Help :'( I'm lost on the steps I need to take to go into med school.

aquarius04 · Aug 17, 2012

you would need to take the pre-req's for medical school and take your mcat.

Luckyyou, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2012

As a pre-nursing or nursing student, you are going to be missing MANY of the important pre-medical classes, including (just off the top of my head) higher level organic chemistry (with lab), physics, upper level biology courses...some of these might be included in your nursing curriculum but I wouldn't necessarily trust an orgo or physics class in a nursing curriculum to adequately prepare you to take (and get an acceptable grade on) the MCAT. You are infinitely better off changing your major to something like biology, chemistry, or similar. EMT classes are a separate tangent that will be helpful to neither path.

And as a little bit of a reality check here, if you're lost on the steps it takes to become a doctor, are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?

hgrimmett · Aug 17, 2012

I would strongly suggest that you talk to an admissions counselor NOW at whatever 4 year school you are planning to attend after you finish jr college and find out what classes you are going to need as prerequisites for their pre-med program. That will tell you what classes you need to be taking at the jr college.

brie_1994 · Aug 17, 2012

As a pre-nursing or nursing student, you are going to be missing MANY of the important pre-medical classes, including (just off the top of my head) higher level organic chemistry (with lab), physics, upper level biology courses...some of these might be included in your nursing curriculum but I wouldn't necessarily trust an orgo or physics class in a nursing curriculum to adequately prepare you to take (and get an acceptable grade on) the MCAT. You are infinitely better off changing your major to something like biology, chemistry, or similar. EMT classes are a separate tangent that will be helpful to neither path.
And as a little bit of a reality check here, if you're lost on the steps it takes to become a doctor, are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?

I am sure i know what I am getting into i just would love some accurate help on how to get there. So do you recommend not getting into the nursing program and to take those classes instead (biology etc.) so when I transfer to a 4 year il be on track?

brie_1994 · Aug 17, 2012

I would strongly suggest that you talk to an admissions counselor NOW at whatever 4 year school you are planning to attend after you finish jr college and find out what classes you are going to need as prerequisites for their pre-med program. That will tell you what classes you need to be taking at the jr college.

Ok thanks I will do so.

watersamy · Aug 17, 2012

A lot of colleges have a pre-med program. Majoring in Biology will not give you the classes that are required as "pre-requisites" for med school such as microbiology, anatomy I & II, Ethics, etc, and Nursing will omit the upper level classes such as organic chemistry and public health policy. I would suggest you look into the "Health Science" major. Do some re-search as to what the pre-reqs are for med school and then pick a major that would cover as many of those as possible. Also remember that most med school require a particular amount of hours of actual "patient contact", so I would suggest you find a part-time job or volunteer work at a local hospital or nursing home.

LCinTraining · Aug 17, 2012

Why are you in a nursing forum if you are pre-med? Go to oldpremeds.com or .org I forget which. There is also another forum devoted to traditional pre-med students as well.

For starts, you are going to need a lot more than junior college for med school. I think you need to reprioritize and quickly if you intend to take this step.

Signed,

Former pre-med student that decided what I really wanted to do could be done with a NP degree.

LCinTraining · Aug 17, 2012

A lot of colleges have a pre-med program. Majoring in Biology will not give you the classes that are required as "pre-requisites" for med school such as microbiology, anatomy I & II, Ethics, etc, and Nursing will omit the upper level classes such as organic chemistry and public health policy. I would suggest you look into the "Health Science" major. Do some re-search as to what the pre-reqs are for med school and then pick a major that would cover as many of those as possible. Also remember that most med school require a particular amount of hours of actual "patient contact", so I would suggest you find a part-time job or volunteer work at a local hospital or nursing home.

Many colleges do not have a pre-med program. However, biology does cover most, if not all pre-requisites for medical school. Most do not require A/P as they wish to teach it themselves in their format. Actually, what is required for nursing and what is required for med school are pretty different. Here is a generic list of what most schools require in addition to MCAT scores and shadowing experience.

The commonly accepted coursework requirements for medical school include a minimum of 1 year of:
General biology
Physics with lab
General chemistry (inorganic chemistry) with lab
Organic chemistry with lab
Calculus
English
New - Sociology
New - Psychology

As you can see, it's a lot more intense in some situations and not as intense in others. It is different.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2012

I am sure i know what I am getting into i just would love some accurate help on how to get there. So do you recommend not getting into the nursing program and to take those classes instead (biology etc.) so when I transfer to a 4 year i'll be on track?

We are a nursing site......you need to speak with a admissions counselor immediately....but have you investigated being a NP or CRNA? What is the draw to medical school?

Abigail612 · Aug 19, 2012

What I would suggest is that maybe you do some research into some the schools you are considering doing your premed in and maybe see if you can talk with some of their admissions staff so that you know what it is you need to complete your premed degree and maybe get some information for what is expected of you when you go on for you graduate and your doctorate. Then I would take that information to your advisor at the community college so that they can help steer you in the right direction as to what Associates degree you can go for. Most community colleges have Associates of Biology degrees, that would probably be more applicable towards a Medical degree. A nursing degree would give you some of the core classes you would need for an MD and it would give you a decent paying job while you are in med school as well as patient experience however your nursing classes wont transfer towards an MD and you may have spend an extra year towards getting your MD than if you went for an associates in Bio instead. I hope this helps good luck! :hug:

loriangel14, RN · Aug 24, 2012

Why would you apply to nursing school if you plan on being a doctor?