Hi All,
I haven’t posted in many months because I have been having a horrendous year and 1/2! I went to the conference in Dallas in 2002, and I thought that I had made some friends, but when I have posted here, I did’nt get much feedback. 
I have actually been a member here since 2001, but never really felt too welcomed in some areas. If I have offended anyone then, I am sorry. 
I need to feel a sense of community and sometimes I didn’t feel that here. I was going to UTD for awhile and met with Kathy, but I wasn’t able at that time to keep in touch as much as I would have liked or maybe as much as I should have.
I have had to alter my plans due to financial concerns, so I applied to and was accepted to a local nursing school for the fall. I thought this was going to be enough for me, but after much soul searching and talking with my husband and kids it was decided that I should continue to pursue medical school.
That being said, I also must continue with nursing school if things don’t work out in the pursuit of medical school. I will take Gen Chem I in the fall and try to take prereqs where I can.
All this being said, I really hope to find a connection here this time around. (Please don’t think my tone is strident, it really is not, I think it is the lonliness I am feeling at this time…)
Getting back to the subject of this post… Do you all think I should let anyone in my nursing program know that I am also trying to apply to medical school? Also, how do medical schools feel about a nursing student jumping ship? 
Any and all replies accepted and appreciated even if it is negative in tone or not 
Thanks a lot,
Cindy
Cindy sorry that you felt that you were not welcome in some areas of OPM but I think that often times it is hard to get a sense of what we are really trying to convey via an internet message board. That said, I personally thing that nursing should never be a backup for not getting into med school if med school is what you really want. Why? because I think that you would never be satisfied as a nurse and then if this is true how will this express itself when caring for patients? of course this is just my own personal feelings. No, I have never applied to nursing school and this was never an option for me, because of the above. If I was not to get in to med school after three tries I would either pursue a Ph.D and teach or do basic science research, or possibly I did consider law school. About letting others know in your program about med school, I have to say to keep it to yourself. I think that they may see you as “settling for nursing”, and for those awesome and greatly commited nurses this may be an insult.
Cindy,
I remember you from Dallas - in fact, I believe that you & I had lunch one of the days? The key to feeling connected here on OPM is participation…consistent & open. No, you may not get loads of feedback to every post you make just as you do not get overwhelming levels of response to every action you take/state in real life. OPM relationships are just like any other…you will only get out of it what you are willing to invest in it.
That said, we are most happy to see that you have returned. After Dallas, the topic of where you evaporated to often came up. Kathy mentioned that she’d had some contact with you, but had a difficult time in sustaining said contact. I think we still even have one of the OPM shirts you ordered while we were in Dallas.
Regarding your entering nursing school…as Efex wisely pointed out…do not expect nursing to scratch the same itch that is physician driven. However, do not discount nursing as a profession. It is a wonderful, engaging and valuable profession. You may even find yourself more comfortable there. Give it a an honest run for its money & see where it takes you. But, if medicine is your ultimate goal, the ability for nursing to “entertain” will quickly wane…be expecting this tide of emotions.
Furthermore, I would be cautious as to whom you told that you intended to use nuring school as a safety or as a stepping stone into medical school. Not to say that all nursing instructors would hold it against, but the minority of them who would are sufficiently numerous that I would largely keep it to myself.
Again, welcome back! Hope to see you in Denver.
Hey all,
Thank you for your replies. I appreciate your input, but I am still going to have to stick with my plan"B". I know that nursing may not scratch my itch, but financially it is what I must do! I think that ultimately it will work out no matter what. I have to be happy and I think I will be happy doing anything in the medical field especially if I become a certified nurse midwife. But, I will keep taking my prereqs and try to get into medical school and work at as a nurse same time if it is at all possible. Maybe–maybe not. All I can do is live my life and do the best I can do.
Thanks for listening and for your replies.
Cindy in Dallas
Cindy,
My mom is in the DFW area…she has worked as a nurse in HEB for the last 17 years…and finished her NP at TWU about 3 years ago. She has been working as an NP for the last few years and really loves what she does. If you would like to talk with her about nursing, and becoming a nurse midwife or NP, I’d be happy to send you her email address.
Do what makes you happy. It is so easy to get caught up in the pre-med dream. I know that I chased that for a long time and after supporting my dh through residency and fellowship and having 3 (soon to be 4 
) children, I finally realized that for me what was important was my family and teaching…at least for now. Anything can ‘scratch your itch’…if you delve deeply enough into it. It’s arrogant to assume that the most intellectually challenging profession is medicine and that no other profession could be as mentally stimulating…Yet so many of us make that mistake…it’s easy to put the MD blinders on and forget that there are plenty of intelligent, compassionate people out there who could have become physicians but who chose a different path due to financial reasons, family obligations or simply feeling a different calling. There are many things that we can do to make us happy…if you want to become a nurse midwife…aim to be the best you can be. Discover what interests you in that field and become an expert!
Follow your heart.
Kris
I just have to say, “Yeah, what she said!” to Kris’s comments. Profound! Well worth reading again.
Cindy, you do what you gotta do. Nursing CAN be a terrific high-functioning, intellectual profession if you want to make it so. And it definitely gives you a financial springboard from which it’s easier to consider other career options.
You don’t describe the time frame for doing nursing and then, perhaps, medicine somewhere down the line. Keep in mind that your med school prereqs may “age” to where they’re not looked on as favorably by med schools. It’s been my observation that the people who have the toughest time getting a good look from a med school are those who haven’t had ANY coursework in the year or two prior to admission.
What I’m saying is, don’t kill yourself to fit in the prereqs while doing your nursing program. Depending on the timing, it might actually be better to do them later.
If this doesn’t fit your situation, you know what to do!
Hey Kris and Mary,
I appreciate your thoughtful and insightful comments. I think I will try to apply sometime in the next two years and just take one prereq at a time until I can take the MCAT next next year. (2005) I have wanted to be a doctor for a very long time, but I have let my fear of failure keep me from taking the necessary prereqs. I was plodding along for awhile, but after my husband was laid off for 15 months it became necessary to quit plodding-around, if you know what I mean. 
The nursing school at the local community college told me that I had enough prereqs to apply and that I was an outstanding applicant so I applied and was accepted for the fall of this year. Knowing that I could work as a nurse and still pursue becoming a nurse midwife seemed a win-win for me, but deep inside I felt as if I gave up on my dream. I thought nursing would be so close to what I really wanted to do, so, at least I could have any hopes of working at a good paying job within the next 2 years and my oldest could go to college. (With my dh being unemployed for that long we took a huge financial hit!) 
I know that if I don’t at least try to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor that I might always have regrets and I have seen what that can do to people. So in my opinion, I think I might give it one shot and if I don’t get in … then I know that I tried… and I will be happy working as a nurse midwife because I love the birth process! (YeeHaw!) 
So once again I thank you all for your thoughts,
Cindy in Dallas
P.S. Kris, I would like it if I could talk to your mom, thank you.
Cindy,
I wondered what had happened to you! After I replied to you quite awhile back, I never heard back from you again! I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad year. I know it can get awful! Don’t take it personally about OPM, I think Dave is right, when you aren’t around consistently, you feel left out. If you don’t feel welcome at UTD, well join the club. I’m graduating from there in December, and have never felt welcome (except in my major, Interdisciplinary Studies) I spoke with no less than 6 others from UTD about OPM, some through OPM, then they blew me and OPM off. I know we all get busy, but it just doesn’t seem like those particular folks wanted to get closer as a group. I think the “Pre-Med” club at UTD is pretty insular. I’ve had a number of students, after hearing about my plans and knowing I go to UTD, talk about their bad experiences with the pre-med department and the school in general. Having gone to a community college before (Richland), I can tell you, even the advisors warn students against the treatment at UTD, and I think thats pretty sad. If you are in a nursing program, you must not be at UTD, so I suppose I won’t run into you, but you have my email and can always post to me privately when you want to talk!
Kathy Feeling your pain, really