Alyssa11 Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 This is for any nursing students who have been accepted to mcmaster medical school..would you mind sharing your route in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I actually did a bachelor's and masters of nursing before starting med at mac. Many of the nurses in my class had recently completed the BScN, however. As long as you have a competitive GPA and do well on Casper (they didn't have this when I was admitted), you'll have a good shot. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssa11 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Thats great! I have just completed BScN and looking for a job.. few interviews lined up.. as well as considering a masters… not sure in what yet.. possibly nutrition.. however this year the new formula is 25% GPA my cumulative gpa is 3.45… my lost two years are cometitive (3.6, 3.87) but my first year is hurting me.. should I upgrade undergrad? or work and masters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Thats great! I have just completed BScN and looking for a job.. few interviews lined up.. as well as considering a masters… not sure in what yet.. possibly nutrition.. howeverthis year the new formula is 25% GPA my cumulative gpa is 3.45… my lost two years are cometitive (3.6, 3.87) but my first year is hurting me.. should I upgrade undergrad? or work and masters? Your GPA is on the lower side for Mac, however, the GPA is worth less than when I was applying. So if you were to do well on Casper and the Verbal section of the MCAT, you might have a chance. To increase your chances, might be worthwhile to look into requirements of other schools which tend to look at the more recent years for GPA (ie, discounting first undergrad year). Doing a masters won't help your chances for med school that much. If med at Mac is where you want to be then you should definitely complete another undergrad degree and get stellar grades to improve your cGPA. But you should also look into other areas of nursing that you might like or even the NP route (which has expanded roles - more similar to the role of a physician). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynx7 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 oooops. edited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonGeo Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hey, I graduated Ryerson June 2010, GPA 3.67 (OMSAS), wrote MCAT for VR (13), worked for a year in ER, homecare, and a tiny bit of research, read "Principles of Biomedical Ethics" and "Doing Right" for CASPER and then the Mac interview, and got in to Mac this year. If you do exceptionally well on CASPER and VR, and then the interview, then you do have a chance despite a lower GPA. DonGeo Mac Meds 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssa11 Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Thank you for your response !! much appreciated! do you have any other nurses in your class or other classes that could offer some advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immy Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 hey dongeo, can you talk a little bit about your experience in emergency room nursing... i am thinking about doing nursing and more specifically ER or OR nursing and wonder if you have any comments regarding those. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenoa Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Hey, I graduated Ryerson June 2010, GPA 3.67 (OMSAS), wrote MCAT for VR (13), worked for a year in ER, homecare, and a tiny bit of research, read "Principles of Biomedical Ethics" and "Doing Right" for CASPER and then the Mac interview, and got in to Mac this year. Hmm sorry for not know this . . . but I didn't know it was possible to write the mcat 'only for VR.' Could someone explain how this works? Do you just void the other test sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igeorgex Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hmm sorry for not know this . . . but I didn't know it was possible to write the mcat 'only for VR.' Could someone explain how this works? Do you just void the other test sections? you just skip the other sections or put random answers for them, until you get to VR, which you actually write Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonGeo Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 @ Immy In my experience ER nursing has been very rewarding. You get to see a variety of patients in all sorts of conditions. Most will not be seen by a physician for at least 5-6 hours, so it is up to you to determine who needs attention right now and who can wait. You will get to sedate, defibrillate, start lots of IV's, restrain, read 12-lead ECGs, monitor people with acute strokes, MIs, psychosis, etc. You get to work a lot with many different specialties - RTs, ER docs, specialist docs, crisis workers, security, police officers, and some very hardened, experienced nurses. You have a considerable degree of autonomy- you are the one to triage, you perform the first assessment, you read the ECG and determine if it needs immediate attention; you also have a variety of medical directives you can initiate when you see certain symptoms, e.g. bloodwork, X-Rays, some medications, topical anaesthetic, etc. There are many many courses you can take to become a better ER nurse including pediatrics courses, advanced life-support courses, cardiology courses, and trauma courses. Your hospital will usually pay for these. Overall, I can't say enough about ER nursing. There are, of course, some downsides. You're payed the same as nurses on any other floor while doing, arguably, much more work than on most other floors. You are expected to know more, to work faster, and in tougher conditions. Your breaks are shorter, your patients are more acute. Most of your patients don't have a bed, a diagnosis, a doctor, and they are, understandably, running out of patience and taking it out on you. Burn out is very common, and, while it is a great specialty to work in for a few years while you are young, I could not see myself working there for more than 5-6 years. In fact, many of the older nurses working in ER are quite jaded, worn out, and often a little odd - as much as I love them! Anyways, best of luck to you in your nursing career, and should you choose ER nursing, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. DonGeo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenoa Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Great, thanks for clarifying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrique Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Never heard of McMaster, but to get into a BS nursing program you do need decent grades. There is a shortage of nurses but there is also a shortage of professors in college nursing programs. You may want to explore the community college route and get a RN first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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