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Nursing students going into med? =]


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Hello everyone! I'm a current high school student who has received early acceptance to the u of a fac. of nursing for next fall. I'm hoping to eventually apply for med school there and was wondering if anyone knows about nursing courses that could be used as med prereqs. I've been getting mixed info about whether NURS150 and MMI133 can be used in lieu of the 2 biologies. thanks in advance!

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Hello everyone! I'm a current high school student who has received early acceptance to the u of a fac. of nursing for next fall =] I'm hoping to eventually apply for med school there and was wondering if anyone knows about nursing courses that could be used as med prereqs. I've been getting mixed info about whether NURS150 and MMI133 can be used in lieu of the 2 biologies =] thanks in advance!

 

Here is an MMI question for you:

 

Do you think it is justifiable for students to go into health care professions where there is a current shortage (nursing and pharmacy) even though they have no intention of becoming a professional in that field?

 

As to your original question, I have no idea. No I am not helpful, I know.

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If you know for sure you want to apply for medical school, then it might be better for you to do a Science/other undergrad where you can take GPA-boosting courses. Nursing will not be that good for GPA. Maybe you should expand a bit further on your reasoning behind wanting to go into nursing so we know where you are coming from.

 

Secondly, your best bet to get accurate answers to your questions about whether or if any nursing courses can be used as medical school pre-requisite courses is to e-mail the admissions office directly.

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I know it might not be the best way to go, but I am interested in nursing just as I am in medicine. I like the idea of working towards a useful degree in a career I would like to pursue in the future, which is the reason why I am doing it this way. I would like to become a physician, no doubt, but if I just hapen to be insufficiently capable, nothing would make me happier than becoming a nurse.

I have sent inquiries to the admissions office, and they have given me different information the times my friend and I have asked (answered by different people, I suppose) This confused me, which is why I'm reaching out to other students and anyone who would be willing to help me out.

 

Thank you for your input =]

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I really am not sure of the answer, but I don't believe they are equivalent. The minimum you can do in biological sciences would be Biol 107 and 108 (with higher level courses as substitutes.) But again, better to ask admissions.

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I am a RN who is counting down until mid-May! Going into medicine from nursing presents some challenges in terms of getting you pre-reqs done (I did mine mainly through distance, registering in a course-overload, and in the summer before I had FT clinical). Another consideration is keeping a competitive GPA in nursing because a lot of the marking is highly subjective and based on your teacher's perspective. But it can be done!

 

As for the naysayers on the forum don't listen to them. Follow your dream...it's not your responsibility to solve the nursing crisis in Canada:p In my somewhat biased opinion med students who have a healthcare background have a lot to offer as physicians and often will have better experience then a pure science undergrad! Med schools are starting to recognize this and even give extra weight to these applicants (Dal, Manitoba, Calgary, NOSM). As an added bonus, if you don't get into med straight away you will get a job & the coin is not too shabby!

 

Congrats on your acceptance to nursing! It is a wonderful profession and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

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I am a RN who is counting down until mid-May! Going into medicine from nursing presents some challenges in terms of getting you pre-reqs done (I did mine mainly through distance, registering in a course-overload, and in the summer before I had FT clinical). Another consideration is keeping a competitive GPA in nursing because a lot of the marking is highly subjective and based on your teacher's perspective. But it can be done!

 

As for the naysayers on the forum don't listen to them. Follow your dream...it's not your responsibility to solve the nursing crisis in Canada:p In my somewhat biased opinion med students who have a healthcare background have a lot to offer as physicians and often will have better experience then a pure science undergrad! Med schools are starting to recognize this and even give extra weight to these applicants (Dal, Manitoba, Calgary, NOSM). As an added bonus, if you don't get into med straight away you will get a job & the coin is not too shabby!

 

Congrats on your acceptance to nursing! It is a wonderful profession and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

 

so the majority of med students dont have a "healthcare" background? lol... but im worried about the hiring freeze for you guys though...

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so the majority of med students dont have a "healthcare" background? lol... but im worried about the hiring freeze for you guys though...

 

Not in direct patient care, no. As for the hiring freeze, it's definitely a concern for new grads but there are numerous options if you think outside the box. The freeze mostly applies to urban areas...there are many underserved communities who are still offering signing bonuses and FT work. The US (shudder) is also heavily recruiting Canadian nurses. You also don't need to worry about me, I've had a FT job since before I finished my undergrad!

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Thank you very much for the insight and encouragement, mildoc1!

The reasons you outline are some that I've taken into consideration for a long time. I've been wanting to talk to nursing students other than the couple of friends I have in that faculty, so I might take you up on your offer and PM you questions, etc. :)

Again, many thanks! :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have known many nursing students/nurses who have tried to get into med school many times and have not been able to. I think that many med school application panels have a bias against nurses (although nurses getting in does happen; I have heard schools in the east actually aren't as biased).

 

The main issue I think some people have is that you are taking the spot of someone who actually wants to be a nurse. Nursing is a profession, it is not meant to be a temporary step on your way to medicine. While the application of clinical skills and experience would definitely be a benefit in med school in the beginning, it is obviously not necessary since almost all med students were not nurses before.

 

In my opinion, if you want to be a nurse go into nursing. If you want to go into medicine, do another degree -- science/biology related is the most common, but as long as you do the prereqs any degree works. Just my suggestion...but if you maintain stellar grades and do your prereqs etc. then getting in is still a possibility however the inherent bias is definitely there.

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  • 1 year later...

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