Hi, I’m currently a high school senior. I’m planning on attending UC Irvine (if I get accepted) for pre-med. On my UC application, I selected Biological Sciences (B.S.) as my major, but I am conflicted.
I wouln’t mind having Bio Sciences as my major, as I have always been interested in science. But I know that I should select a major (that’s not biological science-related) that I can fall back on or a get a job with, if in the future, I don’t go to med school.
What I’m aiming for is to be a pediatrician. Thing is, the only other career I have in mind is to be a pediatric nurse (or even a pediatric nurse practicioner, but I need to research more about that career).
Would I need to get a bachelor’s in nursing to become a nurse? And how many years would I be spending to get that degree? Would the pre-reqs for med school fit in with the courses I would need to take for nursing?
A bachelor’s isn’t necessarily required.
There are various different levels of nursing training ranging from a ASN (associates degree in nursing) to a DNP (Doctorate in Nursing Practice).
ASN degrees take as little as 2 years. RN typically takes 3 years. BSN takes 4. All three degrees can be eligible to sit for NuCLEX (national nurse licensing exam).
Advanced practice nursing degrees (APRN) --like nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist or nurse midwife-- typically require a bachelor’s degree (BSN or BS +RN license) and X years of hands-on nursing experience (varies by program by usually 3 or more) for admission.
Additionally there are “fast-track” BS → BSN programs for college grads who already have degrees in biological sciences that cover just the basic nursing requirements plus clinical training that can be completed in as little as 18 months.
Still others programs offer a BS (biological sciences) -->MSN (with a practice sub-specialty) in 3 years.
So there are lots of different pathways into nursing. The amount of time required for training varies widely by the path you choose. Could be anywhere from 2 years to more than 10 years.
You should know that as a newly graduated RN or BSN, you probably won't get your choice of patient population to work with at first. New nurses usually need to get about three years of general nursing experience and seniority before they can start to pick what departments/patient populations they work with.
Some of the classes required for a BSN may overlap with coursework required for med school admission. Things like intro bio, gen chem and ochem.
At UCI, it looks like nearly all the pre-med requirements would be included in the BSN program.
So ask yourself which career path is more agreeable with your long-term life goals?
And remember that there's no guarantee that even if you do get into med school, you'll qualify for a pediatric residency.
<a href="https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/Committees-Councils-Sections/Medical-Students/Documents/msnewsletter_june2012.pdf">https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/Committees-Councils-Sections/Medical-Students/Documents/msnewsletter_june2012.pdf</a>
If med school is the goal I would advise against a nursing (or any other vocational) major. You should stick with academic majors like biological science (or another example would be economics is better than accounting)
No
Depends on the undergraduate school. Nursing schools do not require the same level of science education as medical schools so some undergrad schools have separate classes for the nursing students but some don’t.
That’s definitely closer to an MD in terms of responsibilities and privileges than a nurse.
Thanks for your input. I’m starting to consider that I can find the same satisfaction with becoming a pediatric nurse / nurse practitioner. Also I’m starting to think of the downsides of becoming a pediatrician. What to major in, especially, is stressing me out. But thank you for your replies, I really appreciate it.
I cross posted with WOWMom earlier.
While true, pediatrics is one of the non-competitive specialties (1817/1890 matched in 2014 or 96% match rate for US MDs). If you would be willing to go the like of rural Iowa or North Dakota, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll get a peds spot. The “no specialty is guaranteed” line is better suited for those going to med school aiming to be a dermatologist, plastic surgeon and the other competitive specialties rather than peds/family medicine and the other non-competitive ones.
Also, don’t forget Physician Assistant as an option too. https://www.aapa.org/what-is-a-pa/
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Nursing schools do not require the same level of science education as medical schools so some undergrad schools have separate classes for the nursing students
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Yes. I would look closely at WHICH science classes are required for nursing vs premed. The Calif publics typically have “bio for non majors” or “chem for nursing majors” or similar for nursing majors. Those aren’t typically the classes that premeds take.
You can become an RN by going through a for profit career training program which takes about one year to complete, instead of getting a traditional AAS or BS degree.
For some reason majoring in Nursing is not advisable for a pre-med.