MSN to Medical School

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Hello my lovely nurse mates!

I'm about to graduate with my BSN, after which I'll apply for MSN degree (possibly international health or public health) But, eventually I'd like to work abroad and volunteer my skills not just as a nurse but actually become a medical doctor. Does anyone know how long does it take after any MSN specialty degree to go through the medical school? Where would I start? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

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Specializes in Tele, Med/Surg, Geri, Case Manager.

Just curious: why not just take the remaining sciences and math along with the MCAT and go to med school. Wouldn't that be shorter? You still would have those pre-reqs MSN or not right? NP (I'm assuming with the MSN you will be a APRN) VS MD are two different educational paths. Good luck in whatever you decide:-)

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Specializes in Emergency.

Yea, I agree with KariZayBSN, your path seems longer than it would need to be if you want to end up being a MD. Is there a reason why you want to get the MSN in the middle?

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If you're interested in global and/or public health, an MPH before an MD would make more sense and, honestly, be regarded more highly in the medical profession than an MSN. There are no shortcuts for medical school (idk if that's what you were alluding to). Many PAs, NPs, and CRNAs (including the current president of ASA) have made changes into the medical careers. They all completed the same 4years of med school and same residencies as kids straight out of college. Any previous nursing experience might help your application or make some topics/clinical situations more familiar. But at is the extent of "credit" nursing will earn you towards medicine.

In fact, you will probably need at least 2 years of pre-reqs just to meet minimum admission requirements for med schools. Chemistry and possibly other coursework for BSNs are generally not at the level med schools are looking for and sometimes even looked down upon.

Nursing and medicine, while overlapping and sharing a great deal of knowledge base, are entirely different professions and there are no more educational shortcuts than any two other professions.

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It takes exactly the same amount of time it takes someone without an MSN. If you know you want to be an MD, just suck it up and go to medical school. There's no point in dragging the process out (and spending even more money.)

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

^^^ what elkpark said ^^^

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My opinion is based on what I've heard from residents in my former uni. That having in MPH boosts your application especially if your grades aren't that competitive. That's what I heard anyways.

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check out forums for pre-meds... search their forums or ask the questions there. Just remember that your grad school GPA will not be calculated in your undergrad GPA, which is what med schools use for their statistics. So yes, an MPH will help... if you already have undergrad GPA that is close enough to their averages. At least I remember this being the case 5 years or so. Osteopathic schools are usually much easier as far as gGPA and MCAT is concerned. I believe the web site, mdapplicants.com, gives good user posted statistics. Just remember, 4 years med school, and 3-6 yrs residency... until you start getting paid enough to pay off your loan, but if is what you really want, go for it.

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Your grades from a graduate program DO NOT get factored into your cumulative and science GPA. Med school only cares about your undergraduate GPA, MCAT, and additional pre-req classes you took as a post-bachelor student. Also, I know a lot of you think that just because you're an NP or RN, med school ADCOMs will look at you with more interest than a kid right out of school. Majority of allopathic ADCOMs will say you will have a more difficult time getting accepted because for some stupid reason they will question you on why you "want to jump ship so soon." I know there are NPs/PAs/RNs that do go onto med school, but they have to prove that they're not indecisive because ADCOMs may question whether you're in it for the money or helping patients.

Good luck and make sure you talk to some NPs/RNs/PAs and ask them what they did to get into med school!! You're going to have to get creative!

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My intended route is also BSN to med. Spoke to BU med admissions, apparently it's not as uncommon as one would think.

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My intended route is also BSN to med. Spoke to BU med admissions, apparently it's not as uncommon as one would think.

Are you still an undergrad? If you are, you can always minor, double major (depending on the school), or just do the required pre-req courses on the side from your BSN. My friend was an English major but did a minor in pre-med studies so he could do all the pre-reqs. If you already have your degree, you are now officially a post-bachelor student.

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