Do You Have To Go To Medical School To Be A Registered Nurse

The field of nursing tin exist used as a stepping rock to the next level of the care delivery model. Although few Registered Nurses (RN) cull the path of medical doctor (Doc), those who do can find a rewarding and lucrative career at the caput of the healthcare food chain.

How Does an RN Go an Dr.?

Nurses take a greater insight into the world of medicine, the hospital and clinical surroundings, and the interprofessional relationships required in medicine, than do well-nigh medical students. Information technology is non uncommon for medical students coming into the clinical settings to not have past healthcare experience. For example, in addition to their clinical rotations in nursing school, nigh nurses have spent several years in a hospital or emergency department (ED) setting prior to starting medical school. Conversely, as medical schools typically do not require prior healthcare experience, most medical students have limited-to-no exposure to a clinical environs.

However, existence a nurse does not suffice for the required educational activity and testing that is required to exist admitted into medical school. RNs with a BSN are much closer to the requirements of medical schoolhouse than the ADN RN, but it is even so a long educational road. That said, nurses who are veterans or active duty with the military typically take specialized pathways to medical schoolhouse comprisal, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Educational activity Requirements

Nurses with a BSN will most likely have already completed basic anatomy, chemistry, and physiology. More in-depth course work is required for consideration to a medical school program. Most schools require a Bachelor of Science (B.South.) or Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) at minimum.

Premedical requirements for most accredited medical schools include:

Biology (with lab) at to the lowest degree 8 semester hours
General Chemistry (with lab) at to the lowest degree viii semester hours
Organic Chemical science (with lab) at least 4 semester hours
Biochemistry at to the lowest degree 4 semester hours
Humanities (English, history, foreign language, etc.) at least 24 semester hours
Mathematics (Calculus and/or statistics) at to the lowest degree 8 semester hours
Physics (with lab) at to the lowest degree 8 semester units

For many programs, applicants must provide testify of these cadre characteristics:

Excellence in academic studies
Leadership
Service to others
Teamwork power

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This is accomplished past letters of recommendation and through interviews straight with the institution.

Applicants to medical schoolhouse must also sit for an examination called the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) that volition test the comprehension and knowledge caused in the higher up courses. The format and focus of the MCAT is updated occasionally by AAMC, the programmer and administrator of the examination. As of the 2015 model, an boilerplate MCAT score is 500 whereas scores of students attention Ivy League colleges such as Harvard Medical Schoolhouse accept an average score of 518.

However, MCAT score solitary does not guarantee i a spot in an accredited medical program and this is where the nurse may have the advantage. Virtually medical schools are seeking candidates with a well-rounded background in all areas. Nurses who have a solid GPA for their available's degree, required premedical coursework, average MCAT scores and letters of recommendation even so have an ace in the pigsty: their proven ability to piece of work on a squad in a diversified and highly stressful environs. These are the characteristics being sought by flush educational institutions such equally Johns Hopkins Academy Medical School.

In this historic period of applied science and simulation, there are more and more online medical school programs available to potential students. For example, Oceania University offers programs that have online didactic coursework combined with clinical rotations throughout the country. University of South Florida also offers an online medical schoolhouse selection through their Morsani College of Medicine. Nurses must exist aware, however, that many traditional schools do not accept online coursework for many requirements.

Residency

Once the four years of medical school is consummate, the Doctor so applies for a residency programme to specialize in a item field of medicine. The first year of residency is considered the internship year where the intern rotates through various specialties (general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedics, etc.) or rotates to subspecialties within a specialty area. Assessing and treating patients as a team with other interns and residents, attending lectures and being "on call" during the night for problems that may arise is the role of the intern and resident. The residency portion of preparation lasts three or more than years and tin then move into more than intensive training chosen a fellowship. MDs in a residency program are usually paid between $40,000 to $l,000 per twelvemonth.

Licensure and Board Certification

Once the residency or fellowship is complete, a license is required to exercise medicine in each state. Licensure requires graduation from an accredited medical schoolhouse and at least one twelvemonth of residency, depending on the state. There are several exams to consummate, such as the USMLE, and typically letters of recommendation and malpractice groundwork cheque is completed prior to the issuing of the license. For board certification in a specialty area, the Doctor must consummate the specialty residency program and pass a comprehensive test (usually written and oral). Most boards crave recertification every 7-10 years. According to the American Board of Medical Specialties, at that place are 24 medical specialty boards in the U.S.

Cost of Medical School

In addition to the tuition costs of medical schoolhouse, there are other considerations such equally awarding fees, MCAT fees, MCAT preparation courses, individual fees from the medical school, and travel costs for medical school interviews. Nurses must too consider their credit score every bit loan fees and rates will vary based on credit scores.

The cost of actual tuition varies based on the individual school. Tuition rates run from $24,843 to $48,843 per twelvemonth. The total medical schoolhouse debt is anywhere from $122,545 to $224,566 depending on the institution. The boilerplate medical school debt is $164,776 for the doctorate lone. When ane considers the debt of tuition and the lost potential income during medical school, studies advise MDs are over $400,00 in the hole prior to starting their careers.

Career Options for MDs

With 24 specialty areas in addition to general practice, the career options for physicians is limitless. The demand for MDs, peculiarly in rural or underserved areas such every bit inner city or programs such equally Indian Health Services, has never been college. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), physicians and surgeons are projected to take a 13% growth rate from 2016 to 2026. In 2016 alone, there were 713,000 jobs posted in the U.S. for physicians and surgeons.

RN to Doc Wage Comparison

The BLS states that wages for physicians and surgeons are among the highest salaries of all occupations. Median wage for an Doctor is more $208,000 annually. The more specialized the dr., the higher the pay. Anesthesiologists annual salary averages $266,000 compared to a pediatrician salary of $187,000 per year. Conversely, the median salary for an RN ranges from $60,000 to $70,000 depending on the work surround.

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Nurses who choose the path less traveled to medical doctor can expect a long and tenuous experience. The want for a college salary lonely is rarely enough motivation to dedicate 12 or more years to an education path riddled with stress, lost slumber, intense courses and the highest level of patient care accountability. Nurses may besides face the "United states vs. Them" challenge from their peers on choosing to become a md. That said, for those rare nurses who take gone through this burn down, they value and appreciate their time as a nurse and believe it aided them tremendously through the medical school feel.

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Amanda Bucceri Androus is a Registered Nurse from Sacramento, California. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. She began her career working night shifts on a pediatric/ med-surg unit of measurement for six years, later transferring to a telemetry unit where she worked for iv more than years. She currently works as a charge nurse in a busy outpatient primary care section. In her spare time she likes to read, travel, write, and spend time with her married man and two children.