panamishe

I went to school in puerto Rico and learned everything in Spanish and a few of my classmates spoke English as a second language...learningext was enough for all of us!

Hey hey hey! what about female doctors? Does some handsome, burly, caring "murse" wanna marry one of them???

I truly don't remember how I did my personal statement but I'm currently writing one to apply for residencies. The advice I was given was to approach it in a chronological way. I would start with an introduction, how you got interested in medicine, an anecdote, a quote. Then do a paragraph on your past experiences, then one on your current experiences, and lastly one on your future plans. if you want more advice, i would suggest checking out Student Doctor Network Forums | An educational community for students and doctors spanning all the health professions. specifically the nontraditional student section. good luck!!

I feel like a few people in this discussion do not realize that MDs and DOs get literally 1000s of hours of training before they become independent practitioners. It's called residency and it consists of at least 80hrs per week, 49 weeks per year for at least 3 years! That's not even considering the 100s of hours logged during the last 2 years of med school. I can't speak for PAs but it is my understanding that they also must be trained for 100s of hours prior to graduating and they aren't even as independent as NPs are. No one on this forum seams to be trying to discourage the OP from becoming an NP...I think it's great that he/she wants to do it! All we are saying is that it is wiser and safer for the OP to get a few years of clinical experience before becoming the sole practitioner responsible for treating disease processes that he/she has never seen in person.

I preferred to pursue medicine rather than NP mainly because I wanted more options in what I could do after completing school. It ended up being the best decision for me because I've decided to become a surgeon and, of course, I can't do that as a nurse or PA. As for the caring and holistic approach to patient care, I'm not sure why nurses think that doctors aren't trained to think that way but we definitely are! As an ER nurse, I don't feel like the ER NPs are any more 'holistic' than the PAs or MDs. It all depends on the practioner to me.

I have ADD, and ER was the perfect fit for me.

I think that it is very unsafe for a NP to have had no previous acute care work experience. If doctors and PAs need experience before practicing, how much more does a NP need it?! OP, please please please do not become an NP before getting at least 2 years experience!! You are young and you have time!

I guess I would since it was just a stepping stone on my way to medicine. But if I wasn't going to do medicine then no way would I stay in nursing! So many others have stated what I would say now but I just wanted to add my vote to the 'hell no' corner. Do something where you can work for yourself, or at least set your own hours!

most med schools don't require calculus so i wouldnt recommend taking it and possibly dropping your gpa. as long as you have 2 college level math courses you should be alright. take inorganic and physics w/o calc 1 next semester then take the second part to each class over the summer (one each month), that way you only have organic chem to take next fall and you can start taking an mcat review course (i strongly recommend kaplan). you can then take your mcat while you are taking your 2nd semester of organic chem and you can be on the application trail as early as 2013!! if you have any other questions or don't understand this feel free to pm me.

Definitely. As long as its a 4yr college. Good luck!

There is a small advantage to having been a nurse first but not much of one. if anything, the real advantage comes into play during the clinical years (3rd and 4th year) when you are having actual patient interaction and as a nurse, you will be more comfortable. you need a year of biology (which you should already have as a nurse because of A&P as well as microbio), a year of physics w/lab (with or without calculus...hint hint, do without!), a year of inorganic chem w/lab, and a year of organic chem w/lab. some schools also require biochem but that's not very many although i would recommend it if you have time because i felt at a disadvantage 1st year for not having that class. your classes can only be but so old so be sure you know what the cutoff year is, although, my biology and chemistry classes where about 7yrs old when i started the application trail. if i were you (and i was :-) ), i would just enroll as a non degree seeking student at your nearest state university (that way you can avoid the stigma of taking courses at a community college while not having to worry about being "accepted" at a 4yr university) and take 1-2 classes a semester until you've gotten your classes out the way. go to the AMCAS and AAMC websites to figure out the application and interview timelines so that you don't waste any time. Also, I recommend taking an MCAT review class (I used Kaplan) because you'll know how to take the big test. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!!

nurses can be just as rude...it's not doctors who are rude, it's rude people who are rude!

i always wonder if there are two other professions that have as much competition and contention as nursing and medicine. can't we all just get along?! for the record, most people do not enter medicine to make money. as mentioned before, its almost a decade (sometimes more) of schooling/training with little compensation and debt. there are easier and less time consuming ways to make money. plus, once we are finally doctors, we will have to deal with just as much (if not more) of the legal and administrative crap that comes along with health care as nurses do. most med students are type A with OCD tendencies and therefore are attracted to medicine because of the autonomy and decision making responsibilities. also, many of us are attracted to the idea of treating many patients at a time as opposed to the 6 or so patients nurses can treat at a time. me personally, i want to be a surgeon so med school was my only option. anyways, thats my two cents. and by the way, med students and residents can have a life. sure its a lot of studying but we work hard and then play hard!

My heart goes out to her family...

I did both...so did many others...so can you!! It's not an either or problem. Finish your nursing degree then take two years to finish your premeds and MCAT then apply to med school. I can tell you from experience that it's great to be able to make nursing money while in med school! Good luck!

lmbo!

There is still a major nursing shortage in America. The problem is that the big cities don't have as much need since many experienced nurses re-entered the work force when the recession hit. It costs hospitals 50K+ to train a new nurse so that's why most jobs now are requiring experience. If you want to work, apply to jobs outside of NYC. It may require you to move for a year or two but then YOU'LL be one of those experienced nurses who are getting the big city jobs. Good luck!

The OP's post is too funny! Yeah, I've had a crush different doctors and nurses but I learned the hard way to never date anyone you work with!!!

To the OP, keep focused and while it is important to listen to advise from those with more experience, it is also important that you not allow anyone to dissuade you from pursuing your goals! While being a nurse is not a true stepping stone...I can say from experience that it does provide a small advantage when going through medical school. Also, I know many medical students who do not have loans even close to 200K! I will only be 75K in debt after I'm done. Being a nurse has allowed me to make money during my school breaks so that I could take out less loans...plus, depending on how long you work as a nurse before entering medical school, you can save up a good amount to help offset the cost. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide to do!!

No. I basically did the classes separately. I mean, some of our nursing sciences count as pre-med classes...specifically anatomy, physio, and microbiology. But nursing school is hard so it is best to focus on doing well with that since those grades will affect your overall gpa. After I finished my BSN, I immediately began taking the rest of my pre-med requirements (even before I took the NCLEX!!) so that I wouldn't be derailed from my plan. I had no trouble getting into schools as a nurse and ended up getting accepted into all the schools I interviewed at!

I was a pre-med nursing major and so were a few of my other friends. It is definitely possible! The anatomy, physio, and micro required by many nursing programs do count as pre-med classes as well. That being said, I finished my nursing degree first and then worked for 3 years while I finished my pre-med requirements and took my MCAT. I'm so happy I did nursing first because I am able to work during my school breaks and therefore, reduce my school debt. Also, having a nursing background definitely gives me an advantage over my classmates. In fact, the top student in my class is also a nurse who worked as long as I did! I say go for it!

It's definitely a possibility. I did it and so did another guy in my class and a couple of my friends from nursing school. As SummitAP said, going MD is not going all the way because nursing and medicine are COMPLETELY different professions that fall under the umbrella term 'health care'. Whatever you decide to do, good luck! Oh yeah, one more thing...finish your nursing degree. It's nice to have a fall back plan just in case you decide to take a break from school after college and you would have the option of pursuing an NP if you decide to. Personally, I worked as an RN for 3 years before going back to medical school in 2009. It was the best decision I made!

I agree with a lot of what was said above however it is important for you to have a sense of what you want to do in life. Personally, I wanted to be a surgeon and there is no advanced nursing degree that will allow me to do that. If you enjoy what you are doing, I don't think the grunt work of med school, internship, and finally residency will bother you as much. Although it is very difficult, I don't regret at all my decision to go to med school since I know that ultimately I'll be doing what I want.

one of the popular questions posed during the med school interview is 'what will you do if you do not make it into med school this year?'. they like to see that the student applying is mature and practical with a plan B or C. besides, the op is young and has lots of time. it is not necessary to take your pre-meds while studying nursing. i didnt take them until after i was done with my BSN and i was able to make money while doing it....enough to pay for a great MCAT prep course!

that is an amazing idea! of course i'm a bit biased because that is almost exactly what i did. i did two years of biology/pre-med before i changed and got my BSN. then, over the next 3 yrs, i worked as a med/surg then ER nurse while i completed my pre-meds, took my mcat, and applied to med school. all my interviewers were impressed with the fact that i was a nurse and i got accepted into all 3 schools that i interviewed at. nursing DEFINITELY is giving me an advantage in med school. i am currently in my first year of med school and many of the diseases and body system concepts we are learning about were introduced in med school. many of the test questions i see can be guessed using the nursing knowledge i've learned. now med school is A LOT harder than nursing school but i know that i and another nurse in my class are doing well because we've seen a lot of what we're learning. plus, while everyone is trying to take out extra loans for school, i got to work as a per diem nurse in the ER this christmas holiday and make that good nursing money. very good luck to you in all of your endeavors....you are on the right path!!