I am currently starting my second year in a four-year BSN program and am thinking about attending med school after I graduate. Do you think that I would need to take an extra year of college to be prepared for the MCATs or would my RN training be enough? Maybe it just depends on the science classes that I take.
Also, is it too ambitious to want to become an RN before an MD or should I change my major to something like Chemistry or Biology? I'm thinking if I stay in the nursing program and med school doesn't work out then I will have something to fall back on.
You could major in basketweaving and have a strong application to medical school, as long as you take all the prerequisite courses, do reasonably well in them, and have decent MCATs. It wouldn't hurt to have a few other strengths to put on the application and some adequate interviewing skills including being prepared to speak about your background and why you made the choices you made.
Your reasoning seems plausible to have a fall-back, and I don't think there is anything "too ambitious" about the plan.
There is no need to take an extra year of college for the MCATs. YOu can do a post-bach course, to take physics, organic chemistry, chemistry and biology (although you should have probably taken them for your RN). The best thing to do is take an MCAT prep course, through Princeton review of Kaplan. The RN degree is great and will be helpful once in med school, but is a lot of work if you know you want an MD.
Steph MD
Steph,
Thanks for the reply! Could you tell me how I could get more info on the Princeton review of Kaplan?
Thanks!