<p>I was wondering would a degree in nursing prepare one to take the MCAT and for medical school. I am contemplating on whether to apply to nursing school or major in biology in college??</p>
<p>A Bachelor of Science in Nursing is quite different than a BS in Biology. Med School requirements vary from state to state, but in general, to be ready for the MCAT, you need more than what nursing school will require. I only needed one year of chem for nursing and med schools require one year gen chem plus one year of organic chemistry- most require calculus and I had to only take statistics for nursing BS. You would not be ready for the MCAT just from getting your nursing pre requisites. That being said, becoming an RN is a great background for someone who isnt quite sure if they want to be an MD. The focus is totally different, but the exposure to patients and medical stuff
is intense. The most time efficient way to get to med school would be a BS in Biology to get that science background in that you will need for the mcat. Good luck in your decision!</p>
<p>Are you looking at nursing as a stepping stone or a possible choice? If it’s a choice, you need to think about:
Do you like working directly with people - more of an educational bent even if it’s sometimes physically hard, or do you like finding out what’s wrong with someone, fixing it and then moving on? (gross generalizations here - subject to many other opinions by those with more experience)
Do you want to spend 4 years in school before you are out in the real world or 9, 10 or more?</p>
<p>Do not waste your time and money thinking that nursing school would be a good prerequisite “major” for medical school, and don’t limit your thinking that you must have a biology major either. You can choose a major in just about anything, including music, education,business, political science, as long as you manage to take the courses you need to sit for the MCAT. You will need at least one semester of calculus,maybe two, basic chemistry and organic chemistry, perhaps biochemistry, a few biology courses and a few very select schools like Vanderbilt also require some physics courses,but they are the exception. Check out several medical schools that you might want to attend to see what the absolute minimum course requirements are in the math and sciences for your application to be considered.
Yes, there are quite a few engineers who go to medical school, but I also know students who majored in piano and elementary education in their undergraduate schools and they were among our top recruits for our residency programs. If neither one of them had been able to go to medical school, they had degrees in something they loved doing and were also very employable.
The two toughest courses to get through are calculus and organic chemistry.
It might not be cheap, but many people dread organic so much that they will audit an org chem class during the summer and then take it for actual credit the next year so they will have a good grade. Just a tip, there!
Good luck with your decision, but you really can do anything you want</p>
<p>Agree with what’s been said. Hope is ABSOLUTELY correct about the major issue.</p>
<p>Besides the issues with coursework (nursing doesn’t require organic, there’s very little time during the clinical years to work in electives), there’s also the issue of the nursing shortage that exists pretty much everywhere. Medical schools are highly tuned into this and are reluctant to pull trained nurses out of the workforce.</p>
<p>Other people with more knowledge on this subject should chime in, but my impression is that nursing is really its own career path that is very different from medicine. Nurses and physicians are complimentary professionals, not a case of one being a lower-level version of the other.</p>
<p>If you want to go to med school, you can major in anything, as long as you take the premed requirements. If you want to boost your resume with medicine-related activities as an undergrad, you can participate in your school’s premed club(s), volunteer/intern at a local hospital, or (if your campus has its own EMS) train to be a campus EMT.</p>
<p>I agree that nursing isn’t a good road to medical school. Unless you want to be a nurse or physical therapist or a pharmacist, none of these really give you a leg up over other majors if your goal from the start is medicine. Competition to get into these programs is stiff. Having served as a program rep on the admissions committee at 2 different universities, no one wants to waste a space on someone who doesn’t really want to practice. That being said, switching professions down the road is not frowned upon. I was often called in to consult on applicants in other health professions applying to a program that focused on getting applicants up to speed on the sciences needed to apply for med school. Thes applicants frequently had a boost as it was felt that they really understood what they were getting into.</p>
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<p>Agree! Agree! Nursing is not a leg up. A nurse who has practiced for some time and articulates good reasons for wanting to go back for an MD, would get a fair hearing I think, but there is a lot of hesitancy to cannibalize fellow professionals. Sure there are exceptions and anecdotes, but better med school admission chances is NOT a reason to go into nursing.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider the profession of physician’s assistant ¶. It’s an up and coming field in health care.</p>
<p>Agree with elle, also consider the goal of nurse practitioner.</p>
<p>I finished my freshman year in a four year nursing program at NYU, but entered with pre-med in mind. To give you an idea of how much I wanted to be a nurse, this is the only school I applied to as a nursing major and I applied to seven. If you have the brains, the parental support, and the desire to become a physician, please don’t make my mistake and enter nursing school. It will not prepare you for the MCATs and you will not be able to enter medical school right after graduating from college. However, there’s much more to the distinction between the two professions than the academic background, very little of which I realized at the time. If you would like to chat about it, feel free to pm me.</p>
<p>My nursing program required chem, organic chem, biochem, immunology, anatomy and physiology (which we took with the MD students) in addition to courses in the humanities, social sciences and nursing of course
Nursing programs vary in their rigor, but I would agree that nursing is a distinct profession in and of itself and should not be viewed as a stepping stone to an MD.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I sent it to younger D who is weighing nursing vs. pre-med vs. other allied health fields.
One thing I will add to echo momof2sons – check out the individual nursing programs you are considering. At D1’s school(Marquette), the nursing program offers a VERY challenging nursing/pre-med track that does do both jobs.</p>
<p>As a “retired” nurse practitioner, I agree with much of Momof2sons-top tier undergraduate nursing programs require a number of science courses that “set the table” for medical school. In many B.S.N. programs there will be a number of electives and if someone is truly thinking of medical school, a student could use that opportunity to fill additional pre-requisites.</p>
<p>Many years ago, I had the privilege of teaching ( as a nurse) in a school of medicine to junior and senior medical students as well as providing a monthly seminar to Oncology Fellows. Some of the finest physicians I have had the honor to work with came from other careers prior to making the commitment to medical school. I am not saying an individual cannot be both a brilliant medical mind and a compassionate clinician going straight from undergrad-medical school-residency +potential fellowship. I am saying that bringing other perspectives to the table provides patients with physicians who can related to them on a multitude of levels. The socialization that comes with a career- a gap time if you will, IMO, can take a good physician and make an outstanding one.</p>
<p>Working as a nurse for at least 12-18 months will provide your daughter with a first hand look at the life of physicians in the US. There is very little glamor, incredibly long hours and years of training and declining pay ( except in a few specialties). Many of the roles in professional nursing can provide almost similar autonomy and in some areas similar pay. Good luck to your daughter.</p>