Pre-med or Nursing?I'd like 2 be a doctor but know being a nurse is more realistic.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Sep 20, 2011

Could being a pre-med student lead to being a nurse?

I would approach it the other way around. You could major in nursing and chip away at med school prereqs along the way. (With that said, most people find that the prereqs and major courses in nursing are difficult enough without tacking on non-major courses such as organic chemistry and physics.)

Pre-med students must pick a major. Often it's easiest to major in a science, because you're going to take the med school prereqs within the degree program. However, I know physicians that majored in music, history and German literature. In the liberal arts, you'll have a ton of electives, so pre-meds would use those electives for the sciences. Nursing is hard because you don't typically get many of the med school prereqs within the degree program, and you also don't have a lot of elective hours.

Although taking a ton of sciences might help your theoretical understanding of diseases, you won't discuss the basics of nursing practice, like how to operate a medication pump or what you'd watch for when giving a particular drug. That's why it's not really possible to become a nurse with the med school prereqs. There are some accelerated nursing programs for second-degree students. Those programs sometimes appeal to students who majored in something like biology but did not ultimately enter med school.

blueyesue · Sep 20, 2011

I agree with Eric JRN, and would also add to follow the path that you would rather walk down.

spore2008 · Sep 20, 2011

I think you need to consider this from a practical standpoint. You are divorced father of two children and are 36 years of age. You would like a career that you find both emotionally satisfying and can pay your bills. I am assuming you have a college degree but do not know what your major was. To become a doctor, you would need to take about 1-2 years of full-time difficult coursework, take the MCAT exam and submit applications. Then you would have 4 years of medical school (and about 250K in tuition). Honestly, I would go with nursing. If you already have a degree, apply for accelerated BSN programs, Master's Entry programs, or Combined Degree programs. You will still need to complete prerequisite course work but it will not be as onerous as premed course work. Many of the nursing programs I mentioned above will require recent GRE scores as well. I am about your age and decided to go with nursing because of time and financial constraints. Plus, you could always further your nursing education by becoming a nurse practitioner (or DNP).

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 20, 2011

Have you also looked into the PA route?

spore2008 · Sep 20, 2011

To become a PA, you need all of the same premed courses AND anywhere from 500-2000 direct patient contact hours AND have to take the PCAT and have acceptance rates between 5-10%. Believe me, I considered all of my options carefully before applying to accelerated nursing programs. After researching my own career change plunge, I determined there really is not a big difference between advanced practice nursing and becoming a PA in terms of what one is trained to do clinically. The one thing that a PA has a big plus for is that the program is 2 years long once you have fulfilled all of the prereqs and application process. And, in this way, it would be shorter than NP/DNP. The issue is you need all of those hours of direct patient contact through volunteer service or employment.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2011

I think you should just be a nurse. Way less debt and way less time. If you're going to go the doctor route you will be spending a significant less amount of time with your children then you would trying to be a nurse. Its also really stressful and competitive to even get into med school not to mention the competition to get into a nursing program. Its been a while since you went back to school right? I think you should start small and just become a nurse. Who knows, maybe you can work your way to being a certified registered nurse anesthetist and make over $90k a year... Still less debt and time to be a CRNA then a doctor...

JennyNurse2B · Sep 21, 2011

I, too, have been torn between nursing and medical school. For me, it came down to how I wanted to treat patients. I want to treat the whole person, not just the diagnosis. After researching both careers extensively, I found that not only is it more fiscally sensible to become a nurse (then NP) but I truly believe that it will be much more fulfilling.

I say, figure out what is important to you and thoroughly research both career paths to make your decision.

GOOD LUCK!

leenak · Sep 21, 2011

When I decided to pursue nursing, I also looked into med school options. It is a long, hard road. My ultimate decision came down to the fact that med students seem miserable and a lot of the older ones wish they hadn't and the fact that I like what NPs do. I looked into PA school as well which is a shorter route IF you already have healthcare experience. I don't but being a PA doesn't attract me.

I'm not sure if you have a degree already but there are programs that help you get the classes you need and prepare you for med school. Their med school acceptance rate is quite high (one school here says 100% acceptance for those that complete the program). If you don't have a degree, I'd do a BSN program and take the pre-med classes.

DFWgal · Sep 21, 2011

I was pre-med until last semester. I was out of home at 7 am and coming back at 10 pm. I was gone some weekends too. I spent my whole days on campus studying with classmates. My summers were non-existent. I was doing well but one day my husband said that he could not take my absence anymore. And this was just my undergrad. All of us pre-med knew that going into med school was much more demanding.

If you're willing to sacrifice yourself to this extent for years, maybe it could be an option for you. Nursing is intensive and just getting into a nursing program is very competitive, but a student would be "gone" for less time. Even including grad school (NP, CRNA, etc.).

On the other side, I'm a volunteer at the local hospital and I see doctors barely spending 5 minutes with the patients, just diagnosing and moving on. Nurses are the ones really interacting with people. And that's what convinced me to change my major. I know I'll get less salary, etc. but I was never interested in health care exclusively for the money.

It's a really personal decision. Do your research, volunteer if you can (I know that you work but I have several pre-Nursing classmates working and volunteering at the same time...), talk to doctors, nurses, PAs, etc. and decide on what's best for you.

I was doing a BS in Biology/Psychology and I didn't need A&P, Microbiology, etc. to graduate (They were senior-year electives). I was choosing those classes required for Med school, like the OChems. Now I'm taking a whole semester of courses I need just to apply to Nursing. The pre-reqs for Med School and Nursing can be different, so be aware of that. :)

Good luck!

Nursing24/7, LVN · Sep 22, 2011

What about going for a PA program or becoming a nurse practitioner? Both can see patients, treat them and prescribe meds for a couple years less time that it takes to go to med school.

proms2009 · Sep 23, 2011

I want to be a doctor too, but am going through the nursing route first while getting my premed courses btw. The only courses you need to go into med school are just phys, chem n bio. Chem has already fulfil both nursing n premed requirements and you are left with phys n bio. I plan goin back to college after i become a nurse to complete two semesters of these courses, take my mcat while workinng as a nurse n saving up for med school. But in your case, I would suggest you focus only on becoming a nurse because you have major responsibilities--your kids ect you can advance your nursing career to a management position in the future if you like. Hope this helps :)