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daughter still in HS......looking to be nurse but she might go on to be a doctor (her dream job).....looking for suggestions as to schools, suggestions, a game plan.....scholarships, etc..........
daughter still in HS......looking to be nurse but she might go on to be a doctor (her dream job).....looking for suggestions as to schools, suggestions, a game plan.....scholarships, etc..........
Nursing courses do not translate into pre-med courses. The clinical nursing classes are for nursing not medicine.
Today, many would be physicians are becoming nurse practitioners or physicians assistants. The job description is much like that of a physician, with specialties to match - from family practice and pedietrics, to anesthetist and psychiatry. The goal is an attainable one for most students who do well in science.
Training is still rigorous, but it's not as much of a crap shoot. Optometry is another way to go. These health care professionals have normal work hours and are not on call.
Are you only interested in schools in Connecticut?
First, make sure she takes a lot of science in high school. If she has the option and can fit it into her schedule, have her take an anatomy class--but not at the expense of chemistry and physics. Then, when selecting college, find schools that have a good pre-med advisory program. They will help her with course selection and all the "extras" you need for med school admissions-volunteer work especially. Do not fall into the assumption that you have to go to a top, Ivy school to get into med-school. Find a school where her grades put her in the top 25 % of the applicant pool where she can stand out as a student. That will get her noticed and give her more opportunities for research at the undergrad level. Getting into med school is all about your GPA and MCAT score for the first selection round. NO WHERE in that selection process does the name of your undergrad school come into play (it's all computerized). Find schools that have high rates, 85% or better, of kids going on to medical school out of those that apply.
I agree, nursing is not a good prep program for pre-med and it actually can hinder her some. They typically like to see majors that don't translate into direct careers. Biology, Psychology, Chemistry are good and typical majors for premed.
The MCAT test format is changing in 2015 so having a good pre-med advisory program is essential.
deeds, Perhaps if you give us more information, we can offer specific schools. What are some of her limiting factors? GPA/SAT scores? Geographic area? General price range? Small school? Merit aid or need based aid needed? Urban, rural or in-between?
I hope that it's your daughter's dream, and its not you pushing her to these career choices.
As a MSII, all I can say is that you better LOVE medicine if you want to become a doctor, because the burnout rate is high. For Undergrad, to be honest, it doesn't matter what school she goes too, just make sure that she does well in her classes, >90 percentile, graduate with honors, and then destroy the MCATs, which someone earlier mentioned, is being changed in 2015, so find a good prep program to learn the information and take the exam. The thing about the MCATs is that it is a standardized exam, which basically negates the university that you attend.
Again, make sure this is what she wants, but she hasn't even started college yet, people's interests change, and I mines did.
Fortunately for me and my daughter it has been her dream to be a doctor since @9yrs old.....I personally would like to see her become a physicician assistant or nurse practicioner, nurse anastheologist (bad spelling!!!) but it's her life and her dream to chase!!!!.......
We've also come across several schools that have their own medical schools or are affiliated with a medical school in some way that have auto-admit programs where if you meet certain criteria during your undergrad years you are automatically admitted to their medical schools. Some are based on GPA and MCAT score, one school (Truman State in MO) you don't have to take the MCAT if you meet their UG requirements. It's worth looking into since it sure takes a lot of stress off the process.
also bear in mind her undergrad does not have to be science related to get into med school, it could be history, english, art etc... as long as she takes the required science classes, the year of chem, orgo, physics, calc 1 etc... she will be fine. I wager having a liberal art degree may even give her an edge over the deluge of bio and chemistry grads who are applying for med school. As long as she hits the required sciences she is good
For a high school student, my suggestion is that she get as far as she can in math (and also science - especially chemistry and physics) so that she will be able to start right away with the intro to chemistry course. So many students begin college without the math background to be successful in chemistry and wind up having to take prerequisite math before they can even start on their science sequences... It can really set them back a few semesters.
When considering colleges, look at their success rate for students getting accepted into med school. If you contact their pre-med advising office, they should have that information readily available. It isn't always just the large universities (I work at a smaller college, and we have a very good success rate.) Getting into med school is highly competitive, and a high rate of successful applicants often means that their pre-med advisor knows what s/he or doing. It is so important that pre-med students to get proper advising starting from day 1 so that they understand the huge extent of volunteering, shadowing, and extracurricular involvement they need to do (and the med school admissions committees really frown on applicants who don't even start that until their 2nd or 3rd year)
This is also a really good time to start honing those time management skills and self-discipline. Doing all the things a pre-med student should be doing (extracurricular activities and a very demanding course load while maintaining a high GPA) takes a tremendous amount of effort - much more than most people realize.
Also, I strongly recommend she talk to various doctors as well of others in the health care field to get a solid sense of what the job is really like. A lot of students have the life long dream of being a doctor only to realize that maybe it isn't right for them once they shadow several doctors and see what the day-today life as a doctor is like. Other health fields people can consider are: pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, optometry, podiatry, anesthesiologist assistant, occupational therapy, pharmacology, genetic counseling, and public health. (and more - but that's just off the top of my head)
All great points! My daughter intermittently goes through an "I want to be a doctor" phase. I am not saying that this would be impossible for her, but I am not even sure that she would like it.
Her math and science grades are above average, but not anything to write home about. She likes math because it comes easily to her. She is actually not enamored with chemistry and she does not want to dissect anything. Since I have told her that med school requires the dissection of a human corpse, she winces.
When I was in nursing school we had to dissect a cat! It was horrible for me. These are not little things. If one can't do them because they are squeamish or because they have ethical concerns as does my daughter. medicine OR nursing just might not be for them.
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Fortunately it is my daughter's dream......
