Nursing--->Med Sch

[RasberryTea]

I was just curious, are there any Nurses who have thought about Med. Sch after their Nursing degree, or any Nursing students who are going into an area in medicine after they graduate from Nursing? I'm considering becoming a Pediatrician or a Psychiatrist after my Bsc.N. I'll be starting my first year in Nursing in September. I've heard that Nursing is tough and I'm just worried that I won't do well in the program and that in the end, my GPA won't be high enough for Med. Sch I did Psychology last yr. in my first y. of uni., and one of my main reasons for changing into Nursing this yr. is to eventually go to Med. Sch. and go into one of the professions I mentioned above, and that if I don't get in to Med. Sch, I can always become a Nurse. I'm more of an Arts person than a science person. Did I make the wrong decision by choosing Nursing as a way to eventually get into Med sch? Should I have stayed in a program I know I can do well in (Psychology), a program that may give me a better chance of getting into med, sch and reaching my ultimate goal? I'll greatly appreciate your advice or input.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I did Psychology last yr. in my first y. of uni., and one of my main reasons for changing into Nursing this yr. is to eventually go to Med. Sch. and go into one of the professions I mentioned above, and that if I don't get in to Med. Sch, I can always become a Nurse. I'm more of an Arts person than a science person. Did I make the wrong decision by choosing Nursing as a way to eventually get into Med sch? Should I have stayed in a program I know I can do well in (Psychology), a program that may give me a better chance of getting into med, sch and reaching my ultimate goal? I'll greatly appreciate your advice or input.

With your statement that you are "more of an arts person than a science person" your career choices strike me as unusual ... both medicine and nursing are science-based.

Undergrad majors for those who plan to apply to med school are typically biology and other programs heavily weighted with natural sciences, though I'm sure there are exceptions.

Best of luck to you in your studies.

[rpv_rn]

with your statement that you are "more of an arts person than a science person" your career choices strike me as unusual ... both medicine and nursing are science-based.

well, not quite. nursing is also an art. the caring and compassionate side of nursing is an art. treating a person in holistic manner is an art. communication therapeutically is an art. imho

[husker-nurse, LPN, LVN]

One of our nephrologists was a nurse prior to her decision to become a physician, and, I have to say, with her nursing experience, her "bedside manner" is the best I've ever seen!!!

[FLAgal14]

If you go onto Student Doctor Network you will find plenty of nurses that pursued medicine - but typically it wasn't right after nursing school - it was after they practiced as a nurse for awhile. I don't think that nursing should be used as a stepping stone to medical school - if medicine is what you really want than you should make sure to major in a pre-med type of major (i.e. biology, chemistry,or even psychology like you mentioned that you were majored in previously) or at least make sure that you take the pre-requisite classes for med school in addition to nursing school. Med school and nursing school have some different prerequisites (like Organic chemistry,etc), and you will have to take the MCAT. If you go through nursing school will you plan on taking the NCLEX to become a licensed RN or plan to immediately attend med school right afterwards? It sounds like your heart is set on medicine and I don't think going to nursing school would be the right route for you unless you really can see yourself practicing as a nurse.

[BabyRN2B_09]

Not a nurse or student nurse yet--still finishing up pre-reqs, but I have a BS in Biology and attended med school for one year. It looks like you are from Canada, I am not sure what medical schools require there, but in the US, most med schools will admit students with pretty much any undergraduate major into their programs. I was in a class with several, English, History, Psychology and Engineering majors. (If I had known this prior to undergrad, I probably would have chosen a different major also). As long as you take all of the pre-reqs required for med school and do well in them you have a good chance of being accepted. Like previous posters have stated, it would probably be better for you to major in something other than nursing if it is not what you really want to do. Although exposure to the world of health care as a nurse could prove somewhat helpful, if your main goal is to be a physician and go to med school, becoming a nurse probably would not be the best path for you to get there.