Is it possible for a nurse to become a doctor?

Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2018

Hello nurses, I was wondering if anyone here knows what is the fastest way to become a doctor. I am a 31 year old RN and I am really hoping that I can still accomplish it. PLEASE HELP.!!

I just had a coworker in his mid-30s leave to start med school, so you can certainly still accomplish it. That said, I'm pretty sure there are no shortcuts based on your being a nurse first. He's starting at the beginning like anyone straight out of college.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 10, 2018

There is no fast way to become a physician. You have to meet the undergrad prerequisites (unlikely you had them all in nursing school), take the MCAT, get an acceptable score, apply to med school, go to med school (4 years), PASS med school then you are a physician.

Then you have to match for a residency, complete residency- then you get a job as an MD.

ZERO shortcuts

Chazzie_Made_It, ADN · Jul 10, 2018

Yes, you can!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2018

Yes it is possible but, as others have said, there is no "fastest way." All med school applicants have to take the same pre-reqs and the MCAT and all med students have to complete 4 years of med school. There is no RN-MD bridge program.

nope_ok123 · Jul 11, 2018

Or, you know, you can become a Nurse Practitioner. I earned my BSN right after ADN, so I already had all pre-req courses. I had also worked on a med-surg unit for over a year, so, basically, I had all my requirements already met. You may as well.

8+ yrs for MD...

or...

2.5 yrs for NP.

hmmm. Yup. NP.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 11, 2018

There is no RN-MD bridge program.

This made me LOL. You mean WGU doesn't offer that yet?

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 11, 2018

This made me LOL. You mean WGU doesn't offer that yet?

Yet being the operative word

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 11, 2018

Or, you know, you can become a Nurse Practitioner. I earned my BSN right after ADN, so I already had all pre-req courses. I had also worked on a med-surg unit for over a year, so, basically, I had all my requirements already met. You may as well.
8+ yrs for MD...
or...
2.5 yrs for NP.
hmmm. Yup. NP.

That's if you can afford not to work and go to school full time. It's taken me 4 years so far to get through my program part time and I still have 2 semesters left. I could have gone to med school.

cleback · Jul 11, 2018

Or, you know, you can become a Nurse Practitioner. I earned my BSN right after ADN, so I already had all pre-req courses. I had also worked on a med-surg unit for over a year, so, basically, I had all my requirements already met. You may as well.
8+ yrs for MD...
or...
2.5 yrs for NP.
hmmm. Yup. NP.

MD and NP education and training differ wildly. If the OP wants an MD but goes for NP, s/he will be sorely disappointed.

offlabel · Jul 11, 2018

RN's become doctors not infrequently. I know a couple. They are an interesting bunch though. On the surface they seem to play down any deferential status, but they seem to be consistently among the "chest beating" types of MD if you dig a little deeper.

offlabel · Jul 11, 2018

Medicine and nursing are not even in the same galaxy. The nursing education establishment has seen to that. Any similarities between APRNs and medical doctors comes from deliberate and intentional assimilation into the medical framework/model of critical thinking/behavior/knowledge base.