amanda061 Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Does anyone know if it's possible to apply for med school with Nursing as an undergrad degree? I'm currently enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Nursing, I have a fairly high GPA (3.93), but am considering switching into a general biology degree because I have heard a lot of med schools won't consider nursing students. I have contacted several medical schools that said the type degree doesn't matter but you can only have 1 pass/fail class per semester, and in nursing all clinical classes are pass/fail. University of Ottawa also does not accept students from professional degrees, and some people tell me Nursing is a professional degree, others say it isn't, the med admissions hasn't given me a straight answer. However, others have told me that they know Nursing students who are now in medical school, so I'm wondering if anyone else can provide more info on this topic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle_MD Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 It's like you said, some schools it will be hard to apply with a nursing degree and others it's no problem, so you have to figure that out and focus on the schools that will accept it, such as McMaster and actually many Ontario schools I believe. Ottawa U doesn't accept nursing because we have too many clinicals so it's impossible to have 3 years with a full course load. Personally, I wouldn't drop out of nursing and take a random degree because what if you don't get into medicine or what if it takes a couple of tries? You will be really glad you have a career when you graduate; and having nursing experience will also boost your application if you don't get in right away. At the end of the day it is a personal decision, but as a fellow nurse I would say you might be really glad to have a nursing job at the end of all this, especially while you are in the process of applying to med. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPatting Posted November 8, 2014 Report Share Posted November 8, 2014 It's like you said, some schools it will be hard to apply with a nursing degree and others it's no problem, so you have to figure that out and focus on the schools that will accept it, such as McMaster and actually many Ontario schools I believe. Ottawa U doesn't accept nursing because we have too many clinicals so it's impossible to have 3 years with a full course load. Personally, I wouldn't drop out of nursing and take a random degree because what if you don't get into medicine or what if it takes a couple of tries? You will be really glad you have a career when you graduate; and having nursing experience will also boost your application if you don't get in right away. At the end of the day it is a personal decision, but as a fellow nurse I would say you might be really glad to have a nursing job at the end of all this, especially while you are in the process of applying to med. Hope that helps! Hey, I'm a fellow nursing student. I don't think U of O explicitly says they don't accept nursing as a UG, correct me if I am wrong. At my institution, our practice courses are not pass/fail (for the first 3 years), but even then, it is STILL possible to have 3 years with a full course load. I'm unsure about 4 years of a full course load however, because in 4th year we are in clinical a lot. It may be very hard to balance studying/clinical and trying to arrange shifts you can work with your preceptor in 4th year, but I still think it is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almighty Saguaro Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Hey, I'm a fellow nursing student. I don't think U of O explicitly says they don't accept nursing as a UG, correct me if I am wrong. At my institution, our practice courses are not pass/fail (for the first 3 years), but even then, it is STILL possible to have 3 years with a full course load. I'm unsure about 4 years of a full course load however, because in 4th year we are in clinical a lot. It may be very hard to balance studying/clinical and trying to arrange shifts you can work with your preceptor in 4th year, but I still think it is possible. While I haven't seen any statement categorically excluding nursing students from consideration, I do recall reading somewhere (probably on the OMSAS information brochure) that Ottawa will not consider work towards a professional degree as an undergraduate degree. So unless you have non-professional undergraduate experience, it seems you will not be eligible to apply to Ottawa. I really can't think of a good reason why this policy is in place...it seems unnecessarily discriminatory! If their concern is strictly about pass/fail credits then it would make sense to exclude people with a lot of such credits rather than make a blanket exclusion of professional students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almighty Saguaro Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Does anyone know if it's possible to apply for med school with Nursing as an undergrad degree? I'm currently enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Nursing, I have a fairly high GPA (3.93), but am considering switching into a general biology degree because I have heard a lot of med schools won't consider nursing students. I have contacted several medical schools that said the type degree doesn't matter but you can only have 1 pass/fail class per semester, and in nursing all clinical classes are pass/fail. University of Ottawa also does not accept students from professional degrees, and some people tell me Nursing is a professional degree, others say it isn't, the med admissions hasn't given me a straight answer. However, others have told me that they know Nursing students who are now in medical school, so I'm wondering if anyone else can provide more info on this topic? I would suggest visiting the websites of the schools you're interested in. What you will likely find is that most of the admissions requirement statements of Ontario schools do not seem to exclude nursing students. BScN is most definitely a professional program (if it isn't, I don't know what is). For most schools, the mere fact that you're working towards an undergraduate degree makes you eligible (as long as you've got the required number of credits). If possible, when you're ready to apply, I would also suggest going to see the admissions people in person. I have found this to be a good way of getting concrete answers to your questions instead of receiving the generic drivel they tend to send in response to email inquiries. Of course, you will want to follow up such discussions with an email summary just so it's all documented. If your GPA is good, which I would say it is, I don't think there is much reason to quit nursing for a generic arts/science undergrad. I think being a professional student gives you amazing exposure to medicine that will provide you with unique insights during the application process. As well, as has already been mentioned, I don't imagine it would hurt to have the option of practicing nursing while applying to med school (if you don't get in during undergrad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermaholoic Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 I go to an american med school and at my school applications from nursing majors are insta-rejections. But to go back on track, I know mcmaster loves nurses. My friends at mac commented at first how their group had a ton of former nurses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopefullll Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I just wanted to clarify that Ottawa DOES ACCEPT Bachelor of Science's in Nursing degrees, and that what PeterPatting said is correct.I emailed Diane Parent "I am just wondering that if an applicant has completed all the required prerequisites, does UOttawa accept students who have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing into their MD program?" and her reply was "There is no special weight or preference given to any particular baccalaureate degree completed at a recognized university"meaning that a BScN would suffice as long as it meets all the other requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPatting Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I just wanted to clarify that Ottawa DOES ACCEPT Bachelor of Science's in Nursing degrees, and that what PeterPatting said is correct. I emailed Diane Parent "I am just wondering that if an applicant has completed all the required prerequisites, does UOttawa accept students who have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing into their MD program?" and her reply was "There is no special weight or preference given to any particular baccalaureate degree completed at a recognized university" meaning that a BScN would suffice as long as it meets all the other requirements. Awesome!!! Thank you rachel_RN. I wonder what they mean exactly then when they state that "Studies completed toward a professional degree will not be recognized as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amichel Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Awesome!!! Thank you rachel_RN. I wonder what they mean exactly then when they state that "Studies completed toward a professional degree will not be recognized as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree" Probably that overseas medical degrees (without a bachelors) don't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathToMed Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Awesome!!! Thank you rachel_RN. I wonder what they mean exactly then when they state that "Studies completed toward a professional degree will not be recognized as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree" This is an umbrella term, things like teachers college, occupational therapy (without a degree) etc. Fall into this category as well. I Besides the pass/fail courses, do you otherwise meet the course load requirements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPatting Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 This is an umbrella term, things like teachers college, occupational therapy (without a degree) etc. Fall into this category as well. I Besides the pass/fail courses, do you otherwise meet the course load requirements? Luckily at my institution we only have one pass/fail course which is our 4th year practice course, which includes our very time consuming clinical placement hours. By nature, 4th year in my BScN program does not fulfill the course load requirements, so I will be required to take extra courses outside of my degree requirements to fulfill said requirements. I still need to speak with the student affairs office to see how to go about doing this. Other than this, the first 3 years of my program do meet the course requirements as we have the opportunity to take at least 5 courses per semester. Btw I love your avatar haha, Monster was an awesome anime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
della19 Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 MUN definitely takes nursing students, as we have several RN's in the class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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