Hello,
First, I understand Nursing and Premed are two different paths. My problem is I’m having second thoughts about my nursing major.
I am already in my second year of clinicals, and I find it not as challenging as I would like it. Don’t get me wrong, nursing is VERY challenging, but personally for me I don’t find it hard.
I’ve taken General Chem one and two (not health major, reg. Chem). I did really well (over 95, A). I also did very well in A&P one and two. I think my strong points are in science and math.
I believe it’s too late for me to completely switch majors because I don’t want to spend more money on classes for a complete BIO major. I was thinking about taking the pre-reqs for med school while finishing my nursing major, then taking the MCAT.
What would someone recommend I do? (I don’t want to talk to my nursing advisor because it’s frowned upon to go to nursing to medicine).
thats a tough one. I know someone who went through pre-med and got accepted to med school then declined. Her parents thought she was crazy but she said she decided that the doctors diagnose and nurses have more interaction and she wanted more interaction. So she went back to school for nursing. (bs to bsn) My dd is going to start nursing in the fall and Im concerned about same things you mention since she thought about being a surgeon for most her life. . I asked this friend about it (she is about 5 yrs out of school in her 20s) and she said that there is so much that nurses do and even are the first to help diagnose and tell the dr. Then there are so many specialities and advanced education.
Do you know what you are interested in med?
if you can’t talk to your nursing advisor then can you talk to an advisor in pre-med?
Have you thought about PA? Their program is more medical based.
Use your electives to take med school prerequisites. That will keep your options open. Those classes will also serve you well if you go for a MSN or NP degree. You definitely do not need to be a bio major in order to apply to med school, but you do normally need to take more advanced bio and chemistry classes than a nursing major.
Also, I’d talk to a pre-med advisor at your college to help you understand the choices. My understanding is that a large number of people are accepted to med school after a year of post-bachelor classes or a year or two of work. It is apparently becoming less common to start med school immediately after finishing your bachelors degree.
Talk to an advisor and find out exactly what pre-reqs you need for med school. What you major in isn’t important, so sure, you could be a nursing major. Clinicals are likely going to conflict with lab times for classes like O-chem, biochem, and physics. And nursing is an incredibly full major. Expect there to be some summer school, but whenever you have the space in the regular semester, squeeze in a medical school pre-req.
You might also consider a post-bac program to do your medical school pre-reqs.
If you are looking for a challenging alternative to medicine, you could finish your nursing degree and apply to a Nurse Anesthesia (NA) Program after at least a year of critical care (Adult ICU) experience. Very specialized area of nursing, excellent working conditions, probably better balance between work/family and very high compensation/demand. Most NA programs have or are in the process of transitioning to DNP programs, with a 3-year commitment post bachelors and require fairly high college GPA and challenging curriculum (Organic Chemistry, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Advanced Physiology, etc.).
Thanks for everyone’s help! I did not except this much feedback.
So most of the med schools I’ve researched require one year general Chem, one year organic, one year bio, and one year physics (most recommend calculus and biochem, but it’s not required). Along with taking the MCAT.
I am planning to take bio in the fall and hopefully get the rest out of the way during my next summer semesters. After I graduate, I should have 1,200 clinical hours (3 years of clinicals). I will also have a little under 1,000 service hours at a hospital I’ve been volunteering at for the last three years (usually 8 hours each week).
I have looked into NP (my mother is one) and NA before. Although NA is a great job, with the plus that they make a lot, I don’t really find an interest in it. NP is definitely my backup post-grad choice. I really haven’t looked into PA before.
Definitely look in to being a PA. The Medicine route is for those who are super dedicated to long hours and years of training. You gotta really really want it to make it through. Being a PA will give you more control in your life and after you have practiced a while, if you want, you can go back to Med school.
PA’s are taught in the medical model of treating diseases.
Nurses are taught in the nursing model of promoting health.
My daughter is working in a hospital and is spending time alongside doctors. It has confirmed her decision to not go the pre-med route. She said the doctors are extremely stressed, have very high levels of responsibility and have to keep constantly up to date on emerging treatments.
Many doctors also do not have much time to actually spend with patients, which is partly the fault of insurance companies. I’ve also read that primary care physicians are not doing great financially on average. To make real money, you need a specialty, which involves additional years of training.
One of the advantages of being a RN is that you do not have spend much of your life arguing with insurance companies.
@Charliesch My daughter found the same. After spending time in the hospital concluded she just didn’t like what doctor’s do. Same for NPs acting as hospitalists. Bottom line, does not want to practice. Is considered the PhD route now.
There is also a serious need for Nursing Educators - who mainly train nurses in nursing schools and clinicals. You can often do that job with a masters degree.