Medical Which route better serves me to prepare for medical school?

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello!

I'm just finishing up my ADN and looking at options for RN-BSN. I have attended information sessions at a couple of state universities near me. Here's my dilemma: most programs are 2 or 3 semesters long and I want to get some pre-reqs for med school out of the way while getting my BSN, but there's also a limit to how many units one can take (due to impaction).

Alternate route: Finish BSN online from a reputable school. This would take half the time (7-8 months). Also half the cost. There are a couple schools that I have researched. Question is, would it negatively affect my chances of getting into a med school? I tried looking online but couldn't find much data to make a decision. I am aware the pre reqs can not be taken online.

Speaking of pre reqs, would it really kill me to take a couple at my local CC? I am thinking may be Gen Chem I & II as well as Eng I & II. Then I can take the rest at a 4 year or even do a formal post bacc at an extension. Good thing about this is I'll be done with my Bachelor's by then as well, allowing me to solely focus on upper level classes (Orgo I & II, biochem, Calc, Physics I & II)

Any help to steer me right is appreciated!

You need to network with admissions staff and students at the medical schools where you really want to go. Coursework for nursing is not similar in rigor to traditional biomedical science coursework that most medical schools desire. Doing coursework at community colleges is okay so far as it's very early prerequisites similar to the Chem I/II and English I/II courses you stated, but you will need to take some upper-level biomedical coursework appropriate for biomedical science majors (microbiology, genetics, cell biology, physiology, histology, etc.) to be on par with most of the applicants against whom your file will be compared. Those classes should be taken at a 4-year institution. To that end, you're going to need some help with your academic advisors with planning coursework to accommodate what you want.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Appreciate the input!

Given I follow the advice and simulate the rigor expected, would my online BSN degree still be looked down upon or it'd be a non-factor at that point?

Isn't it more a question of where you can go not where you want to go (unless of course you fall well on the right side of the bell curve)? GPA and MCAT scores alone put so many schools beyond reach for so many students. In my case, both of those factors are yet to be determined. My GPA so far is 3.71, but that obviously means little with a considerable amount of coursework yet to be done. When the time comes, I will be making a list of MD and DO schools where I stand a realistic chance of getting in based on my final stats whenever it is I get done. For now, I am taking more of a generalized approach and making sure I don't make any errors along the way that are hard to recover from.

Mandatory:
Bio I/II
Chem I/II
O-Chem I/II
Physics I/II
English I/II

Strongly recommended:
Calc I (and II for some schools)
Stats
Biochem

ULB:
Genetics
Histology
Molecular Cell Biology

I already have Stats, leaving me with 12 classes to take that are listed under 'Mandatory' and "Strongly recommended'. Would my application not be complete/competitive with just these?

Oh and I have also taken Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology (all 3 were needed for RN school admission). I made A's on all three, so there's no point in repeating any of them at a 4 year. Do you recommend I take all three classes listed under 'ULB' just for the sole purpose of increasing my odds of getting in? The reason I ask is, in my research so far, none of these classes were marked as absolute must-haves. I could be wrong, though. Also, I base that on the fact that so many philosophy and art majors get away with doing just the bare minimum ('Mandatory' alone or in some cases 'Mandatory' + 'Others') when transitioning over to the medical field. Surely, nursing school is more rigorous, no?

Sorry it is a long post, there are just so many things and questions I have floating around in my mind.

Very grateful for the help!

Do you have access to the Medical School Admissions Requirements? I don't know which schools you are most interested in, but each school's list of recommended courses should inform you of the ULB list of courses you may want to take. I would also make sure that your Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology courses taken were appropriate for SCIENCE/BIOLOGY majors. I am aware that those courses are also taught to nursing students and are NOT as rigorous; many admissions folks thus discount any nursing majors taking those classes if they see the class syllabi stating this (and these classes must do so). Another place where I looked up whether those classes are more for nursing or biology majors is the required coursework list for each major that I can find in each university's course catalog (online). I can also find out whether intro biology courses are intended for non-majors as well (to address your question why philosophy and art majors can take biology... for their general education requirements). So unfortunately, there remains for many faculty a hierarchy of scientific rigor among majors and departments. That's why there are questions that persist on the "right major" to take for medical school.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

No, I do not yet have access to MSAR. I had no idea it lists all the hard requirements as well as recommended courses for each medical school. Sounds like something I can use. I don't know why I was under the impression that students usually purchase MSAR right before applying to see what school would be a good fit for their stats.

Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology are all listed under "Major Courses'. They each have an equivalent under 'Non-major Courses', which is 3 units as opposed to 5. So I think these the ones I took were proper. I will schedule an appointment with a counsellor to further discuss this matter.

Normally if you are a current student, you could see if your prehealth advisor has access codes to the AAMC MSAR to give you for free. Since it appears you aren't in that situation, you're going to have to purchase it or rely on those on SDN who copy that information down, but I don't know if they have complete information. That's why so many go into the individual forums to clarify where to find that information if publicly available.

It should be easy to figure out with your A&P and Micro coursework since it's clearly printed on the syllabus and on any schedules towards degree. Good luck talking with your academic advisor.

P.S. I also will warn against completing degrees online, even if it's a BSN. There still exists a strong preference towards mostly in-house/in-class degrees as opposed to those earned through online curricula.