It really annoys me when nurses say they are going to go to med school...

Nurses General Nursing

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I see a lot of posts by nurses who think they are going to go to med school. A pre-med BS and BSN are totally different school tracks.....if you are an RN, it is almost impossible to move on to med school without getting a totally new bachelor's degree. In fact, as an RN it is almost impossible to become a PA without taking at **** load of new classes. Does this pipe dream annoy anyone else??

Specializes in Med-Surg.

My question is, WHY DOES IT MATTER?!

Someone who wanted to move on to medicine clearly didn't think they were a good fit for nursing. So, let them try something else!!!

We are constantly telling people that if nursing does not make them happy, to re-evaluate their career goals. Then we get mad when they do. I mean, what if someone is really interested in healthcare but just doesn't enjoy nursing anymore?

I say, so long as it doesn't affect others negatively, just mind your own darn business and focus on YOUR life and YOUR career.

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Specializes in surgical, geriatrics.

My accelerated BSN program required chem, o-chem, precalc or similar college math and a bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.5 GPA for entry....with those stats, I guess I should have gone another route so I could call myself a professional someday! I guess instead I'll just have to be a nurse ;)

I'm not sure why a nurse would go to med school vs. going the NP route but bless anyone willing to do the work, you are really in it for the long haul.

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It is pretty darn near impossible to get into med school with a nursing degree. It's not that I don't want people to follow their dreams, but it is very unrealistic. There are a lot of hard science courses that are required that BSN students simply don't take. Nursing and medicine are totally different specialties....Just a pet peeve of mine.

I think times have changed quite a bit. I actually know someone who's done this. She did it because the doctors she met irritated her so badly she's set out to try and fix the system. Really. YOU GO, GIRL!!

I just looked up the prereqs for UNC's medical school. The only prereqs I'm missing are a semester of biochemistry (which is only recommended, not required) and one additional semester of physics. I've had two years of chemistry (including a year of organic chemistry) and four semesters of biology, including a class I took for the hell of it in introductory genetics and my microbiology class (this doesn't include my general biology course, either, but it does include A&P, so I've actually had five semesters of biology).

I got B's and A's in all of them. There are not 'a lot of hard science courses' if it's your forte. They weren't walks in the park, but I took them, and did well. (I had this crazy idea I wanted to go to pharmacy school, and then changed my mind. So I took all of those classes.)

Doctors aren't academic gods, you know. They're smart people with a knack for what they do.

And just because BSN students don't take those classes as part of their BSN doesn't mean they can't go back, pick up what they missed, and then go to med school. That's how I got my BSN - I had a BS degree, then went and took my prereqs, and got my BSN. It's how I would've gotten my PharmD if I'd gone to pharmacy school. It's how people with philosophy degrees go to med school as well; in fact, I've been told they're actually LOOKING for folks with degrees other than the traditional science degrees in a lot of schools, because they're starting to realize that spending your entire college experience holed up in a lab for four years just might not be good for developing bedside manner. They're looking for what I call 'social thinkers'.

I'll admit I've toyed with the idea.

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Seems someone is a little jealous he/she didn't have the drive to go on to med school. Nothing is impossible, and if it doesn' effect you nor your household, why should it matter?

What annoys me is people who push the pipe dream that only mediocrity or their plans are possible. Get out of here.

This crossed my mind...

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My accelerated BSN program required chem, o-chem, precalc or similar college math and a bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.5 GPA for entry....with those stats, I guess I should have gone another route so I could call myself a professional someday! I guess instead I'll just have to be a nurse ;)

I'm not sure why a nurse would go to med school vs. going the NP route but bless anyone willing to do the work, you are really in it for the long haul.

Hey, let's do this together. :)

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I thought we were all in the same boat here, this is a forum for nurses by nurses. Why are individuals making it a point to tell someone they're wrong? I want to be a nurse so I can save people's lives, but also so I can meet more women who are smart and nice and I could be friends with... from what I've seen on this thread, it looks like more catty remarks from people who are supposed to be professionals. All OP did is what we all do, voice a pet peeve to other people in their profession. Why all the rudeness and catty attitudes? You guys make me really rethink my career in nursing. Lose the attitudes and be there for each other...

If we're all in the same boat, then the OP shouldn't disparage her coworkers when and if they talk about medical school, even if they're doing it as a bit of a rant at the med cart and even less so if they're serious. That further divides the team and delineates 'us' and 'them' even more.

If we're meant to be there for each other, she should then also be expected to support her coworkers in their endeavors and dreams.

That MD/DO who used to be an RN could become the medical director that revamps an entire hospital's way of thinking.

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Not true at all. US medical schools generally frown on classes taken at community colleges. They are viewed as a shortcut or "easy way out". If you took Ochem and calc at a community college they would certainly bring it up in the interview if not completely omit your resume.

As far as nurses going to medical school....why not? It is basically a much more rigorous nursing school...and when I say that I mean there is nothing terribly conceptually difficult about medical school, it is mostly the work load that makes it so difficult. The classes will be harder as well as they breakdown into more detail. But really, anyone can be a doc if they can gut the workoad.

Depends on where you are, and if that community college has an affiliation with the state university system and/or an agreement whereby two years at the CC directly transfers to the state system.

Sometimes people go to community colleges because they cannot afford a university, not because they're going for 'watered down' courses. If that's the case, then ADNs from nursing schools at the CC level are watered-down courses as well....I mean, they don't carry the 300-400 level designation like BSN courses do - 300-400 denotes junior/senior level courses....

See what I mean? Be careful with generalizations.

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Actually the minimum requirement for nursing includes general chemistry and biology.

Not every school. Duke University's ABSN doesn't require a whit of chemistry, nor does it require a general biology class (it does require 2 semesters of A&P and micro, so if you need general bio to take them, that's on the school you pick, because Duke doesn't require it). I had it, and had it to spare, but they didn't need it.

I'm sure there are others.

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wow....when did i ever say that i disparage my coworkers? this is an anonymous forum (thought that was implied?) i would never confront someone and disparage them about anything! can't we sometime just vent without having the so-called moral police judge us? everyone has annoyances...i have found that the most sanctimonious are usually the ones who are the meanest!

If we're all in the same boat, then the OP shouldn't disparage her coworkers when and if they talk about medical school, even if they're doing it as a bit of a rant at the med cart and even less so if they're serious. That further divides the team and delineates 'us' and 'them' even more.

If we're meant to be there for each other, she should then also be expected to support her coworkers in their endeavors and dreams.

That MD/DO who used to be an RN could become the medical director that revamps an entire hospital's way of thinking.

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I am far from sanctimonious, thank you. Can't say I've ever been called mean, either - especially by someone I've never met.

If you're saying it annoys you when RNs talk about going to med school, the assumption (and I'd be willing it's the assumption of most of us) is that you're referring to your coworkers. 'Disparaging' doesn't have the direct meaning of 'in someone's face' - it can easily be done elsewhere.

Venting here is allowed - but never, ever be surprised by the direction a thread may take.

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how are my personal musings on a DB delineating the 'team' into us and them? You made the assumption that I am not supportive of my coworkers....I think that I am pretty nice and supportive to all the people that I work with (but my coworkers are the ultimate judges of that). In relation to this post, I was not actually was not talking about my coworkers, but that is besides the point. You obviously have the right to think that I am not supportive or that I am disparaging, just as I have the right to find your post sanctimonious....Again, this is a forum where people come to, among many other things, air annoyances about the field of nursing.....nothing to take too seriously or read so deeply into....

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I have looked into medical school in the recent past and the only additional thing I needed was 2 semesters of physics. The medical schools I looked into did not care what your degree was in as long as you had at least a year worth of college level physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Obviously, there are going to be very few people applying who majored in per-history Russian literature, but if they had the requires science courses they could at least apply.

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