RN to MD ?

meggo · Feb 11, 2011

From what I understand all you need to get into most medical schools is a bachelors degree (technically in anything), a high GPA (usually 3.5), and whatever specific classes they require in addition to your degree. For example a family friend got into med school with a degree in english so he was required to take several additional biology, chem, etc courses. Having your BSN, RN defiantly won't hurt you and assuming you have at least a 3.5 GPA you meet many requirements. There certainly aren't any rules that say a nurse can't further their education and become an advance practitioner or physician. You will also need to take the MCAT entrance examination and see how you score. You can get much more detailed info if you just google medical schools in his area that he would likely be applying to.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2011

Having your BSN, RN defiantly won't hurt you and assuming you have at least a 3.5 GPA you meet many requirements.

I don't think any of my nursing science classes would count towards med school except maybe microbiology. The health science courses are usually on a different track than the hard science major courses and those are what med schools usually look for.

But if you're interested in med school, OP, you would just have to make sure you have the science courses you need, your MCATS, a good GPA, and work to polish your application. I don;t know a ton of details but from friends who tried to get in to med school I do know that MCAT numbers matter a lot.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Feb 12, 2011

Usually you need a 2 years of Biology, a year of Chemistry, a year of Organic Chem, a year of Physics and several other classes depending on the school. Most of these courses are not usually required for a Nursing program, so he would need to complete these courses. I think a minimum of two years it would take to complete these classes, probably longer depending on prereqs, than the MCAT, then 4 years of med school, and additional years in specialty, as you can see, it's almost starting over.

RNpatterson · Feb 17, 2011

I'm still up in the air about what I want to do when I finish my nursing program. It's been a life-long dream of mine to become a physician but AP nursing is not a bad way to go. Nursing degrees are not considered "ideal" undergrad degrees for med school simply because the prerequisites are not covered in nursing programs so it requires extra time and money to take those pre-reqs (like Nicki said, it's almost like starting over). You will at least need to take two semesters each of inorganic and organic chemistry with labs in all semesters (some schools only require one lab in each but plenty of schools require labs for all 4 classes so best to cover all bases), and two semesters of physics with labs. Many schools have other requirements like micro, bio chem, calc, genetics, etc. And most schools will want these done at a university, not a community college. It's best to look into schools that you're interested in and go from there. Then you have to take the MCAT. Then there's the application, and if you're lucky, interviews, etc. LOTS of info available on studentdoctor.net.

Each day I change my mind. One day I'll say I need to chase my dream and I just won't be happy unless I am an MD, always wondering "what if" when I get older isn't my cup-o-tea. But, ACNP or CRNA also interest me and are more sane and practical routes to take (and still very rewarding, challenging, and require life-long learning). With that said, I have a friend who was a NP for years and went back to med school in her 40's. So who knows. :)

In the end, it's going to take long hours of research and soul-searching. Then you have to make your choice and go for it! Hope that helps.

PS - ignore the nay-sayers on studentdoctor re: nurses and AP nurses. They like to bash on CRNAs and nurse practitioners but most of them are med students who don't know any better. From what I hear in the "real world," most doctors really appreciate AP nurses.