BSN duties?

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I have this crazy question...what are the duties of a BSN compared to a regular nurse with an associate degree? Are there any specific differences (besides the abcheloer degree)?

Thanks

Nev

Is a B.S in Chemistry or Biology better for med. school than a BSN?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

It's debatable. Some say yes, others no. I say, if you are aiming to be a doctor, head straight for a pre-med plan.

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well one of the main reasons why I'm planning to get a BSN is because I want to enter medical school in the future. I hope I'm goin on the right track!

make sure you are taking all of the requisite sciences and math for med school, and do no let them expire i think they only last 5 yrs (possible 7). At least you will have a career if you don't get in, but you need to have an explanation about why you are changing from nursing to medicine.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Infusion.
well one of the main reasons why I'm planning to get a BSN is because I want to enter medical school in the future. I hope I'm goin on the right track!

I recently enrolled my daughter into a pre-med program. Her advisor told us this: Getting into med school is all about the MCAT and GPA. Med schools today don't care what your undergrad degree is in as long as you ace the MCAT and your GPA is at the very least a 3.5. She recommended majoring in something you enjoy so you make awesome grades. If you love biology, major in biology. If you love chemistry, major in chemistry. If you love the history of romance language in Russian, then go for that. The MCAT is physics, biology, and organic/inorganic chemistry. My daughter will take one year each of those and then she will take the MCAT at the end of her junior year. Her advisor told her she didn't even need to take anatomy/physiology because IT'S NOT ON THE MCAT. She stated she will get enough anat/phys her first year in med school.

Another thing to note: in our area only 50% who apply get into the area med schools. So whatever you major in, make sure it's a degree you can do something with in case you don't get in. Good luck.

Sherri

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I would prefer a BSN over a BS in chemistry or biology because I think it is better to get some degree in a health science course like a BSN before applying to med school. Well...thats just me. I hope a BSN is not harder than a BS in Biology...I know that a BS in Chemistry is really really hard.

I just hope my decision is a good one!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

A BSN is not easy either. Are you under the impression it will be?

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Specializes in OR, Hospice.
I hope a BSN is not harder than a BS in Biology...I know that a BS in Chemistry is really really hard.

Define hard, please.

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I would prefer a BSN over a BS in chemistry or biology because I think it is better to get some degree in a health science course like a BSN before applying to med school. Well...thats just me. I hope a BSN is not harder than a BS in Biology...I know that a BS in Chemistry is really really hard.

I just hope my decision is a good one!

From what I've read and heard from med student friends (completely hearsay, fwiw) medical schools understand the nursing shortage and actually don't want to pull a qualified nurse from the field into medical school. From this particular point of view, a BSN is not necessarily the best path into med school. Also, med school requires several sciences you won't get in nursing school, so you'll have to do a lot of additional work over and above the BSN to qualify to take the MCAT and apply to med school. They really are two separate career paths. You might evaluate which you really want to do. If it is med school, I would encourage you to choose something along the lines of biology (a friend of mine actually got her med school pre reqs as a human nutrition major) and save the nursing school spot for someone who wants to be a nurse. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

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NO WAY! I definitely know that a BSN is really hard....I just wanted to know if it is easier compared to a BS in Biology or Chemistry.

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NO WAY! I definitely know that a BSN is really hard....I just wanted to know if it is easier compared to a BS in Biology or Chemistry.

It's hard to say which is "harder". However, as another poster said, you probably would not have all the science requirements for med school with a BSN. For that reason, a Biology or Chemistry degree would probably be better since it would have those courses included in the program already.

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well...I'm already done with the science pre-requisites for med school (except for o-chem)....if i could get that over with, everything should be ok

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.
well...I'm already done with the science pre-requisites for med school (except for o-chem)....if i could get that over with, everything should be ok

Hi. I actually have a BS in biology (and a MS in biology as well) AND just recently graduated with my BSN because after grad school for biology I decided I really, really wanted to be an RN. I did not think anything I studied in school was especially difficult. However, I did think that my science AND nursing classes were all time-consuming, due to all the exams, papers, theses, labs, clinicals, etc and because you need to put in the time to learn the concepts. I found both majors to be extremely enjoyable and that to me is exactly how you should decide what to major in-figure out what you really WANT to study and major in that. Maybe that is why I did not find either major difficult-because I love biology and love nursing so much I was really happy to be studying them and as a result I really put in the time to study both subjects well. Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

-Christine

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