RN/BSN to medical school?

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2011

Are you in the nursing part of nursing school or are your still prenursing?

Why do you want to do med school? Why not switch to premed? Have you considered NP?

jnf14 · Mar 21, 2011

I am finishing my first year of nursing school. Going to start nursing classes next semester, but I have interned at an ER and work as a CNA. Med school is a thought because Im doing very well in my courses and a lot of people have said why not go all the way. And I am thinking about switching my major, but I have heard people do nursing first then go to med school. And yes Im looking into NP and PA and MD.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2011

MD is not "going all the way." MD is an extremely different career from RN. There are many threads covering the difference: eg https://allnurses.com/nursing-articles/its-rn-not-536397.html

If you want a be a doctor, don't bother with nursing school. Go study whatever the heck interests you while getting good grades and med school prereqs in earning your BS.

If you want to be a nurse and later an NP, then finish nursing school.

I'm still in nursing school but in many clinicals both doctors AND nurses have told me "you remind me more of a medical student than a nursing student. Why aren't you in medical school instead?"

I don't want to put in the time now, in med school, in internship/residency/fellowship and then as a doctor. I want to have a major life outside the hospital. I want be able to switch specialties. I want to work 3 12s. Later I'll become an NP or a CRNA, but not right away.

panamishe · Jun 11, 2011

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!

jnf14 · Jun 11, 2011

Did you take extra classes along with your nursing classes that helped you get into med school? And Im definitely going to finish nursing school and Ill see where that takes me.

panamishe · Jun 11, 2011

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!

kaikaigurl · Oct 12, 2011

Hi, I am also an RN and currently working as well. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to ask you how is it like going to medical school after working as a nurse? i still have to take pre-requisites though. which prerequisites did you take? I know you need to take biology and organic chemistry. I took physics in my undergrad.

Its just that I am trying to figure out what to do and how to do it.. I am worried about a lot of things but I really want to pursue medical school.

panamishe · Oct 12, 2011

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!!

kaikaigurl · Oct 14, 2011

Thanks for your response.

I am planning to take it in a city university. would that be okay you think?

Its good to know that I don't need to take biology. I had anatomy and physiology as well as microbiology back in my undergrad.

Thanks for the tips. I will check out those websites soon.

panamishe · Oct 14, 2011

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

The_Qne · Nov 18, 2011

@ panamishe. i am also going to pursue a medical degree. i just started working as a nurse 4 months ago. do you have any advice? i need to take organic inorganic physics 1&2 and calc. i just dont really know how to go about it.