BSN to MD

Alpha13 · Mar 5, 2006

I want to become a physician but if i dont make it i have a BSN as somthing to fall back on.

IMO this is a bad way to go. Aim straight for your goal of getting an MD and just rock on everything you have have to do (GPA, MCAT, volunteer) Going the nursing way just to have "something to fall back on" is a waste of your time and effort. If you really can't cut it you can get into an accelerated BSN program later if necessary.

EDIT the prereq courses are not the same BTW. To go the nursing>MD route you are looking at another 2 years or so vs going biology degree>MD

bookwormom · Mar 5, 2006

I have known of students with a BSN going on to obtain a MD. A nursing background would certainly give you a patient focused outlook. Still, I am concerned that you are considering nursing as a second choice, so to speak.

In my opinion, you shouldn't pursue nursing unless you are willing to commit to it fully. It isn't really a stepping stone to medicine; you would need extra courses, and the roles are quite different.

If you research nursing, you might be surprised at all the different options. You might also research some of the other health related fields, like pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, etc.

Good luck.

hcmanp, NP · Mar 5, 2006

If you want to be a physician, do that. If you want to be a nurse, go to nursing school. But don't look at the two through the same lens - very different careers. Nursing is a wonderful way to go, and I'd love to encourage you to be an RN, but, if you want to be a doc, believe in yourself, give it all you've got, take the MCAT, get the necessary loans to pay for it/find money somewhere and shoot for the stars. Don't stop until you are done. You will always regret not doing the things you "could have done" Been there, done that.

pshs_2000 · Mar 5, 2006

samford university in birmingham, al has a bsn/pre-med program. you're qualified to sit for the nclex and prepared to take the mcat and apply to med school. check it out at http://www.samford.edu/schools/nursing/degrees.htm http://www.samford.edu/schools/nursing/schemas/PreMed schema for BSN.pdf

QTRN74 · Mar 5, 2006

i started my undergrad as a "pre-med" major at a major university with a top notch medical school. after the first year of prereqs i realized i didn't have what it took to be a physician. that and i also hated physics! so my major switched from biology to nursing. my advice to you is to go for either a bio, phys, or chem degree and then do many hours of volunteering at a hospital while also keeping up your gpa. if this does not work, you can go into physician assistant school or surgical assistant school. i would also suggest "shadowing" a doctor and/or a nurse for a few hours to see what they do. this can give you some insight as to what exactly the jobs entail.

there are also many other paths you can take in the medical field. i think someone said this, but nurses and doctors do very different things. the scope of practice is different as is the time.

good luck to you and if you really want to be a doctor...do it!

sofabsn · Mar 5, 2006

Most people do not realize you can major in anything and become a doctor. As long as you take the "core" courses required of most medical schools. As a matter of fact, I once read that one of the most successful majors gaining entry into medical school was music. I will warn you, once I too thought it would be easy to become a nurse and then go on to medical school, but something very strange happened to me. I fell in love with nursing. The upside of your idea is when you are a doctor, you practice just one way, your way and usually your way is the best way. after being a nurse, you get to observe a variety of doctors and objectively pick and pan what you make your own. It is often like the best of both worlds. I asked one of the physicians I worked with to write me a letter for graduate school. She told me she sent the letter in but thought I was wasting my time because I should be applying to medical school. I laughed and told her that not everyone wants to grow up to be a doctor. Whatever you decide to do, have fun and do it well. You will never regret a choice you enjoy.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 5, 2006

I have worked with several physicans thru the years that were nurses first, and they were wonderful to work with.

That being said, the sciences required for pre-med are not the same as that required for the BSN, at least for many programs.

There are different tracks in the sciences that need to be done. You may want to check that out first, and see what different courses thst you would need to have, or if they would let the pre-med classes count in your current curriculum.

The chemistry requirements are different, such as needing the full series in Organic Chem, Comparative Vertebrate Physiology, etc. These are not needed in the nursing programs.

MultipurposeRN · Mar 5, 2006

At least get some medical and patient care experience first. I don't care what type of career you go into eventually, you're better off for being a CNA or medical assistant or whatever type of exposure first. What if you find you don't really like it at all and you've spent years in school preparing for something you're not going to enjoy? What if you can't stand dealing with people and their complaints? I highley recommend doing some aide work or volunteer work, be a phlebotimist, even a housekeeper in a hospital...just something that gets you exposed to hospitals, patients, and medical careers in action.

texancanadian · Mar 5, 2006

If you want a major that will prepare you to go to medical school, but is also a backup in itself if you cant get into or dont want to go to med school later, try Biomedical Engineering.

It is definitely more employable that a plain Jane Bio or Chem degree plus it allows you to take most of the prereqs they need for med school.

I have worked with several physicans thru the years that were nurses first, and they were wonderful to work with.
That being said, the sciences required for pre-med are not the same as that required for the BSN, at least for many programs.
There are different tracks in the sciences that need to be done. You may want to check that out first, and see what different courses thst you would need to have, or if they would let the pre-med classes count in your current curriculum.
The chemistry requirements are different, such as needing the full series in Organic Chem, Comparative Vertebrate Physiology, etc. These are not needed in the nursing programs.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2006

Please don't do this if you don't want to be a nurse, ESPECIALLY if your school has an impacted nursing program - It's not very nice to take up a spot someone else who really wants to be a nurse could have. And courses for premed are, as others have stated, different. If I wanted to go to med school I'd have to take a year of OrgChem, a year of Physics, and a year of Calculus after my BSN is done. You can major in anything you want - my cousin is going to med school with a BA in English, but nursing school spots are limited, so don't do it if you don't want it.

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nurse_clown · Mar 5, 2006

at the hospital i work at, there a three female doctors that used to be RN's. I'm not sure how hard it was to be a nurse and go to medical school cuz both are very demanding. but they must have transitioned very well because they have proven to be very good doctors.

BTW my father is a physician. I was expected to go to medical school. He was a professor at the university and hoped I'd apply there so tuition was free. I just plain had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with my life. It took me ten years, one degree and three diplomas to finally become an RN. I'm still not a doctor! :lol2: I'm not even sure about nursing. I'm thinking of quitting my hospital job (I keep getting hurt there). I'll keep my nursing home job and go to dog training school. I think my dad would freak out because he's still waiting for me to go to medical school. My bachelors degree is in recreation and leisure administration. funny, eh?

You know what? My advice to you is just plain pick something and go for it. Some nurses make a lot of money in some pretty high profile jobs. But, there's also some pretty interesting things you could do as a physician. I thought I'd go into nursing and pay my way through medical school. I also think it depends on what type of person you are. Some ppl are really "driven"

but I'm not. I'm not very ambitious. I prefer to have fun. I like what I'm doing and I'm happy being a front line nurse. Some nurses don't like doing patient care and they choose to be managers. I just don't like that responsibility. It's not fun. But some people love a lot of responsibility and love and are able to manage everything. Sorry, I'm of no help to you to make a decision. Just thought I'd put out some things to think about.

take care.