Confused about majors

[mynameisamyw]

I am in my freshman year of college and trying to decide what my major should be. I want to go to get in to med school, but want a major I can use as a back up in case I can't get in to medical school or have to wait a year or so before I'm accepted. So I want a major that can guarantee a job while I'm waiting (or for the future if my med school dreams fail). I have heard pre-med doesn't offer this. I was thinking about nursing, but have heard this isn't good preparation. Is there a better major?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Nursing programs in and of themselves can be difficult to get into, and are too long in nature for you to consider using it as a "back up" in case you can't get into medical school, IMO.

No, nursing is not a good preparation for med school; they are two different disciplines with two different models and scopes of practice. Many people think becoming an RN is some kind of shortcut to becoming an MD, and it's simply not the case.

Coursework required for Pre-Med sometimes does include the same courses as for nursing, but there is usually more, and more science courses. To focus on becoming a nurse, you will take other, different courses, and I don't think splitting your focus is wise.

If you want to become a nurse, focus your attention and energy on that; you will need it just to get through the nursing program. If your desire it to become an MD, you will be wasting time and energy in becoming a nurse. It is not something you do in school until something 'better' comes along; you won't succeed in the program that way and I doubt failing in nursing will look good on your application to medical school.

[keno138]

I would suggest talking to your adviser. Most of friends trying to do pre-med have gone into biology or EMC. Nursing is a different path and takes too much focus, determination, and hard work to just be considered a back-up major.

[RhodyGirl, RN]

Don't use nursing as a back up career. Period.

[queenjean]

I would suggest doing a med tech program. It is a BS in laboratory science, basically. Some people do use it as a premed degree; but you also have a career to "fall back on" in the event you decide (for whatever reason) that medicine isn't for you. But it would also prepare you for med school.

[IHeartPhysiology]

Hmmmm.....well, I'm a Human Physiology major and am either going to pursue an Associates Degree as a Physical Therapist's Assistant or (ASN) Nursing at the same time.

My goal is to eventually get my Masters in Physiology and possibly earn a Doctoral in Physical Therapy. But that's waaaaaaaayyy down the line.

Most individuals who are aspiring to Medical School obtain a Bachelors in Pre-Med, Biology, or Physiology......and unfortunately NONE of those degrees give you a "guaranteed" job after graduation. I will say, though, that most people who earn a Bachelors in Human Physiology are also certified through ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), so there is a possibility of employment in the sports medicine field, although not in any major diagnostic way.

Good Luck!

[RunHard]

Just wanted to add there are lots and lots of majors that are accepted to medical schools, and it isn't always science related. As long as you complete the prerequisites (good grades) and have a good MCAT score then you have a chance. Music majors and anthropology majors actually do quite well with acceptance to med schools. You could actually major in nursing and go to medical school so long as you can satisfy the pre reqs for med school, and take the MCAT. You can major in essentially anything.

[Dolce, RN]

One of my classmates in college was a graphic design major but was taking A&P with me so that he could go into nursing as a "backup." He didn't pass A&P. It is just too hard to be trying to accomplish two things at once. Med school has very specific course requirements and nursing school has very specific requirements. Yes, there is some overlap but to do both it would probably take you about 6 years to get a bachelors degree that would also allow you to get into Med School. Nursing school isn't like other majors where you have classes and labs. A big part of nursing school is the clinical component. There is a huge amount of prep time needed for clinicals, besides all that is needed for the classes and nursing labs.

I think if you want to be a doctor you should go for it full force! Don't take a detour by going into nursing. They are separate and distinct fields.

[sooperdooper]

I often contemplate going that route (MD/DO), so I will be taking the additional classes just in case I ever do want to go that route.

Your major really doesnt matter as far as Med school goes. Humanities majors are the highest scoring majors for the MCATs, the reason being they are excellent at understanding the questions. The MCATs are designed for THINKING, not rote memorization.

You need to satisfy BCPM, one year of Biology, Chemistry (1 year of O-chem for some schools), Physics, and Math (Calculus) requirements as well as one year of LAB for each of them.

To be competitive, you need to score at least a 30 on your MCAT's with at least a 3.5 UGRAD GPA and 3.5 BCPM GPA.

As you can see, these requirements will take you way off course for nursing. Completing them will nearly give you a whole new major!

I plan on obtaining a doctoral degree either through nursing or med school. And like many have said, both nursing and medicine are completely different paths and ideologies.

Anyhow, thats my 2 cents.

EDIT:

One last thing, my wife has a bio-chem degree, which is a pre-med degree, and although it may seem that there is no specific job waiting for you, there are really a lot of opportunities out there.

Originally she was going to attain a PhD in pharmacology, but we have a family now, so she plans to do that later in life. Even with a pre-med degree, there are a variety of other routes.

[RunHard]

There really isn't such thing as a pre med degree. A bio chem degree is a bio chem degree. You can major in anything so long as the pre reqs are satisfied.

[sooperdooper]

There really isn't such thing as a pre med degree. A bio chem degree is a bio chem degree. You can major in anything so long as the pre reqs are satisfied.

Any degree that satisfies BCPM requirements as part of the degree is considered a pre-med degree. Obviously, you do not have to go into medicine.

[RunHard]

There still is no such thing as a pre med degree. Any degree, yes any degree, can satisfy the pre reqs for med school