Is it true that it is extremely difficult for a nurse to become a doctor?

[rhp123]

Hi, everyone:

I just read a post which said it is very very difficult for a nurse to get into US medical school,

The article says it will be extremely difficult for a nurse to covince the admission commitee the need to invest all that is neccessary to improve a nurse to physician level. Why the world just end with one physician instead of one nurse and one physician.

Is this true? I've looked at some medical school admissions statistics and the percentage Allied Health Professionals is very low.

How does everyone think from your own experience/observation? Is this true? Is it really that hard?

p.s. Don't say I don't want to be a physican because of this.. that.., etc. I know some people don't want to. But I am sure there do have some nusres /allied health professionals who do want to direct their career to a different level.

[OriginalWmn]

Hi rhp123,

Don't know if this helps you out but I knew a friend of a friend who applied to CRNA and med school. She got into med school and NOT CRNA school. That still cracks me up! She's doing her residency in ob/gyn now.

I've known a handful of RN to MD. They all had either already taken the pre-reqs or went back and took them. Also did well on the MCAT. They all also applied to several medical schools (at least 4-7).

Is there some conspiracy out there from medical schools against taking RNs? I have no idea. You might do better to call up the specific med schools you are interested in or in your area and ask them about the # of RN applicants and their rate of acceptance. You can also ask them if your previous experience in healthcare would be seen as an advantage.

Good luck!

[DMR1]

I was searching the boards and found this topic and felt I had to reply, even if i'm a bit late :chuckle

I was wondering the same as you, so I did a lot of digging and found some answers.

Depending on where you apply, having worked as a nurse before attempting to become a doctor may be frowned upon. Some adcoms look down upon it because of the nursing shortage, some look down on it because the two professions are focused on very different types of care.

BUT, even with that said, there are endless numbers of nurses who have been accepted into med schools and are working as doctors.

as long as you have very high grades which in turn give you a high GPA (around 3.6) and do well on the MCAT exam, you should be ok.

I'm very torn at the moment- I've wanted to work in the OR as a perioperative for quite some time, but the more I think about being a doctor the more I want to try to get into med school. I know I can pull off the grades if I commit myself, but I've already put in 2 years in my BSN.

so confused

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I work in a big ER and we have multiple RN to MD here. They are all wonderful. I don't think there is a conspiracy - like anything else - you have to work hard.

[zenman]

I think this topic was addressed at http://www.studentdoctor.com if you want to check.

[zork]

I have no idea about the situation in US, but here in Sweden it can at some universities be an advantage to have previous medical education (like being a nurse). One university clearly states in their admission policy that you have an advantage with previous medical education.

[URO-RN]

My doc was an NP. She is a great Doc and Nurse. The best of both worlds.

[zork]

Yeah, thats what I hear a lot too. That the best doctors usually have been nurses first.