I'm a freshman in college with a major in nursing. I'm also taking pre med requirements so I can hopefully jump into Med school right after or perhaps with a gap year. There is this hugeeeeeee stigma against it and my nursing advisers know very little about it, and the pre health office knows pretty much nothing when it comes to nursing students.
I know it's super tough, but has anyone done nursing w/ pre med? Or went to med school after/is in med school or is a prv nurse now doctor? Any expierence you went through or if you've known someone or any insight really on it would be super helpful.
I did take all of those classes in one semester while also being a single mother, dealing with multiple family deaths and still working a full time job. I don't think that the content in nursing school is hard because it builds on a foundation of previously acquired knowledge. The challenge is managing school, work, and family. I never said to do nursing a med together. I advised finishing nursing school then jumping into med.
Okay but you sound like superwoman, and my question is how? Like how in one semester too? Like pre med is around 42 credits w/out courses like genetics and zoology so that's not doable in one semester. And like I'm confused like you can't obviosuly do med school with nursing school since nursing is udner grad and med school is grad which u need a 4 yr degree to even apply to most. So do you mean pre med?
Not sure if I'm just having trouble understanding, but did you do pre med w/ nursing? and in one semester? or are you saying you did nursing school and then did pre med at a post-bacc program that has like a 100% acceptance rate.
Also no offense but pre meds matriculate bc of their grades, not b/c they are more analytical. Yea overall you have to be b/c being analytical is what makes u a better test taker, but statistically speaking at least in my school the smartest analytical students are the ones in the nursing school b/c it's the top 3% and the only way u got their was bc your high standardized test scores and standardized est are all about how well u can analyze. I think you phrased it in an offensive way which is why some people felt that way, b/c tbh pre meds aren't the smartest people even academically or abstractly. Matriculation rlly comes down to your mcats, GPA and race. Not how well u can think since thinking analytically is something all job professions need you to do to be the best. Not something specific to doctors.
I haven't figured out all of the fine details involving med school yet but from what the program advisors have told me is that my BSN (that I will receive in MaY) allows me to apply for med school for the fall. Also, I did complete the classes that were stated above just in a different order. This semester I am in now has comprised of Med-surg 2, Maternal, Mental Health, Pediatrics and geriatrics which I have A's in all. Another reason I feel that I do so well is because when I do study I will study to make sure that I know the material and how it works. For example, in pharmacology I rarely studied the side effects of certain drugs, I focused on the mechanism of action. I would further study the chemistry of the drug, the enzymes involved, the target organs that the drug effects, etc. By using that sort of comprehension I would then be able to predict side effects whereas most nursing students just memorize certain side effects. I applied that sort of learning to all of my classes so that way I know every little last detail involved. Also, even if there were something that I never looked at I would be able to apply my knowledge of other things I had studied to be able to make an educated guess.
so did you take like gen biop I & II, gen chem I& II, orgo I & II, phsyics, etc like the required pre med classes for the general med schools, or are you trying to get in a program that's BSN-MD (I know a couple of schools do that). B/c all your courses right now sound like nursing classes. And do understand what your saying like my not studying grades tend to be Bs since im a verbal learner and listening to a prof talk i get all the info and my memorization skills thank god is like amazing, but i still don't understand the coursework that you did. Cus grades, b/c pushing msyelf hard enough i know for me that would've been doable, aside where did you have the time to fit in an extra 40+ credits? since none of the nursing school sciences med school accept. Also im assuming you must've took your MCATs earlier this year correct?
The program at my school is confusing and complex. I have already taken alot of the premed classes (got approval for taking extra classes before I started my nursing program) but from what I understand is that i will be able to start the med program but also have a few more requirements that I will have to incorporate into that course load. I am not at all a verbal learner. The only time I go to class is to take exams otherwise I just teach myself. I also have horrible memory skills. For example, If you were to give me a list of 10 different drugs with their names and told me to memorize it then it would probably take me a good 30 min to an hour to do that mainly because my brain is not making any connections. The reason I study the chemical structure, micro/bio, physics, etc of drugs/organs/diseases... is because my brain requires me to fully comprehend how x turns into y. It's beneficial is some aspects but also very hard in others.
I typically have a slow start when approaching new information or even people. When i started my clinicals most of the instructors were concerned about my ability to become a nurse because on the outside I was falling behind the other students. Once I learn a unit, learn about the staff, learn where things are and learn about the process of nursing tasks then I am unstopable. I had an instructor the other day tell me about how much of an improvement I've had over the semester (in regards to clinicals). I explained to her that it takes me a while to take everything in and for me to be comfortable and confident.
oh okay now I understand. my nursing advisers knew nothing about the pre med classes and the pre-health office knew nothing about the nursing program and my dean wouldn't allow a course overload with two labs, which with pre med is a problem. And financially I was putting an extra 25k and med school wouldn't even be guaranteed so it's easier to keep a high gpa now and if i feel like it's for me hopefully I'll get into a post-bacc program with upwards of 90% matriculation rate. I'm a quick learner but college is hard because I never really studied and now I have to learn to which is a challenge (and might as well learner how now before it gets harder). But I'mjust keeping my options open since med school even with a 528 on ur MCATS and a 4.0 gpa it's only a 89-91% chance of acceptance. Thanks for sharing your experience from it though :)
Also did you start out in a BSN program or transferred to it?
The major problem I see is time constraints. My school has a unique (antiquated) paradigm. We were allowed to take our pre-reqs right along with our nursing classes, this semester I had Microbiology, Pediatrics and Med Surg I. I think a lot of pre-nursing students underestimated the vast amount of time that they will spend doing pre clinical research, post-clinical care plans, ATI (or HESI whatever your school uses) in addition to regular studying, reading and research projects. There is such so much more work involved in nursing classes versus other classes. Also, when you say a class is "5 or 6" clinical hours r/t Nursing, it will feel like a PT job. My Med Surg class alone feels like a PT job. Peds as well. When you factor in an additional 12 hrs a week spent just in clinical alone. I am also required to visit the hospital the day before clinical, pick up my patient assignment, visit my patient and then go home to spend 2-3 hours researching my patients illness/meds/surgeries/treatment modalities/diagnostic studies/ nursing dx. Oh, and on top of all of that, due to poor ATI scores in Pharm last semester my whole class was forced to do remediation for pharmacology. So, basically a whole extra class that I don't even get a grade for. Nursing school is run more like the military and less like a "college major" if they tell you "everyone is required to be at a meeting tomorrow at 11:30" you better be there. There is no skipping class and just showing up on test day.
So I say all of this to tell you: Take your pre-med classes in the summer time. So what if you have to finish your pre-med a year after graduating from nursing school? You may sit down and write out your schedule and say "Geeze, I have more than enough time outside of class/clinical to take a pre-med course." I PROMISE you, nursing school has a way of sniffing out and working its way into any of the free time that you may think you have.
Sorry for the long winded rant. Gotta run, Med Surg. final tomorrow. Best of luck!!
Actually I've dropped pre med (said it a couple of posts ago :) b/c even if I took just summer classes I would be able to get any physics classes in before the cut off for the application date. And that would affect my MCATS. I mean rn every semester is around 17-18 credits so no room that my dean will allow another lab (she did say yes to 22 credits which is a lot but she said no lab so basically no courses lol). And if I took just summer classes I would have to take a gap year so it's kind of useless. Might as well get into a post-bacc program and not damage my gpa and have myself become an EMT bc I have more time and get in a 1 yr post-bacc or 2 yr even that has like a 95% acceptance rate to med school. and ya kno not waste 25k on all the extra credits and later realize getting a DNP would be better.
I mean statistically as well nursing majors do the worst on the mcats and if u jump straight from nursing school to med school they'll ask why u did nursing and never became a nurse (all the success stories are from people who worked as a nurse for a couple of years and then matriculated).
I have honestly yet to come to find a person who did nursing as undergrad with pre med with no gap year. Like I do here other people say they're doing it but I'm not really taking that into consideration until like they've been accepted to med school. Like finishing pre med and taking the MCATS is one thing, but med school is the goal. So who cares if you did pre med with nursing, if you you didn't get accepted to med school ya kno?
But I understand what you're trying to say man, the assistant and dean and dean were so like rude about it when Ia sked and I understand now, but it's not easy. And again pre med counts for garbage when u finish it with good grades even if your not accepted to med school. And i don't want to put that much money and have to get a BSN in 5 yrs b/c of it. Rather go to a post-bacc where it's almost guaranteed (since statically med school stats are against you).
Oh! I apologize I didn't read the entire post! Sorry about the leadership at your school. Nurses love being nurses. There is obviously an entire culture and identity built around the profession. Most of them get upset at the insinuation that being an RN is a runner up to being an MD. They probably see that you are a bright student who will most likely pass NCLEX on the 1st try and they want to keep you. I think that you should follow your instinct. Even if you don't get into a med school in the states there is still some in the Caribbean and Central America that would still accept you (that is worst case scenario).
While you probably wouldn't be happy working on medsurg, maybe a large, busy Level 1 Trauma ERor ICU might keep you happy for a little while? Just a thought.
but honestly I would loveeee to work in the ER. I currently volunteer (have been for 3 years now) and sometimes it's chill and other times it's super hectic and I love it. Also I'm not sure I want to become a doctor. Like I know in the ER they have 1 doctor on call and 1 plastic surgeon. The doctor literally just signs off on whatever the PA or NP is doing, and I really wouldn't want that sort of job. If nursing really appeals to me I'm hopefully jsut going to get a DNP instead and go from their. All I know is that after 4 years I did job where I won't be reliant on my parents and somewhere I can work with patients helping them feel better. And nursing fits that and if I want to become a doctor later on that's a door that's open still, but definitely not going to close the door on nursing
Ahollar4
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