paramedic to bsn

jsoelberg said:
The end goal of my education is to get that bachelor's degree and go on to medical school.
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If you want to go to medical school, then don't mess around with nursing classes. Get into a 4 year college, do a major that you are interested in (and by interested in, I mean what you want to learn, not what you think the ad coms want. Humanities majors have a higher success rate for getting into medical school than biology majors), and get your prereqs done (g-chem, O-chem, year of biology, year of physics, year of calculus/stats will get the requirements for most schools. Some schools want a year of psych and others want a biochem course). Do some volunteering and shadowing when you have time, but your course work is going to be the most important thing. In the end, getting past the first cut (5000 applicants to 700 interviews on average) is a pure numbers game and if your GPA and MCAT isn't up to snuff, then no amount of nursing courses, EMS certifications, or any thing else will get you in to a US medical school (MD or DO).

Working in a health care field is a small 'plus 1,' but won't overcome major weaknesses. On the other hand, changing fields from say, nursing to medicine might bring up some questions on your application.
 
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JS: We are just assuming you don't have any college at this point... tell us if we are wrong.

You also need to understand that you cannot even get into any of these BSN programs UNTIL you have fulfilled all the prerequisites. They are two completely separate processes. You have to fulfill all the prereqs THEN you apply to be accepted into a BSN program.

Additionally, for the programs that actually give you a little course credit for your paramedic (eg Washburn/WSU), you cannot just graduate with your P ticket and show up. You need to work as a medic full time for at least 6 months.

And to reiterate the point, unless your P program made you take A&P at a local college, you do NOT have the A&P background to be a nurse and you WILL have to take two semesters of it at the college level to get into any BSN or ADN program.

Seriously, if you want to be an MD/DO, go get a BS in something you want to study that allows you to take med shcool prereqs. If you get a BSN, you'll still need to take another 1-2 years at college in very hard prereqs to qualify for medschool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Don't use BSN as premed.

Check with the med school you are targeting for thier suggested premed courses.
 
All of the suggested and required med school courses are available on each school's admissions department webpage. It's relatively easy to find, but I listed the almost universal requirments earlier.

I also would highly advise against just applying to one or two schools. About half of the students who apply to US MD schools are not admitted. The numbers for DO schools aren't quite as easy to find, but it's also not a cake walk. When you do apply, you will want to apply as widely as you can because there is no sure thing as a guarenteed spot unless you have it in writting from the school. The proverbal "4.0 and 40" student who doesn't get in isn't a lie.
 
jsoelberg said:
I have found four or five schools that do offer a paramedic to bsn program, and they all state minimum requirement of the license. They have pre-requisite courses, but offer the chance to challenge each course by exam, which I am very confident in.
I repeat, I have found four or five schools already, I was just wondering if anybody knew of any more. I realize the pre-reqs, and I can handle those.
Any *constructive* comments?
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Folks in the midwest seem to go with Excelsior more than any other. I know many a nurse who graduated through the program. Good luck in your search.
 
I was able to get a 3 hour 'internship' credit at the university towards my bachelor's of science for my 40-something credit hour medic class at a different school :rolleyes: .Even taking into consideration the school offers a 4 hour ambulance internship for medical school. :angry: :deadhorse: . It is a wonder I haven't turned to heavy alcohol or drug abuse yet..........B)
 
Yea... but a 4 hour internship for a premed is essentially worthless.
 
rescue99 said:
Folks in the midwest seem to go with Excelsior more than any other. I know many a nurse who graduated through the program. Good luck in your search.
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Check their website. More states are not accepting Excelsior. Those that still do require a minimum of 700 additional clinical hours. The other states require that you work as an RN in one of the few states that accepts Excelsior. In my area, you will not be eligible to work in any of our ICUs and even finding a med-surg position might be a struggle. There are too many well qualified grads from traditional programs that have done real clincials applying for these jobs.

Once you have an entry level RN Associates degree, you can then get a BSN or whatever degree online at an accredited university.
 
VentMedic said:
Check their website. More states are not accepting Excelsior. Those that still do require a minimum of 700 additional clinical hours. The other states require that you work as an RN in one of the few states that accepts Excelsior.
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Wow! Sketchy!

Of course any school that needs to put a link on their main page titled "Why Hiring Our Nursing Grads Makes Sense" is definitely sketchy.
 
Summit said:
Wow! Sketchy!

Of course any school that needs to put a link on their main page titled "Why Hiring Our Nursing Grads Makes Sense" is definitely sketchy.
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Was this the site?

http://www.istudysmart.com/content.asp?cid=43

Does my state board accept Excelsior College Nursing Degrees?

Most state boards accept Excelsior College Nursing Degrees. However, there are a few exceptions.
  • Alabama State Board presently evaluates Excelsior College graduates on an individual basis.
  • Georgia State Board presently accepts Excelsior College graduates through reciprocity but will not allow them to sit for boards.
  • Illinois State Board does not recognize Excelsior College degrees.
  • Louisiana, Washington, and Florida State Boards accept all who were LPN's.
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California Residents:
The California Board of Nursing will not accept ADN degrees from Excelsior College School of Nursing students who enrolled on or after December 6, 2003. (March/2004)

Colorado ASN Graduates sitting for boards:
Anyone registered before January 1, 2006 will be grandfathered in with no changes to them as long as they keep their registration with Excelsior active by paying the applicable maintenance fee each year. Those who complete an Associate Degree and are not LPNs will need 750 additional clinical hours. Those who complete an Associate Degree and are LPNs will need 350 additional clinical hours. The state of CO is currently working on a plan to make those additional clinical hours available. (9/2005)
 
Didn't say I thought Excelsior was the only way to go. I said I know a number who have gone that route. The OP was asking a question. I gave an example of one Medic to RN program I am familiar with is all. My personal choice would be to attend a state or local college.
 
http://www.canyons.edu/offices/pio/nr062309nursing.html

Might check this out but from what i hear from the instructors of this program is that it is a state funded program to help with the nursing shortage in CA. If that is true i would expect to see these programs starting up all over CA in the near future. The largest benefit i see from this is being able to skip the 2-3 year wait list that most california nursing programs have which start after you have completed the pre-reqs.
 
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CLDutcher said:
http://www.canyons.edu/offices/pio/nr062309nursing.html

Might check this out but from what i hear from the instructors of this program is that it is a state funded program to help with the nursing shortage in CA. If that is true i would expect to see these programs starting up all over CA in the near future. The largest benefit i see from this is being able to skip the 2-3 year wait list that most california nursing programs have which start after you have completed the pre-reqs.
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This has been discussed many times and the semesters they want to eliminate are the meat and potatoes of nursing. If the Paramedic skips med-surg and only does the "specialty" semesters, they will be very lost when it comes to time management of several patients with the hands on skills of assessment and tasks with several patients. This does not give them or the hospitals an advantage. The hospitals will then spend a fortune on several months of training these Paramedics wannabe RNs. This is what happened in the 80s when these programs were tried whiich caused many of the transition programs to go away. Looks like history will again repeat itself.

And California?
 
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OP, If your goal is to be a MD/DO then I would advise against trying to get your BSN at this point. Like another poster said so something that you like. Currently getting into a BSN program can be very difficult, which, you probably do not need to deal with while trying to make sure things are lined up for your end goal. While a bachelors is required go with something else...I think that will speed up your education. If you have any questions about BSN I can try to help, feel free to PM me. Good Luck
 
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