Gen chem 1 and 2 during BSN degree?

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Hi, everybody. I'm a recent ADN graduate currently working on my BSN full time. I'm really struggling with the decision whether to start taking medical school pre reqs (Gen chem) this fall with my BSN classes.

The reason I can't decide is because I haven't fully made the decision whether to pursue np school or medical school yet. If I were to decide to pursue np school gen chem will not be necessary. However, if I don't take gen chem this year and decide to pursue medical school I will be a year behind taking pre reqs.

Taking gen chem 1 and 2 will put me at 18 credits this fall and 21 in the spring. I believe I can handle this but it will not leave me a lot of time for employment as a RN, shadowing, etc.

I do not necessarily want to add on gen chem at this point but I would hate to add an extra year to take med school pre reqs if that is the pathway I end up deciding.

For those of you who have went through a RN to BSN degree would you recommend taking gen chem along with it? Or would you recommend just waiting and beginning all the pre reqs after my BSN?

Thank you!

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[Noisewater-TDX]

I did my ADN, took a break and did my med school prereqs, then went back and did a BSN online. It's crucial you get good grades in all the prereqs and get a good foundation for when you take Ochem 1/2 and eventually the MCAT.

I think i would wait until after you complete your BSN to do the prerequisites.

 

[pamac]

I did my ADN, took a break and did my med school prereqs, then went back and did a BSN online. It's crucial you get good grades in all the prereqs and get a good foundation for when you take Ochem 1/2 and eventually the MCAT.

I think i would wait until after you complete your BSN to do the prerequisites.

I agree with the above. Grades are so important in everything these days, but especially medical school. I didn’t feel like my BSN was difficult, but it consumed time that I would want to have for chemistry. I actually think your chemistry courses will take more time out of your life than the BSN, so I wouldn’t want to risk getting overwhelmed having to juggle the two. It’s just a time thing, not a level of difficulty thing. But it’s so hard to dig out of of bad grades, so I wouldn’t risk it.

 

[pamac]

I should mention that I’ve done a BSN after an ADN, and well before that, I had taken the gen chems, and o chems, and biochem.... the real ones, not the nursing ones. I just think that being a new nurse, working on the BSN, and doing the chemistry’s is biting off too much. Plus, you’ll have to work your work schedule around your chem labs. They will have training at work that will be required, and you’ll have to fit it around all the stuff you have going on. Its just a lot to juggle. You’ll want to be enjoying life as you go, and not being frustrated. Plus, it’s really handy to have good BSN grades when you apply to Np school if you do. Sure, a lot of places will take you if you have a pulse, but they may make you take the GRE if you haven’t reached a GpA threshold. My program was quite picky, and had he attitude for me to not get my hopes up until I told them what my GPA was. Then they started taking like it was a foregone conclusion that I was getting in (had a 4.0). I also could get in anywhere I wanted to. But when I was working on my BSN, there were times when I was like “should I just not worry about handing my paper in today, and do it tomorrow?”. Instead, I bit the bullet and decided to wait until later to be super lazy. But it never came to that, and I was glad I put in that little bit of extra effort. It opened some doors.

 

[chemphysicsinstructor]

Hi, everybody. I'm a recent ADN graduate currently working on my BSN full time. I'm really struggling with the decision whether to start taking medical school pre reqs (Gen chem) this fall with my BSN classes.

The reason I can't decide is because I haven't fully made the decision whether to pursue np school or medical school yet. If I were to decide to pursue np school gen chem will not be necessary. However, if I don't take gen chem this year and decide to pursue medical school I will be a year behind taking pre reqs.

Taking gen chem 1 and 2 will put me at 18 credits this fall and 21 in the spring. I believe I can handle this but it will not leave me a lot of time for employment as a RN, shadowing, etc.

I do not necessarily want to add on gen chem at this point but I would hate to add an extra year to take med school pre reqs if that is the pathway I end up deciding.

For those of you who have went through a RN to BSN degree would you recommend taking gen chem along with it? Or would you recommend just waiting and beginning all the pre reqs after my BSN?

Thank you!

Here is my opinion and perspective: I currently have a student pursuing a nursing degree while taking chemistry and physics pre-requisites for medical school. We worked out a plan for her to complete the courses (in the online format+at home lab kits) so that she can eventually pursue her goal of being a doctor. She is a bit of a special case since she has two young children at home and cannot commute to the main campus where on-ground classes are held. I usually recommend that students taking distance learning courses work with a local tutor, but to my surprise, I found out that she already has a tutor available since her husband has a doctorate in organic chemistry.

I am really pleased and satisfied that I am able to help students like her succeed.

 

[la flame]

I'm a new grad RN working at home health part time (just one 12 hour shift a week). This job is relatively "easy" per say and there is a lot of downtime to study. I wanted to work at a hospital like everyone else I graduated with, but they don't do "new grad residencies" that are part time or that would work with my schedule for my premed prereqs, which is why I chose this Home Health job that works extremely well with my schedule.

School wise, I don't know how hard your curriculum will be. Are you taking medsurge/acute care classes? Or are you taking "nursing theory" BS fluff classes like research, ethics, leadership, etc? I'm unfamiliar with the courses ADN-to-BSN's take. If your taking hard medsurge classes, I would honestly wait on the premed classes. I mean yeah, you don't want to wait another year, but applying to medical school is a marathon, not a race. Not only do you want to make A's in all your premed classes, but you should also focus on nursing school "core" classes to become a better nurse...for yourself...and your patients.

Personally, I took Gen Chem 2 in my last semester of nursing school, but it was because my last semester of my BSN was bs fluff classes like leadership so I had plenty of time to study and make an A. Be honest with yourself. You have plenty of time. Last thing you want to is to fall behind in your BSN that you also worked very hard for. Goodluck.

 

[DrNotaDr]

ADN to BSN are not challenging, but they are time consuming. Wait until you have the time you need to get the A’s in the hard sciences, waiting another year to apply to med school will make your application stronger, not weaker.