Undergrad major in Nursing??? Help........

i dont think it matters but ur friend should be prepared to answer why he wants to go to medical school after majoring in nursing.

 

it might look a bit funny if he needs to take separate med school prereqs in addition to the nursing classes. if the nursing classes suffice, then it might be ok.

 

What lola could be referring to is the fact that some schools have different Chem, Bio, and Physics classes for nurses and premeds and it would look funny to take variations of the same class.

 

My advice... Don't do the BSN. The bottom line is that there are much better ways to get clinical exposure than taking undergrad nursing courses. The "Why MD?" will definitely be asked, immediately followed by, "Then why BSN?". The nursing shortage coupled with the "perceived" physician glut will make this an ackward mix.

That being said, I also recommend that people take classes that interest them and motivate towards success. If BSN does the trick, go for it. - dh

 

Eduardo,

I think what your friend is doing is a great idea. I believe that it will be looked upon very favorably since he will have "real" hospital/clinical experience. Moreover, the experience that he will bring out of the BSN program will help him understand the different aspects that are carried about in medicine. However, a nursing program is not like any other simple biology major, it requires intense study! Because of the fact that you are dealing with humans and with medications makes the profession a very delicate one. Your friend is certainly not taking the easy way to get to medical school and before he embarks upon such a journey he should realize that it will not be easy by any means. This double major is going to be done when? You mean aside from taking the medical pre req's and the nursing pre-req's and the nursing program itself along with a whole other major? That is easily over 5 years worth of classes. That may not be a good idea, if his desire is medicine he should focus his goals some more. Hope that helps!

Best wishes,

Rudy

 

hey remember many people become nurses and pa and then return to go to medical school and they get in sucessfully.
i think ur friend is at an advantage majoring in nursing because he has the clinical background but like i said he should be prepared to explain why he wants to go to medical school, may be he is interested in surgery or something else,
but hey this is just my opinion ur friend could also talk to a pre-med advisor.
good luck

 

I think it would depend on when he wanted to apply.A lot of people may go the allied health route.I wonder tho if those people worked in the field for a couple of years and THEN applied to med school or were they right from their allied health field straight into med-school????? Obviously when he does his clinicals that would(?) be considered direct patient care.
I think he should be prepared to answer the "why nursing" question.I realize that I have to be prepared to answer a q like that myself.I am applying for an allied health program as well.But I believe that I will be able to explain my reasons for the field I chose. ( well at least i hope I can)
Just my two cents ..
(I am curious about this too...)

 

Hi there folks,
Doing a BSN is a very viable pre-med major with one caveat: Be prepared to face some hostile opposition in the form of the treatment that you will get from your nursing professors and some of your fellow nurses should they find out that your ultimate goal is medicine and not nursing.

That being said, nursing will provide you with a good income for those years when you are in the application process. Nursing will give you some meaningful clincal exposure. Nursing will take lots of energy and time to learn correctly. You do not just pop out of a BSN program and instantly find that you can function as a nurse in any great capacity. You have to put in a couple of years to hone your craft.

Other than the above, I would say that nursing like respiratory therapy, pharmacy and other allied health professions are good to have before you get to medical school. You can even join a temporary agency and get some meaningful dollars on holidays while you are a medical student.

Good luck
njbmd

 

I have a BS in physical therapy and I'm applying to med school but I graduated in 99 and have been working for the past several years. I dont know the difficulty of nursing program, but if its remotely similar to PT school, I would forget about it unless your friend wants to work in the field for a few years. I say this because PT (and I'm assuming nursing, I may bewrong) are not really majors, there are programs, you dont have electives once you enter, every class is relevant and challenging. There is little chance of doing well in class and on your clinicals and then having time/energy for the MCAT and applying to schools. There were semesters where we had over 30 hours of class time and theres nothing left in the tank for any other intellectual pursuits. Maybe nursing is not as difficult, I really dont know, but I would talk to someone who was in it and find out

 

The money issue is at least one reason for considering the allied h. field.(Obviously I like the field). But one thing.I also heard-not sure how true it is-that it is best to take your certification exam for your specific field before matriculating to med school.I am referring to a post i read a while back.

 

i have heard that admissions boards may not be as favorable to students with a "career" already. for example, with a BSN, the applicant has a job waiting for them and a need for them in the field. i'd be a little leary of going BSN and then trying to go MD. they may not want to pluck a much needed nurse from the field to go into medical school. just my opinion.
streetdoc

 

I can understand that because of the shortage of nurses in this country.But what of the other professions?
I think it just might look bad if you have 4 careers and your whole intention was to go to medical school in the first place.You were just "using" these professions to edge your way in. I would think that IF you could interview well you would still have a chance-ie explain yourself,if that career would benefit you as a physician.

 

from what Rudy1223 said, i think i am going to change my major to nursing now... perhaps i would have a better shot of getting into med school...

and it DOES look FUNNY when you need to take two different sets of bio/chem, cuz they are a lot different. in fact, in my school, you can't even do that. the course specificly says that it doesn't offer to people who has credit for the other course. ie Bio 100 is for science maj, Life Science 200 is the biology for Allied Health Profession major, Life Science 200 will says that, "this course is not open to student with credit of Bio 100" and vise versa.

Think if you can imagine seeing a doctor with his nametag written his credential Dr. XXX MD/RN
lol

 

True but if you choose an allied health profession that is close to the pre-reqs for med school it's all ok.This is why I changed my major from respiratory therapy.The course were not the ones I needed for medschool.Trying to fit both in put me behind two years from where I wanted to be (actually a year and a half.But since I would not finish my course work until the fall of the year,it amounted to two years essentially because obviously I would not be able to matriculate in the spring.) I would still say it depends on when you plan to enter medschool.If you are trying to do clinicals and the mcat at the same time it might be hard.I will try to avoid doing this myself.
I am not familiar with the coursework for BSN. But I do know that the program I am seeking admission into actually has the curriculum set up similar to all or most of the pre-med reqs.
Good luck to your friend!

 

Oh one more thing.if you get into a really good program it will make studying for the mcat less stressful if you are already familiar with the subject matter.

 

Hey there
Ok a few things
First I am a senior(yay) in my BSN program at SUNY Buffalo...I was alo pre-med from day one. I was pre-med before I even knew I would pick nursing as my UG major.....
What makes bio, psych, or anything else more or less important to apply to med school???? They are ALL UG majors..
I am friends with PT, OT and pharm people(as well as nursing) In my opinion any health science major is a lot more difficult and demanding than a BS in Bio or psych. Did I also tell you I am earning a second degree in Bio??
Let me put it like this, first I think people who have no idea about nursing get really confused and think there are some separate pre-reqs that nurses take to get into their program...Well not at my school. EVERYONE takes the same physiology 300, the same microbio 300, the same Anatomy...Now I am not talking once you are IN the program we are talking just pre-reqs here. I can assure you that these courses are FAR more difficult than the ore med courses I had to take(ie Physics and Chem, evolution, cell bio, etc) And the reqs to health science programs far exceed the classes required to enter medical school...Let alone the other classes such as the many psychs, sociology and statistics the health science majors have to take before they can even begin the program.
For people who don't know, nursing(as well as such things as PT, OT, Exercise science, Pharm, etc) after you finish your two or more years of pre-reqs(I think PT and pharm are even more now bc they get their PharmD and Dr of PT...so we are talking even more work for them!) You start your program in which for Nursing I have had 6 hour classes everyday, and when you are not in class you are in clinicals all day. You have rotations. I have been in family practice, ICU, med surg and now Peds. Not only do you go to clinical but before each week you have to go into the hospital and get your patients information. Go home and do research on your patients conditions, make care plans, look up all their meds(and some are on like 50 I swear!) and write up pages upon pages before you even see the patient. This of course is before you have 15 chapters to read for class that night or the next morning.
What I am trying to say here is that I cannot understand at all how anyone could say that any health science major would not be well prepared for medical school or does not deserve to go...Are you kidding me. I think any have such a better idea at the work ethic involved and will be well used to the type of constant performance and pressure involved.
Good luck to everyone I have to go to a meeting now
Oh and I agree with NJ, some nurses get angry when you tell them you want to go to medical school so be careful. I do feel bad for Doctors a lot of the times because I do think some nurses(more the older ones or Associate level) get very nasty towards doctors even when they are nice. I don't know why that is

 

Noeljan..I think you misunderstood me.I was not implying by any means that an allied health major would not be qualified to get into medical school.Quite the contrary.Any course that an AH major takes regarding their program can be of nothing but a benefit to them. An RT then would have a broader understanding of the respiratory system.A surgical scrub nurse would have a deeper understanding of the policies and procedures of that ward.How could these things be anything but beneficial?
As for the different courses: Of course all the clinical courses would not be required for entrance into medical school. But the pre-reqs for several allied health fields often times do align themselves with the pre-reqs for medical school.(The seperation of course would be the clinicals.)
For instance-and different schools vary on this-the classes for medical technology are the exact classes needed for medschool. Now quite naturally you will be studying BEYOND your pre-reqs here!!There may be a one course variation.There are even *some* MT programs that offer a curriculum for pre-meds w/o the certification.
Either way the healthcare choices are exciting and dynamic.We are all trying to offer the best of our services to our patients (or future patients as the case may be.)
I apologize for not being clearer .
I wish you luck in your classes.I know they can be draining at times.But as long as you enjoy your work it will all work out!
(My sister was a nurse so I am aware of the dedication and hard work required)
Once again Good Luck!!