thinking about going to med school advice needed

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Dec 3, 2005

I was pre-med for about 2 years and completed most of my pre-reqs. It is very hard and competitive to get into any medical school, that is for anyone, but I know people who are 40+ in med school so don't let that influence you. And being an RN does give you good experience. My childrens ped was an RN for a few years and started med school when she was 41 and she told me she was not even the oldest in her class!

There are a few good pre-med websites I used to frequent and they were a great help (both have good forums like we do here at allnurses):

http://www.oldpremeds.org/

http://www.studentdoctor.net/

http://www.mommd.com/

I personally changed to nursing because I didn't want to spend all my time away from my children (they are still very young). I know a lot of Dr's and there is a lot of family resentment and that played a big role for me.

If you have questions I think any of those forums would be a great way to ask them and talk to some med students, residents and physicians....they were all very honest and personable (I especially enoyed oldpremeds and mommd the most).

Good luck :)

Someday-C.R.N.A. · Dec 3, 2005

Sounds like something that you'll have to ultimately decide for yourself, but it IS possible.

I'm wondering which path is best for me too, and trying to remember that it all just seems impossible. I read somewhere (SDN I think) that some Med schools look more favorably at non traditional students than others, so its just a matter of finding the right fit.

I'm just starting to get back to school at 26. With the waiting lists and my own time restraints, I'm hoping to earn my ADN by the time I'm 30. Whether I ultimately decide to become a CRNA, MD or line cook at Dennys, I don't plan to let my age or anything else stop me from doing what I want with my life.

Good luck!

smk1, LPN · Dec 4, 2005

After 5 years in nursing, while I love my job and patient care " I work 2 days in icu and also home health for another 2 days a week" I have been giving a great deal of thought into going back to med school. The reason being is I'm just tired of MD not really caring about their patient and what not. I just feel that I could do so much more as a MD from a patient care stand point than a nurse. I would love to open up a clinic where I can advocate for my patients and be a nurse advocate at the same time. I don't believe that if I got my NP I would be able to achieve those lofty goals. Has anyone looked into what it would take to get into med school? Is it easier for nurses to get into med school or harder, if everything else being equal grade and mcat wise. I have all the pre reqs for med school, the problem is have of them were done at a jc and half were done at a 4 year university. My gpa is 3.6, I'm an older student though "36" I have heard that it is next to impossible to get into a med school in the states if you are older.
Thanks for any advice that anyone can provide
frank

good luck in your decision, i would suggest spending a bit of time over at student doctor network forums. They are extremely immature at times and annoying, but amidst all of the junk is really good info on what it takes to get into med school. i would also find out if the sciences that you completed are too old to be used.... Lots of research is needed, but you are in NO WAY too old. Non-traditional students are becoming more and more plentiful.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2005

If I were in your position, and my goal was to advocate for patients and nurses, I would go the NP route. If you are 36 now, and get into med school this year, you still have 4 years of school and then internship and residency. That puts you close to your mid 40's before you are making any significant money, then you have loans to pay back, unless you are independently wealthy. Then if you go into private practice, you have to hire staff, deal with paperwork regarding insurance, medicare and medicaid. By the time you are in a position to start practice, we could be facing a socialized medicine scenario in the US and you would be making the equivilent of a good NP anyway.

I've known many MD's who planned to be good patient advocates and get bogged down in the day to day hassles of running an office, they either lose sight of their original plans or are too worn out to care anymore. Many have so many patients they barely have 10 min to spend with each. Then there are hospital rounds, call at night and week ends, etc. Just not worth it in my opinion.

If you went the NP route, you could finish in 2 years, have the government pay for it if you qualify for grants that let you pay it off in an underserved area (of course the same goes for med school). As an NP, you would have less overhead, and general office management hassles, and can open your own practice in many areas including dispensing priviledges. You could work independently in an ER fast track, clinic or doctors office with a good bit of freedom.

Obviously the choice is yours, but for me, the hassle, expense and time of going to med school would not be worth it. I am happy to be "just a nurse".

Lookingtolearn · Dec 4, 2005

I say go for it if you have the drive and motivation we could always use more doctors. By the way if you do decide to become a physician the last thing you should have to worry about is socialized medicine we are a long way from that being a reality. There are other concerns that have been pointed out that more relevant to the near future. :)