BSN to MD

[Mr.Mrs.RN]

Hi, for those nurses with a bachelor's degree that went on to become a doctor, did the prerequisite requirements still apply to you or did you simply had to have a high MCAT score and a high GPA for your application to bode well?

[popopopo]

You need the pre-reqs completed before matriculation(start of class). MCAT and GPA won't be enough.

[AddictionNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I believe you need all your sciences and two semesters of organic chem and 2-3 semesters of Calculus completed beforehand. Maybe biochemistry and also a basic course in genetics.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

Look at the entrance requirements for the schools you are interested in. It will be right on their website. Getting into medical school is highly competitive. Most schools weigh other factors besides GPA and MCAT, so your nursing experience should be a plus. Good luck

[Subee2, BSN, MSN, CRNA]

This is a nursing website, not a physician's site so there are no MD's here to answer your question. I applied to med school a while back and a nursing degree is NOT a help but nor is it a hinderance. The grades in your hard science courses count more, especially if they have a lab. There is a process you have to go to in the application to "weight" your letter grade with the number of credits you earned in that class. I already had 8 credits in physics so only had to take O chem for two semesters to complete the pre-req's. My BSN was a second degree so I had a huge number of credits but not enough of hard sciences. Ended up being a CRNA because I thought I was too old to start out as an MD with all the debt and I also needed the O chem classes for that:) But being a doctor is not an extension of being a nurse. They are very different animals.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

A good friend of mine is an RN with a BSN who is starting his third year of medical school. He still had to do o-chem, biochem, etc. — anything he didn't have already — and then the MCAT. A lot of schools are looking more favorably on the more "non-traditional" degrees these days. Just have to have a solid GPA, take those courses that you haven't had, then nail the MCAT. One thing to mention — when you are calculating your GPA for med school admissions, grade replacement is not a thing. All attempts count.