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??

I don't ever begrudge anyone their dreams...if someone says they're going to do something, great. It's not my business whether they fail or succeed or are just dreaming out loud. Doesn't affect me.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.
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.[/quote']

You know, all you have to do to get those hard classes done is...take them. Medical schools do not care what you major I'm, as long as you take their required classes. You could get them done in a year at a community college if you wanted to.

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maybe i am wrong.....it would take a lot of extra work (because you would have to take A LOT of additional courses) but if someone really wants to do it, i'm sure it can be done. i don't begrudge anyone their dreams...

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Op, I totally get what your saying!

It's not like 'well, nursing was fun. Just a couple more classes and I'm a doctor!'

I could decide to be a lawyer if I wanted to. Probably going to have to start my way at the bottom, regardless of my being a nurse.

Big meanie dream squasher ;)

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It brothers me more that some nurses enjoys playing doctor but don't pursue the medical education. I have seen a nurse basically holding a virtual prescription pad with the knowledge from half a semester of intro to pharm ("advocating" docs to order medications she think the patients need - and the doctor never goes in to do their own medical assessment before giving the order, so everything is really based on whatever the nurse said). It is very common for her patient to randomly just get three brand new medications because of a low lab values she discovered x days ago. She also said that she will never tell the patient she is not a doc - aka purposely misleading the patient, iffy. she seems to have this religious fixation on catching prescription "errors" or asking for new prescription. If a nurse is that interested, I strongly support them in getting the proper education instead of going outside the scope of practice.

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YES Pepporony! I think you hit the nail on the head....this type of attitude is what annoys me.

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It is pretty darn near impossible to get into med school with a nursing degree. 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.
Statistically speaking, "it is pretty darn near impossible to get into med school" with ANY degree... though, of course, a small fraction actually make it.

A well-rounded person with excellent grades, 13-14 x3 on the MCAT, and great grades in all the med school prereqs has a decent shot at getting into an MD/DO program.

There is no set template.

Sure, there are many classes that a nurse would have to take beyond their BSN but that's true for many med school matriculants.

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What separates dreams from fantasies is work and determination. Those nurses who really want to go to med school will be the ones who take the required courses, apply and make it happen. They usually don't talk about it much.

People who are working on getting what they want out of life don't bother me at all.

It is better than all talk and no action.

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You can as I understand it, be an RN and a Paramedic and get into PA school. There's even a PA that I know who is a BSN and did do a BSN to PA route. Most BSN's that are continuning on however, are seemingly going the NP route, of those who want to further their education into a provider role.

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I hate when nursing students tell you they plan to go on to medicine, becoming an RN as a "stepping stone" to MD. I wish people would realize the difference between the two professions. It's those types of students that make RNs seem like failed MDs.

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Uhhhhh, looks like there's a lot of resentment and misinformation going on here. An individual with a BscN is at no more disadvantage than a person with a Bsc in lets say Science. If anything a nursing degree will give you a leg up on your medical education as you'll have a basic understanding of pharm, micro etc..and even bedside manner. To apply to med school you only need to have a degree (can be an Arts degree for god sakes and the required pre reqs, yeah a lot of the pre reqs probably won't be in a standard nursing degree but that's why people do them in the summer. Your MCAT also has to be pretty high but to say nursing puts you at a disadvantage is plain misinformation.

Why does it annoy you when someone shows intent to pursue further education? If it makes you feel inadequate then that's a reflection on your insecurities. I find the same thing happens when a nurse announces they want to pursue NP. You have insecurities, get over them. If anything you should be happy for this individual.

Sorry, but nurses really have to get over this inferiority-complex.

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It's difficult for anyone with any background to get into med school -- it's not any more difficult for nurses than it is for anyone else. Why does anyone care (esp. to the point of resenting) what someone else's dreams and ambitions are? My father was an RN who went to medical school and became a physician, over 60 years ago, and I've known quite a few physicians over the years who started out as RNs. I've also known attorneys who started out as RNs. I don't begrudge any of them their choices. I'm comfortable and satisfied with the choices I've made in my own life, and I hope that they are comfortable and satisfied with the choices they have made. End of story ...

I agree with other posters that I do find particularly annoying those nurses who are unwilling to put forth any effort to further their own careers or futures but spend a lot of time griping and kvetching about how they "know as much as the doctors" and could do the job just as well as them. I worked with one of those back at the beginning of my career -- she used to actually write med orders as verbal orders from the unit physician without his knowledge (things that she thought the client needed), and he would cover for her and sign them because it didn't really seem like a big deal to him and he was an exceptionally nice guy, until the day she finally went too far and seriously endangered someone.

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