medisforme Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 I wanted to ask those applying to med school from other health care professions (i am assuming most of you are non-trad applicants like me), if you faced any negativity/cold shoulder/disrespect when your colleagues found out you were going for medicine. I am an RN, and the only health care workers i have told of my intentions are layworkers (care aids, mental health workers etc.). I am scared of the reaction i will get if i tell other nurses my intentions (nurses see themselves as professional (which they are!) and can get just a bit defensive/ turned off to someone who is leaving the profession to join another one that has traditionally looked down on nurses as subordinates). Anyone have any good / or bad experiences with this. Feel free to share your stories. For now, i am keeping my intentions to myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneDay Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 I have had a bad experience being a grad student wanting to pursue medicine. Most of the profs that I interviewed/worked with were immediately turned off when I brought up medicine. It was a huge shock for me, I didn't expect the cold shoulder when I told these people my life goals, but that is what I got. Maybe they want all grad students to stay in academia, or maybe they had pre-med grad students drop out of the grad degree when they got into med school. Who knows? The only people that have been super supportive of my med school pursuit were MDs and MD/PhDs. I say if you don't have to broadcast your future plans, it might be better to keep it to yourself. This is just my personal experience though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 I wanted to ask those applying to med school from other health care professions (i am assuming most of you are non-trad applicants like me), if you faced any negativity/cold shoulder/disrespect when your colleagues found out you were going for medicine. I am an RN, and the only health care workers i have told of my intentions are layworkers (care aids, mental health workers etc.). I am scared of the reaction i will get if i tell other nurses my intentions (nurses see themselves as professional (which they are!) and can get just a bit defensive/ turned off to someone who is leaving the profession to join another one that has traditionally looked down on nurses as subordinates). Anyone have any good / or bad experiences with this. Feel free to share your stories. For now, i am keeping my intentions to myself. I haven't faced any negativity or disrespect from my colleagues because I simply haven't told them. I know the exact feeling you have about telling other nurses you future career aspirations. I also don't want to be seen in a different way because I chose to pursue another career path. Because nursing has traditionally been seen as subordinate to doctors, some nurses may tend to feel that you think that you're better than them or more superior which clearly isn't the case at all. So yes, I would definitely keep this information to myself...there is no need to publicly broadcast this information and I would advise against it also. You still have to work with your colleagues so it is best that you don't divulge any information that may potentially change the way that they see you. I've used my family and close friends as support for myself...that is all the support that I need. "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" Tones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medisforme Posted April 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 Thanks for the replies. On a related note did you have the guts to ask the nursing unit manager/whoever is your boss for a reference letter, or did you just leave it and ask someone else. I worked at one of my nursing jobs (acute surgery) for one year full time and then one year casual (while i was taking pre-reqs), it would seem to make sense to ask the manager for a letter, but she was a real feminist type A personality (ie. the type who would be insulted by me leaving nursing), so i didn't think i should ask her. I have secured a reference letter from my boss in community mental health but she is not an RN, nor do i think she has any formal credentials, she was just really good at managing the program etc... What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 Thanks for the replies. On a related note did you have the guts to ask the nursing unit manager/whoever is your boss for a reference letter, or did you just leave it and ask someone else. I worked at one of my nursing jobs (acute surgery) for one year full time and then one year casual (while i was taking pre-reqs), it would seem to make sense to ask the manager for a letter, but she was a real feminist type A personality (ie. the type who would be insulted by me leaving nursing), so i didn't think i should ask her. I have secured a reference letter from my boss in community mental health but she is not an RN, nor do i think she has any formal credentials, she was just really good at managing the program etc...What do you think? I think that is totally fine. I did not ask my employer/manager for a reference either. I just completed my masters degree in nursing, so I asked two of my professors for letters of reference (I had good rapport with them and they had no problem with writing me a letter). I also got a letter from the coordinator of the Cdn Diabetes Assn which I volunteered for. I don't think that this person had professional designations (other than volunteer coordinator) and to be honest, I don't think it matters. For the most part, pretty much all reference letters will tell of how great an applicant is. It's those letters that might draw red flags to the adcoms which I think are of greater relevance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meredith Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 I am not a nurse, but I wanted to add a response, in case others read this and are interested in others' experiences. I work in hospital management (so, not a healthcare professional exactly, but I work with a lot of doctors, nurses, and hospital VPs). I have told a few people at work, and all have been very excited for me. My boss (a VP) happily wrote a reference letter for me. I did not get the cold shoulder at all, however, I did get about half of the people I told say "oh yeah, I tried that a few years ago, but didn't get in." That was a tiny bit discouraging because these seem to be hugely accomplished people, and made me question my own chances! (since there often appears to be a disconnect between physicians and management, I am scared I will be "pegged" as being management material only). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseNathalie Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 Obviously, people can experience different 'reactions' from their peers in such a situation. I think it depends on the area in which you work, and the strenghts of relationships in your workplace. (So the following is simply from what I experienced going from a 13 yr career as a nurse- to medicine). I spoke about my plans of going into medicine early into my nursing career. I don't recall anyone ever being negative or treating me any differently. Was it because they didn't think I'd actually do it? maybe... We had (for the most part) good relationships between nurses, doctors and other health care providers in our community. We were all equals, and working towards a common goal: patient care... except we recognized we did so from different aspects or with different perspectives. For me, it was no different going from nursing to medicine, than it was going from hospital work into the community- or from community to health promotion.. or to research or teaching. It was just 'wearing a different hat', and filling a different role. One of my references was one of my professors in university. She was also my boss at the time (she hired me to teach at the university and coordinate her research project). She was very supportive, and so were my co-workers. They were all happy for me when I got in, since they knew that was my dream. I recently went back to my home community for a placement (as a medical student). The nurses I worked with for years were more excited than I was, I think. It was really nice to get to work with them in a different capacity. Some of them joked that 'they had one of their own' on 'the other side' and that was a good thing! From my experience, having been a nurse- (therefore knowing what they go through , as well as the approach they have to patient care- which is very different than that of the physician)- was always really beneficial. Nurses were generally open and helpful. and knowing the system and how things work- made a HUGE positive impact in my medical education. I find that it was easier for me to fit into the team quickly, having that background. and when you're in a new area for only a few weeks and you don't know where things are and how they work- that's a life saver! anyways.. just wanted to share a 'positive' experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 Thanks to all the nurses who have posted. Your stories have been helpful to me as a nursing student thinking about making the switchover! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelly31 Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I am about to find out from my classmates this weekend. Most of them are teachers/counsellors/human rights advocates and are much more focused on client-centered, truth-is-subjective perspectives. I have always been the "odd one out" and I have garnered a lot of curiosity in terms of why I am always studying and doing research. I think the response will be positive, but I'm not sure yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I wanted to ask those applying to med school from other health care professions (i am assuming most of you are non-trad applicants like me), if you faced any negativity/cold shoulder/disrespect when your colleagues found out you were going for medicine. I am an RN, and the only health care workers i have told of my intentions are layworkers (care aids, mental health workers etc.). I am scared of the reaction i will get if i tell other nurses my intentions (nurses see themselves as professional (which they are!) and can get just a bit defensive/ turned off to someone who is leaving the profession to join another one that has traditionally looked down on nurses as subordinates). Anyone have any good / or bad experiences with this. Feel free to share your stories. For now, i am keeping my intentions to myself. I think my colleagues are more excited than I am! On May 15, I called my manager to tell him that I had been accepted. (I took May 15-16 off on vacaton.) He was so excited! When I got back to work the following week, he told me that he couldn't help himself from "telling the world". He told me this week that he feels like a proud father. I have had numerous other people offer me their congratulations as well. Interestingly enough, I have had a number of colleagues tell me of their dream to one day to apply to medical school. The support that I have received from all of my colleagues is going to make it even harder to leave. I am looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life, something I've worked towards for the past six years. However, I know I'm going to miss both my job and my colleagues. (I plan to return to my current position over Christmas and during my first two summers; however, I don't think it will be the same after being away for so long.) Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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