D :D :D

(it's a frightening thing, but I was getting flashbacks to second year med school, studying for boards, I could almost feel the tension, and then I realized I was in NY, that's the REAL reason for the feeling now isn't it?)

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine, PGY-1
somewhere in the city

(do you realize at this time last year I was counting down the HOURS TO GRADUATION?!!!!????, what a difference a year makes)
 
I'm still in the collecting information and trying to get a feel of what will be needed.

Really the only things holding me back are being a single mom and kind of old. Ok not real old, but I think I will be real old by the time I get out. ;)

I'm and NP right now. Ok, I am a new NP.

I find the stories about difficulty with fellow nurses interesting. For me it has been my colleagues who keep telling me I should go to medical school. This actually started when I first became a nurse. But shortly after becoming a nurse I got married, put a spouse through graduate school, had a couple kids, then got separate. I was a little busy. LOL

One of the therapists I work with has teased me that I must be kicking myself for putting a spouse through school rather than going to medical school then. Yep, that's it. But I will get over it. :)

There are on DO schools in my state. So I am not sure if that is an option. Though if I go through with this I will look into it.

The only prerequisites I still need are two physics. There's another kick in the pants. I had signed up to take physics way, way, way back the first time I went to undergraduate school and dropped them. Oh well, I was taking them for fun anyway. Took calculus for fun as well.

Well back to the colleague thing. It has often been nurses I work with that have suggested and I mean strongly suggested medical school. I think it hit home though when the doctor I work with ( who happened to also have been my preceptor my last semester) suggested it as well. Caused me to go hmmmm, and think I should research it and think about it seriously.

Well I have written enough for now.

AxisNP
 
Axis,

Ironically enough, I have had a different experience, b/c most of my physician colleagues are the ones who encouraged me to go to medical school. But in the end, regardless, it is your decision, and no one can make that for you. Sometimes you just gotta ask "What do I want to be when I grow up?" :laugh:

As far as your pre-reqs go, some schools won't take them if they are too old....I am currently in that boat. And as much as I might not want to admit it (grumble grumble), biology has changed so much since you and I took it. I was looking at a syllabus for a genetics class I?m going to retake. and I think we probably covered maybe 1/4- 1/2 of this stuff back then.


And Sky Lizard & Ted: thanks for the encouragement. Keep your fingers crossed for us old premeds!
 
Well hopefully since I went on the nursing track late my biologies won't be too old. But they will be over 10 years. My calculus will be though and my 1st semester chem. I took second semester chem for my NP program so it isn't all that old at all. I am hoping that if they see I took chemistry something like 15 years apart and still made an A that this will look good. Plus I plan to make pretty good grades in physics in the next year or so ( if I decide to do this) and hopefully that too will show that even though it's been awhile I can still do it.

But you are so correct in how things have changed. The first time through college we only learned about 4 neurotransmitters. I felt like I was learning it all new when I was in NP school. :)


I would also take an MCAT course for two reasons. 1) to get a good refresher of the sciences and 2) to make a good score.


I'm still uncertian and have some things to do. Ah but if I could just win the lottery and have all the funds I need. I would then go. I really would. I have always said if I win the lottery I would be in school for the rest of my life. :)

AxisNP
 
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