New Grad - Should I let my prospective employer know I plan on going to med school?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I graduated nursing school May 5th, and I'm looking for a job. I am going to finish my bachelors degree online over the next year, and would like to work as a nurse during that time. My dream has always been a doctor, and once I get my bachelors I intend to apply to medical school. I want to be straightforward with prospective employers and let them know that I may leave after a year of work. Is this a good idea?

---

Dear N,

It's commendable to be straightforward with employers, but in this case it is not a good idea and not necessary. You do not yet have a firm date or an acceptance to medical school.

There are far too many variables in your situation to know with certainty you will be leaving for medical school in one year. You still have to complete your nursing program, take and pass your NCLEX, land a nursing job, learn your new job, finish your Bachelor's, take your MCATS, and apply to medical (not a small process) school.

If they ask Where do you see yourself in a few years?” It would be sufficient to say I may return to school” or I plan to continue my education.” I would not share that your goal is not nursing when applying for a nursing job.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

[beckysue920]

I believe nurse Beth has said it all...there are too many variables!

[JayHanig]

I wouldn't say one word about medical school until you have an acceptance letter from one of them in your hand. It may or may not happen but that's not your current problem. Your current problem is finding your first nursing job. If the decision comes down to one between you and somebody else, any employer is going to pick the one he thinks in in it wholeheartedly. You need to sell yourself as that person.

Of course, you could just spill your plans and end up mopping floors in the bus station bathroom while your competitor takes that nursing position. The choice is yours!

[Wrench Party]

I would most definitely keep mum about your med school possibility- no hiring manager wants to hear you're going to jump ship after a year. Plus, I think this road is going to be longer than you think it will be-

1) Probably will take you a year to get your BSN, AFTER you get your license and find that first job

2) Need to get all those med school pre-requisites- do you have your biochemistry/organic chemistry/calculus/physics? A lot of nursing school sciences are not compatible with med school requirements, unless you did another Bachelors recently in a life science field

(I was a biochemistry major in college v1.0, and those classes were the HARDEST I've ever taken)

3) Studying for MCAT is another bag of chips, and going to take you at least 3 months of prep work

Did I mention you're going to do this on the back of orienting to a new nurse position? First year is the hardest!

I can't say it can't be done- I have one extremely bright coworker getting her full time biomed engineering degree because she's, well, a little nuts and wants to take over the world- but the road is going to be longer than you think.

[Maevish, ASN, RN]

Yeah, no need to potentially mess things up without even knowing if you'll get into a med school!

xo

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Prepping for and applying to med school is pretty much a full-time job in itself, lol. Even as an experienced nurse I had NO CLUE what was involved with med school application and acceptance until I married a bio/pre-med major (who has since been accepted to med school, thank goodness).

Tens of thousands of people apply to med schools every year and tens of thousands are not accepted. There were 20,000+ who were accepted in 2015, and 52,000+ applicants; 38,000+ of those applicants were first-timers, the others were repeat applicants. You need to have a standout application, plus a high GPA and a great MCAT score to even get an interview with a school, let alone an acceptance.

It goes like this: after you conquer the MCAT, you submit your primary application via AMCAS, the med school application clearinghouse. This application includes key components like essay questions and your personal statement (needs to be top-notch). Next, a school may or may not invite you to submit a secondary application, which is an additional fee (sometimes $100, sometimes $120, sometimes free for certain state schools). If a school likes your secondary, you might get invited to an interview. If you knock them dead in the interview, you might get invited to have the privilege of attending the school.

My husband applied "broadly" to MD programs — that translates to about 33 schools for the primary application. He submitted many secondary applications as well (about 22). He was invited to interview at 4 schools, and he was accepted by 2. The application fees alone were about $4000. The travel to schools with hotels, etc., was another $1500-ish, probably; he saved some money by driving to three of them, but one was too far to drive and he had to fly. He stayed with friends at two of the locations, and one was in the city where we lived.

Med school is a big gamble, and not a sure thing; I would not mention it to employers because it can take several cycles to get accepted. Best of luck in your job search!

[Nhopeful]

Dear Nurse Beth,

thank you very much for your advice! It is very sound. I was asked that very question in my first interview, and I am very glad that I had your answer to fall back on!

Gratefully,

Nhopeful.