Going from a career in nursing to med school

[FONT=Arial Narrow]Im currently a hih school student trying to plan out my life. I have always just wanted to be a mother. When my children are young I want to stay home with them, and i dont want to put them in daycare. However i know this is unrealistic financially. I thought I could do nursing, because I could take off when they were young and work in a school when they were school aged. As they grew older I could go back to working in a hospitol or idealy a pediatrican's office. This sounded great but my aunt and many other nurses I know told me that if hey could do it over again they would go straight for med school. Being a doctor seems cool, and minus the children thats what I want to do. And the money would be awesome. I was just thinking about how I could do it and be home more with the children.
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[FONT=Arial Narrow]Would it be possible for me to go to nursing school, but take the pre med track so id have all the right qualifications for med schools and be somewhat prepared for the MCATs, but then stay in nursing and get employed as a nurse, but then to maybe 5 or so years later take the MCATs and try to go back to medical school and become a doctor from there??
Usually science credits expire in 5 years. Be sure to do what you want and invest in an education that will be of use to you. If you want to go for your MD then make sure to plan accordingly. Nursing is a very rewarding career and it can open a lot of doors, but it is not a "layover" career or a back up plan. The roles between the MD and the Nurse are very different and though they may work around and with another, they are not the same and shouldn't be treated as such. All I'm saying is invest your money and time wisely.

Hey! You can definitely do that! You can pick any undergraduate major as long as you complete all the Pre-med courses along with it. I would say that it would be quite the challenge to be a full-time student working on a BSN doing 12 hour clinicals and taking Organic Chemistry 1& 2, Biochemistry, Physics, etc and taking the MCAT. But if you have the money, time, discipline, the brains, and desire it can most definitely be done! In order to be a competitive applicant for Nursing School and Medical School you will need to have a high GPA mainly A's with a few B's and get an exceptional score on the MCAT. This may be a challenge to take the nursing curriculum and pre-med pre-req's and get all A's. I encourage you with all my heart, but also want to be honest with what the challenge and competition will be.Sincerely,Katejane

P.S. There is such thing as a Nurse Practitioner which can do many things that a Doctor can do... check it out. That may be the route to go.

Explore your options. Educate yourself in what the two fields are like, in preparation and in practice. They are not the same. Ask the nurses in your family why they recommend being a doctor. Think about which is more appealing to you. Which will allow you to do the work that will be most rewarding to you.

Remember that if you are in medical school, it's very hard to have a personal life, not to mention the 80 hour work weeks during residency, which goes on for at least 3 years, more if you want to do a fellowship. Not trying to discourage you, just the reality. You are young--give yourself a few years before you make a decision either way. You can usually take a year of general classes at college before making a final decision. Good luck!p.s. you can check out forums.studentdoctor.net which is a great resource for aspiring pre-meds

Lot of gender roles being played here wow . Sociology class nailed it 100%If you want to take "steps", Nursing is the way to goThis why more females enter nursing and more males enter Med SchoolWith Nursing you can become a CNA after High School, then decide to be a LPN get married have kids go back to school become a RN in two years, then later BSN than later if you wish a NA,NP,MSN etc. With Med school, there is NO "steps" either your in or your out. There are always exceptions but it is not the norm like it is in nursing.With Nursing you can enter at pretty much any stage in life 20,30,40,50 etc.With Med school this is something you have to determine to do early in life.As you will need during high school to work for scholarships to help pay for Medical School.(all AP classes and High GPA)The courses are not the same. You have to have very strong math skills.all you need is High School Algebra II to be a RN. Pre-Med you have to take calculus I/II and Psychics I/II You do not take a easy "fundamentals of chemistry" Strong science skills backed by math skills for Bio I/II, Organic I/II, Chem I,IISo the answer is NO, FAFSA will not pay for classes that are not on your declared degree. This is based on new rules that was passed recently to discourage students from taking to long to graduate, taking classes that do not pertain to their degree; causing the tax payer money with defaulted loans.There is a shortage of Doctors right now. Not Nurses.I recommend watching "Boston Medical" on Hulugives you a real perspective of Med Students going thru residencyand their personal lives as Med Students and also show cases nurses and their jobs

You can have children and be doctor. You'll probably just have to put it off until after you finish school. What kind of doctor or nurse do you want to be? Do you want to be the person calling all the shots? What do you find attractive about being a doctor or nurse and what don't you like? Being an advanced practice nurse can be very similar to being a physician or physician's assistant but can be done in steps as a previous poster mentioned. If you want to become a physician have you considered becoming a PA and then continuing to med school (or just remaining a PA if you don't want all the responsibilities of an MD or DO)? The role of a doctor is very different than the role of a nurse so these are the kinds of questions you need to answer.

Medicine is for the people who want nothing else and want it so badly that they are willing to let medicine come first in their life.My brother is a doctor in residency. He works 80 hours a week and is in his 30's. I'm not trying to dissuade you in your career options, just be aware of the time reality.

Quote from kabooskiLot of gender roles being played here wow . Sociology class nailed it 100%If you want to take "steps", Nursing is the way to goThis why more females enter nursing and more males enter Med SchoolWith Nursing you can become a CNA after High School, then decide to be a LPN get married have kids go back to school become a RN in two years, then later BSN than later if you wish a NA,NP,MSN etc. With Med school, there is NO "steps" either your in or your out. There are always exceptions but it is not the norm like it is in nursing.With Nursing you can enter at pretty much any stage in life 20,30,40,50 etc.With Med school this is something you have to determine to do early in life.As you will need during high school to work for scholarships to help pay for Medical School.(all AP classes and High GPA)The courses are not the same. You have to have very strong math skills.all you need is High School Algebra II to be a RN. Pre-Med you have to take calculus I/II and Psychics I/II You do not take a easy "fundamentals of chemistry" Strong science skills backed by math skills for Bio I/II, Organic I/II, Chem I,IISo the answer is NO, FAFSA will not pay for classes that are not on your declared degree. This is based on new rules that was passed recently to discourage students from taking to long to graduate, taking classes that do not pertain to their degree; causing the tax payer money with defaulted loans.There is a shortage of Doctors right now. Not Nurses.I recommend watching "Boston Medical" on Hulugives you a real perspective of Med Students going thru residencyand their personal lives as Med Students and also show cases nurses and their jobs

my question is...if your driving force is to have children and you think that nursing would work well with the schedule...why don't you try something much more simple that gives you a schedule that works with a family? Nursing school consumes your life. Med-school? I cannot even imagine. Once you are a nurse, you will most likely still be working some weekends or holidays. Why don't you try something like becoming a teacher? If you love children, why not early childhood education? Nursing and medicine are paths that come from dedication to the "calling." They are not easy paths, and the jobs are very demanding, although rewarding. When you're in high school, the endless possibility of careers can get a little confusing. it can be hard to choose. But the reality of working/children/education is it usually takes MUCH longer than anticipated...the stress is enormous, the guilt is ever present, and the bills don't seem to be very forgiving. The ideal thing to do is find your best-fitting career and stick to it, graduate, have children, and enjoy life. A life as a student is less than desirable.

It would not be wise to start your family first, then embark upon a career in medicine. You need to do a lot of research so that you can determine how to set your priorities. Sometimes there is a vast difference between what we would like to do and what we are able to do.

You need to do some shadowing and then decide which area you would prefer. It is much much much easier to finish school before you have children.