Career shift: I have a BS in Biochem and I am med school drop out advice please

Published

Hi all,

first post! As the title says. I graduated college with a bs in biochem and went to med school for 2 years and failed. I've kinda just been working and teaching for the past 2 years and now I want to give med a second shot.

I was hoping some one could guide me as far as getting my RN and possible career expectations would be. Should I mention my med school failure on my apps? Wear it as a badge of honor? Or do not mention it?

Lastly, I would like to go for a fast track BSN and persue a master part time afterwords. Any recommendations to online BSN? Thank you, I live in Houston TX too

-O

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Honestly, I think you will definitely need to address your medical school attempt. You will need to submit all of your academic transcripts. There is no escaping it. And I bet most people on allnurses would not recommend you tell nursing admissions committees that nursing is the next best thing to medical school and much easier, too. Never ever suggest nursing is your fall back career choice.

My advice is to address your medical school experience directly in your personal statement. Enumerate the differences in the role between physician and nurse and why you feel nurse fits you better at this point in your life.

I graduated with a BA in Neuroscience and also have a PhD in Molecular Genetics followed by two years of post-doctoral experience. I decided I did not want to be a bench scientist and researched different types of nursing educations. I chose an accelerated BSN program and was admitted into a couple of direct entry masters programs.

I am not aware of any online BSN program for non-nurses.

Please be aware there are many prerequisite courses that must be completed prior to matriculation in nursing programs. I am sure you have completed most (if not all) of the science courses. That being said, sometimes schools have expiration dates and you could find out if a course could be waived for you (I had many expired courses waived for me-I just asked). Finally, many programs have an entrance exam. My accelerated BSN program requires the GRE and any graduate entry program will as well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

PP is correct, there are no online pre-licensure programs. If you think about it for a minute or two, the reasons for that will become apparent. "hang on a minute - I've never done this, but I've read about it and seen pictures"

OP, you're lucky to live in Houston - plenty of options for you with very well regarded nursing programs at rock-bottom tuition rates. However, your GPA is a critical factor and you will have to divulge your entire academic career via transcripts. There's no way to hide them unless you change your SSN. You probably want to meet with admissions counselors who can provide you with the best guidance in that area.

I am intrigued by your motivation to shift into nursing. I have two acquaintences who 'tried' med school and thought that nursing would be a snap. They had decent GPAs, but both were shocked senseless to discover how difficult it is to get into a program, and how difficult the educational process turned out to be. One did not complete... went on to become a teacher instead.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'd say to not ask "can I get into and through nursing school"? You probably can. The question is "do I want to be a nurse"?

Not always an easy question to answer since nurses function in many different roles, from OR scrub nurse to outpatient NP. Still, the core of professional nursing is inpatient, bedside, acute care nursing. If Plan A of becoming a CRNA or sole-proprietor of a primary care clinic in a rural area doesn't work out or takes longer than expected, the "fallback" of nursing is bedside care. There are many other situations an RN may work in (school nurse, clinic nurse, legal consultant) but they are either hard-to-come-by-opportunities and/or require years of prior acute care nursing experience.

If you want to be a nurse - go to nursing school.

If you're interested in the medical field in general, with your background, you could probably qualify for any of number of medically-related non-patient care jobs. (In this job market, though, I could see how it might be easier to get into an accelerated BSN program than just to get a job.) Use the web to check out job descriptions at local health care facilities, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc.

If you definitely want to be in the medical field in a *patient care* capacity but aren't sure in what role, though, I'd suggest trying to get an entry-level job just to get in there on a day-to-day basis before investing money and time in a full-blown professional program. CNAs & EMTs have fairly short certification programs and often have more direct patient contact than some nurses. Unit secretaries get a good view of how the various professionals & departments work (or don't work) together. Again, I know today's job market it tough. Just know that these days an RN license doesn't guarantee a job either, especially for newbies with little real-world experience.

Best wishes in your journey!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

What about a PA program?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Be prepared for a negative reception, no matter how subtle. Not necessarily because you left medical school, per se, but because you failed and are trying to change career paths. Some are better at hiding their prejudicial attitudes than others, and you might find this being an issue some way or another, even decades later.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you all for your responses I am an open book to any and all options. I've looked at most of the entrance requirements for the nursing schools and it seems I am lacking alot in my Liberal arts areas. But all my sciences are done. Also some of the schools said that my cores were to be completed no more than 5 yrs ago and most of mine were done 7-10 yrs ago.

I do not want to go back to school full time which is why i want to finish online.

Anoth mentioned that I should just finish at a community college since i already have a bachelors it would be the same thing.

If i go this route can I go straight into a masters program or do I need to have a BSN?

Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

As for your expired classes, if you are using the material learned on a regular basis through work or other means, oftentimes the class can be waived. For example, I took Microbiology in 2001 but since my PhD is in Microbiology, I was waived of that prerequisite from virtually every program I considered.

I would recommend taking any prerequisite course work at community colleges.

I do not recommend getting an associates degree. Unless personal circumstances constrain you leaving no other option.

You can try researching direct entry masters programs for people who have bachelors (or higher) degree in a non-nursing area. These programs come in two flavors: a general masters and a combined degree program where the first year is equivalent to an accelerated BSN and the following two years you will be able to study to become a nurse practitioner. The latter programs vary in what specialty they offer for nurse practitioner. Also of note, some schools are no longer offering a masters level nurse practitioner degree and now offer a DNP-doctorate of nursing practice instead (this degree takes three years post BSN). Some direct entry masters programs will not award a BSN and a student will receive an MSN degree after three years. This means if you start the program and leave after 1 year, you may be capable of being licensed to practice nursing but will be degree-less (and out of a chunk of change for tuition).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Be certain to ask about getting the expired science classes waived. I found that when looking into a program, this was not mentioned as a possibility by the first two advisors who spoke to me. I had first heard about waiving this from reading about it on this site.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion