BSN to Med School

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Well, hello all! This is my very first thread to post, so don't critique too much! :)

I am going to start this off by telling you a little bit about me and the background that goes with my question(s).

I grew up in a small town outside of Houston, Waller, Tx. My dad and brother are Firefighters/EMTs. I knew I wanted to be like them in some way, just not exactly. At first I wanted to be a vet, but my parents one day mentioned "Animals don't talk." Lol. It's true, and kind of deterred me away from going that route. When I entered high school, I had the option to receive a CNA license in hopes to become a nurse, so I did upon graduating.

I moved up to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area after graduation in attempt to go to UTA's nursing program. I was hired on at Arlington Memorial Hospital as a PCT on Cardiac Tele, and have been working there for 2 years now.

Since working there, I've been dying to get into the middle of all the fast paced action when alloted; codes, trauma, CPR, etc.. I'm addicted to the show "Trauma: Life in the ER", it is the actual footage of Trauma situations. One night, while watching the show, it dawned on me that a ER doc/Trauma Surgeon is what I want to be.

I was recently accepted into the nursing program that is held strictly for Texas Health Resources' employees and family members. (Arlington Memorial and 12 other hospitals in North Texas is owned by THR). It is an 18 month (no summer school) ADN program, with an automatic transfer to UTA for a BSN, which is just another year. So in 3 years, I will have received my Bachelors in Nursing.

I've read that in order to get accepted into Med School, 1) you have to have met MCAT standards for whichever university, 2) pre-reqs completed, and also 3) an accredited Bachelors degree.

I know that they are totally opposite career choices, and that they just compliment each other. But the reason for me to become a nurse first is so that if I ever get into Med School, and it becomes too overwhelming for me or my hopefully future family, I will have nursing to fall back on.

My questions come into play now;

1) Have you, or anyone you know of done something similar to this? Or wanted to?

2) The hospital is paying for all my schooling now, including my BSN at UTA. Do you think there is a hospital that would be willing to pay my way through Med School, as long as I sign a contract to work for them "x-amount" of years?

3) Do you see any future complications with the route I'm taking in order to get into Med School?

By the way, I absolutely LOVE nursing! But I want to be the ring leader in trauma situations (not being told what to do (yes, I know that is what nursing is all about)). Also, working my way up from a PCT-RN-BSN-MD would give me clarity from all aspects around the hospital.. One of my charge nurses was a PCT before she became a nurse, and I promise she is one of the BEST nurses our hospital has to offer! Amazing young lady!

Sorry this was so long, but I don't want to leave out any details that I might have to add a little later in order to get a clear answer to my questions. Thank you all so much!!! Stick around please, in case I have further questions.

Thanks,

JWestbrook

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Specializes in Cardiology and ER Nursing.

It's not a requirement that you have a Bachelors degree prior to applying to Med School although, that is generally the route most students take. As far as Vet school it is said that people that don't get into Vet school apply for Med School. It's harder to get into Vet school than it is Med School. As far as your question goes it's not a bad plan at all. Realistically the plan is doable over 15 to 20 years.

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If you want to be a doctor, I would highly suggest you look at more traditional routes. You can check out SDN for more accurate information. In fact, there is a thread over there discussing a similar situation of a respiratory therapist applying for med school. The data that I have seen clearly indicates that people with "health" degrees such as nursing and such are at a clear disadvantage when it comes to being accepted into medical school.

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I like your plan and have considered going the Med School route myself, in the future. But I really love the idea of being a nurse and I have some qualms about being a doctor. So I will play it by ear. But at this point in my life there are about a thousand different directions that I want to go in. I am focusing on my ADN and then going from there, I want to be ambitious but I also want to enjoy the ride and find the perfect fit for me. The only thing I am certain of at this point is going for my BSN, other then that I am all over the place.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in Family Practice, Urgent Care, Cardiac Ca.

I have a few friends who, during their BSN, thought they wanted to do med school afterwards...imagine...2 bachelors degrees and then a doctorate. oy. Most of them decided against it because of the amount of repetition, and length of time. Nurses are taught to THINK and ACT differently than physicians, and most of my class mates decided they would be happier as CRNAs, NPs, etc. (and in less time!). HOWEVER: statistically speaking, RNs historical excel with much more success in med school than their non-experienced contemporaries. Hope this helps!

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Thanks ScottE, I tried to do a little research a while back about requirements for med school, and I must have thought it said "You have to", instead of "It's preferred to" have a Bachelors degree.

And I'm not really about Vet anymore, back then I was.

I know it will take quite some time, and like you said probably 15-20 years. I'm only 20 now, so I would have plenty of time to complete it and practice it.

Thank you Gila, I've also read posts in the past saying having a "health" degree isn't going to help me persay to get into Med School. Thanks for your reply, I will have to check into those other threads!

KrisSmith, I'm glad I have someone else in the same boat as myself! The key word "ambitious"! There is so much stuff that interests me and I know I can make a career out of, but like you've said I will focus on getting my BSN, and I guess after that I will decide whether to pursue Med School or not. Family, Living location, Job oppurtunities will definitely be a huge factor. Thanks!

Wow Hearticulture, that definitely helped! It gave me several different insights. We all hate school (well, I for one do) and to imagine after my BSN, another what-10+ years?! But I guess you've got to do, what you have to, in order to be where you want in the end. I failed to mention that upon high school graduation, I wanted to be a CRNA. But this was mainly due to the $$$ and less schooling than Med School. Once I was hired on at the hospital, I knew I wanted to be interactive with patients (not them being under the whole time), and that later became me wanting to be in trauma-esque situations. Thank you so much!

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I know a few nurses who became MD's. They started straight after high school graduation though. You would have to be done with your pre-requisites by your junior year in college. So a year of org. chem, physics, bio and gen chem. it's kind of hard to balance that with nursing school but if you are determined you can do it. Then you would need to take your MCAT's your junior year too because thats when you apply to medschool IF you want to start right after you are done with nursing school. MCAT's are killer. usually a 30+ do get into a good med school

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Just make sure when you're in nursing school, don't think like a doc, think like a nurse. The 2 schools of thought for problem-solving is very different. Otherwise, you'll suffer. just a caution, not an impediment by any means. Best of luck!

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I wanted to do this, but then I realized it would mean taking over 8 classes that I didn't take in undergrad! If you have the option to take all your prereqs in addition to what you need for your nursing major, I would do that at the very least to keep your options open. It's very different to decide to take the MCAT and try to get into med school when you already have your prereqs than to balance working full time, taking a bazillion prereqs, and then the MCAT/med school.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Highschoolfuturenurs, Texas Health Resources is paying for my schooling and we had to sign a contract stating that we'd give them 2 years after completion of our RN. So after completion of my BSN, I would only owe them 1 more year. I turn 21 in March, so I guess you could say I'm still quite young enough to complete all of nursing and med school, if it ever happens. Thank you!

Rntobeme, great words of advice! I will definitely be focused on the nursing aspect while in nursing school, as well as when I become one. I just have the spurts about me becoming a trauma surgeon and I act upon it, trying to get as much information and advice as possible. Thanks!

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

RN1298, I completely understand where you are coming from! Sounds quite unorthodox, almost working backwards. I'm 20 years of age, so I don't think I'm limited on time to complete nursing school and then take pre-reqs/MCAT in order to be accepted into med school. And also, as long as I am working for THR, they are willing to reimburse me in any kind of classes (I just don't think Med School itself). So all pre-reqs would be paid for. Thank you!!

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Specializes in Med./Surg. and paramed. exams.

Your plan sounds doable, but one thing you might want to keep in mind is the NP or CNS route specializing in trauma/er/acute type of care. Benefit to the NP/CNS route would be finances and length of study. Good luck in what you choose!

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