Advice for going from a PhD biotech program to Direct entry MSN

Published Jan 9, 2011

1 Post

Hi all! (I hope I'm putting this in the right place.)

I have a rather unique situation and was hoping someone could listen and lend some advice.

Two years ago I graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology. I decided to go to grad school for biotech research.

I entered a PhD program, struggled my first semester due to undiagnosed ADD, got that sorted out, then did really well. However, after a year and a half, I started to realize that while I like research, I really hate the current environment (fighting for grants, low wage post doc years, little to no job openings). So I recently left my program.

When looking at job options for my degree, I came to the realization that I would probably really enjoy being an NP or PA, its probably what I should have originally pursued in undergrad. I'm thinking about applying for direct entry MSN programs. I haven't decided 100% yet, but assuming I do go this route - I have some questions.

* Is my GPA good enough to get into a direct entry MSN?

My undergrad GPA was 3.171. There are two reasons for this - One is the undiagnosed ADD. The second is that I was also a caretaker for my disabled/mentally ill mother. As for my grad program, like I said, my first semester of grad school was rough (I'm taking 2.13 GPA rough) due to the ADD being undiagnosed/untreated. However, the following two semester's GPA was a 3.5 after treatment. I have a 2.89 for all 3 semesters of grad school.

I'll have to take some more courses to satisfy pre-reqs - I have one physiology course (3 credits with lab) but no anatomy what so ever, no psychology (except for a general studies psychology), no nutrition classes. I figure taking these at a local CC and doing well will help the GPA right?

I also have a *ton* of microbiology/cell bio courses as well as advanced calculus courses with very good grades from undergrad, I figure these will help?

* It'll be a couple of years before I apply to a program. Obviously in that time I will be taking pre-reqs like I mentioned. But what else can I do to make me more desirable? I will obviously be needing to work, so far I see my only options are to work as a research tech in an academic lab, an entry level scientist in a private industry biotech company, or find a job in healthcare. If I try to find a healthcare job, I'm concerned that I'm probably considered over qualified for jobs that just require a hs diploma, but since I don't have the qualifications for a clinical lab tech or similar, I'm afraid I'll have trouble finding something that will give me healthcare experience. Any advice on what to do for this or what someone with a microbiology Bachelor's with lots of bench experience but no clinical training might be hired to do in a clinical setting?

* Do you all think my grad school experience will help or hurt my chances of gaining admission? I read on one school's website that they really liked research skills and I totally have a lot of that! But I'm worried about questions regarding my commitment to a program. I'm hoping that if I get healthcare experience (either a job or volunteering) between now and then it might help.

* Any other tips on how I might boost my application between then and now?

Thanks everyone, I'm sure I have more questions, but I can't think of any right now. :rolleyes: And I don't want this to be too long. :redpinkhe