Hi everyone! I’m sorry, but I’m not currently in medical school, or even pre-med . . I just started college, majoring in nursing.
I’m 25, and have three children (they are 6, 3 and 2)
I’ve been busy this year. . . I never finished highschool (dropped out) but this year I got my GED and started college. My original plan was to go nursing, then grad school for Family Nurse Practitioner, or something of the sort. . but now I have this silly idea in my head that I want to go Pre-Med next year. I have a 3.9 GPA (I’ve been taking classes during the spring/summer).
I say it’s a silly idea because. . is it even possible? I just thought I’d ask you guys since you’ve been through it. . . maybe you could give me some idea of what it’s like?
I’m very determined, and a good student. I don’t know. I would really like to go to medschool, but I’m kinda discouraged.
Any input would be great! Thank you!!!
Hey!!!
I think you should continue getting good grades and “go for it”… Don’t let your situation dictate where you want to go. I “know” if you take the right steps, study hard and master your classes, you’ll be in medical school before you know it. Think positive and you’ll get there…
Blessings 
Hi and welcome, Angie!
It’s definitely not a silly idea to pursue medical school if you think that’s what you want. Med schools very rarely look beyond college, and even if they do, I doubt that many of them will care that you dropped out as long as your college and other stuff looks good. Congrats on taking the initiative to get your GED, go back to school, and do so well in your classes!
Now that we’ve determined that you aren’t crazy, though, now is time to do some serious research. First, what is it that makes you think you would prefer medicine over nursing? If you can find some time, see if you can shadow both some doctors and nurse practitioners and get a feel for the different philosophies. If possible, find a female physician who can give you some insight into balancing a med school, residency and career with family life. Many women are able to do the med school path with families, many others aren’t willing to sacrifice that much time with their children. You need to discover where you fall along that continuum.
Second, (maybe first and maybe you’ve already done this) fully explore how long it will take you to get where you want to be. I’m assuming you already have an idea of the time frame to become a nurse practitioner. For physicians, the time frame is 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school (and LOTS of debt) and 3+ years of residency. You CAN make time for family in medical school (although 3rd year can be rough, I hear), and residency is a little better now with the 80 hour work limitations, but you will still be forced to give up a lot of time with your family over the next 11+ years. Also, although you get paid during residency, it isn’t much, and your finances will be tight over that time period.
Talk to a pre-med advisor. Many times, the science courses for nursing majors are not the necessary ones for pre-med majors. Sometimes, however, you can elect to take the pre-med chem, bio, etc for credit toward the nursing degree. Find out if this is an option.
Also, talk to some people about whether or not you should pursue the BSN. For various reasons, getting a nursing degree and then applying to medical school often does not go over well with med schools. One reason is that because there is such a nursing shortage and there are waiting lists to get into nursing programs throughout the country, if it becomes perceived as a “good” path to take to get into medical school, people who have no intentions of becoming a nurse will take those spots away from those who will become nurses. Another concern for medical schools is that the nursing philosophy and physician models of medicine are quite a bit different.
If you decide to pursue the BSN and pre-med simultaneously, just be aware that the BSN may actually be a negative when applying to medical school. This can be a tough call for some people - they want the security of knowing that they will have a job at the end of four years of college. Obviously, getting into medical school is no guarantee. So - if you don’t get in and are now stuck with a pre-med degree that may or may not get you a job, what are you going to do? Are you willing to take that risk? Are there other options that would be acceptable to you if you don’t get in? (PA school, getting your RN and NP via a graduate level program, etc)
So - in summary - it’s definitely possible. I encourage you to do some more research and investigation on your own and determine whether or not it is right for YOU. Try and talk to some physicians, especially women. Find a good, POSITIVE mentor. (In other words, not a doc who tells you they regret going to medical school and if they had to do it all over again, they wouldn’t choose medicine) Look up Mary Renard’s profile and read her story of how she went back to school with three children and is now a family practice resident.
And - ask lots of questions!
Good luck!
- ItsJustAngie Said:
I'm 25, and have three children (they are 6, 3 and 2)
I've been busy this year. . . I never finished highschool (dropped out) but this year I got my GED and started college. My original plan was to go nursing, then grad school for Family Nurse Practitioner, or something of the sort. . but now I have this silly idea in my head that I want to go Pre-Med next year. I have a 3.9 GPA (I've been taking classes during the spring/summer).
I say it's a silly idea because. . is it even possible? I just thought I'd ask you guys since you've been through it. . . maybe you could give me some idea of what it's like?
I'm very determined, and a good student. I don't know. I would really like to go to medschool, but I'm kinda discouraged.
Any input would be great! Thank you!!!
Hi and welcome!
Nope not silly at all
I think you should go ahead an work towards it, take it one step at a time, get a BS degree and do the Prereqs for Medschool and see where you are in 3 years or so of doing that, its a long journey to medschool and you are young, (at least by my standards at 42)
If being a Doc is in your heart then go for it!
Give the kids a hug for me too!
- Quote:
If you decide to pursue the BSN and pre-med simultaneously, just be aware that the BSN may actually be a negative when applying to medical school.
For MD schools this is certainly the case. For DO, I am not so sure. I have talked to quite a few people from admissions about this, and their replies have been essentailly the same, that their school (DO) does not think that doctor and nursing viewpoints are really all that different.
The other point of getting a BSN to fulfill the degree requirement is sticky. I actually was accepted into a BSN program, but before it started, I gave up my spot because I knew I would not remain in it and felt that due to the nursing shortage, those spots should go to those who want to be nurses. I do not regret my decision, despite the fact that I have not been able to secure steady work in the two years since graduating.
I do not think you are crazy, and I wonder why you would think so? Is it because of 3 children, or the HS drop-out thing? I have read about some fantastic physicians who dropped out of HS. I would have, had I not turned 18 less than 1 month prior to graduation. It takes a special person to be a good doctor, and they tend to not fit in in most HS's, due to whatever reason.
Definately take the advice of seriously looking into it and decide what you want to do. From there, you just do what it takes.
- misscompassion Said:
For MD schools this is certainly the case. For DO, I am not so sure. I have talked to quite a few people from admissions about this, and their replies have been essentailly the same, that their school (DO) does not think that doctor and nursing viewpoints are really all that different.
Sorry if this is hijacking the OP at all, but I'm just curious, where does the difference between DO vs. MD viewpoint exist as it relates to nursing vs. physician models of medicine?
Does the MD philosophy maybe see nursing as an entirely separate entitity, whereas the DO approach sees it as more of a sub-category? Just guessing here, but I'm curious.
I’m curious too. I’ve heard this from a couple different pre-meds who have recently done interviews. Both say that DO schools tend to embrace nurses whereas Medical schools tend to shun them. It sounds like a vast generalization to me. I can’t help wondering if this is pre-med mythology, or if these attitudes apply at some schools, but not at others.
Tim
I am not certain, but I suspect a certain degree of pre-med mythology. The M2 student who helped us out the first week of anatomy lab (MCW has an M2 work with each group the first week just to get you started) was previously an RN.
I think as long as your reasons for making the switch are clear and well thought-out, it shouldn’t be a big deal. But this profound wisdom applies to all of us, doesn’t it?
From what I gathered at one of my interviews where this was discussed, is that the “nursing approach” is holistic and patient-centered. Nurses are generally concerned with HOW the patient is doing, and lifestyle issues. A DO is concerned about all of this, as well as the disease model at hand.
MD admissions and institutional attitude is to focus on the disease process, and let other people worry about the HOW the patient copes. Granted I think it is how you choose to practice, but I am speaking from a general concept.
Sammed: I think that MD institutions view “nursing” as a separate approach, where DO institutions view it as a part of their philosophy.
This is my interpretation of the DO philosophy and have been told by some DO admissions people that I am on the mark.
- T_Forsythe Said:
Tim
Tim & others,
I would not consider this an issue of MD programs shunning allied health professionals (RTs, RNs, Paramedics...) & DO programs embracing them. On one hand, DO schools traditionally are more open to 2nd/3rd career folks...irrespective of what that career(s) might have been. I have only come across 1 school - Des Moines - that expressly stated that 'value' was given to applicants with a medical background. So, in my experience, being an allied health professional conveys no 'real' advantage to an applicant. However, once you hit the clinical years & residency, the advantage can be monumental. I know it has been for me.
On the other hand, is it a disadvantage? No, I do not think so, even though I know of many allied health folks being questioned as to their motivation for changing. Of course, virtually all 2nd/3rd career applicants are expected to be able to articulate clearly why they are leaving vocation/profession x, y or z to become a physician. I have never felt that there was inordinate pressure to justify my decision merely for having been an allied health professional.
Maybe some of the underpinning of the perception of it being a disadvantage can be traced to two things? 1 - that allied health coursework is not considered sufficiently rigorous to count in the prerequisities as any sort of science nor will those courses allow you to receive advanced credit towards any med school course. 2 - that historically applicants w/ BSs in allied health curricula have a lower than average acceptance rate to medical school - that is true for both DO & MD programs the last time I saw that data, which, admittedly, has been a few years.
In summation, I think the "myth" is just that - a myth - and built upon some loosely related/unrelated factual info & misperceptions by the applicant crowd.
Old man Dave ( I’m older than you LOL) I second your comment, I find that as an RN it really gives me no real edge in medschool at this moment, I think PDI and clinicals will go smoother since somethings I have done before ( like exams and IV’s) but for the most part I was not an MD before I was an RN and I used to say “I’ll get the Doctor” No that will be me!