BSN for medically trained veterans!

[Devildoc]

To build on this, I once had a friend who was an ED doc. I frequently brought patients into his ED. He's passed on now, but he tried like the dickens to get me to go to med school. I felt I was too old, didn't want to go into that kind of debt (loans for school plus loans to live on, etc). His answer to my reticence was, "Look, loans are loans and you'll pay them off. If you start now, you'll be a doc by 40. You're going to be 40 anyway; wouldn't you rather be 40 and an EM doc?"

I was an idiot and didn't listen, so I remain a paramedic who occasionally shoots people.

Don't be me. Take the opportunity to improve your lot in life.

Same. I was a corpsman in the reserve and a paramedic; a mentor of mine who was an attending in the ED of the local hospital (he is still there) was also on the admissions board of the med school. He encouraged me to apply, but having two young kids and a few other factors really dissuaded me. I think about it from time to time...you know, if I had done it now I would be doing XXXX....but I don't regret my decision.

 

[TLDR20]

I have zero desire to be an MD. But all the desire in the world to be an advanced practice nurse. There are a lot of opportunities in medicine to make lots of money and have lots of responsibility outside of the MD track.

 

[Devildoc]

I have zero desire to be an MD. But all the desire in the world to be an advanced practice nurse. There are a lot of opportunities in medicine to make lots of money and have lots of responsibility outside of the MD track.

When I was going down the decision-making algorithm, "quality of life" came up often. I make pretty good money, can go anywhere and do anything (in nursing), and my time is my time, and I get a lot of it. I make the same as NPs in this area (actually make more than the starting salary of NPs at the local hospital); of course, CRNAs make serious bank, and NPs elsewhere do much better. I do not regret my decision.

 

[Docboats]

I know this is old, but had to revive anyway...

I am seriously considering applying to med school next year (trying for USU, but will apply for HPSP if I get accepted somewhere else close to home). After seeing this thread, I decided to poke around and see if there are any veteran-BSN programs close to home... turns out there is one a few miles from my house. I could WALK to this school, graduate BSN 18 months from now, commission Navy (or Army), and still get out with a decent retirement in my early 40's, and go on to have plenty of time for a fulfilling civilian life.

Pretty interesting considering the earliest I could have an MD/DO would be 6 years from now...and then residency.

BTW: Background = turning 30, wife, 4 boys, own a house, blah blah

 

[TLDR20]

I know this is old, but had to revive anyway...

I am seriously considering applying to med school next year (trying for USU, but will apply for HPSP if I get accepted somewhere else close to home). After seeing this thread, I decided to poke around and see if there are any veteran-BSN programs close to home... turns out there is one a few miles from my house. I could WALK to this school, graduate BSN 18 months from now, commission Navy (or Army), and still get out with a decent retirement in my early 40's, and go on to have plenty of time for a fulfilling civilian life.

Pretty interesting considering the earliest I could have an MD/DO would be 6 years from now...and then residency.

BTW: Background = turning 30, wife, 4 boys, own a house, blah blah

Nursing has its ups and downs bro. I am sure that like me you will gravitate to critical care. Once there you can go literally anywhere, CRNA, Mental Health NP, Acute Care NP, are all just an application and some elbow grease away...

 

[Red Flag 1]

[QU8

 

[policemedic]

I've been faculty for several exercises with USUHS, and their MS4 students are as good as they come, plus their military emergency medicine curriculum is second to none. Keep in mind you'll be paid as an O1 the entire time you're in school, although your promotions will catch up once you graduate.

USUHS doesn't offer a BSN, but they do offer graduate nursing degrees. If you choose to go the nursing route through another school, you can still apply to USUHS for your MSN.

 

[Devildoc]

If you go the Med School route, I will promise you that your wife will be an academic widow for over four years, prolly closer to ten. There are many expanded practice Nursing, and the PA routes you can take that will give you more money.

When I was looking at what to do in life.....

I actually got all my pre-med courses squared away, MCATs and all. I was all but guaranteed a slot at UNC med school. Then a good friend, a mentor and an EM doc in the UNC ED (also on the board of admissions) took me out for a beer. Over the beer he said, "If you really want to go, I will get you in. But let me tell you what you are really in for." At the time I was a newlywed and gunning to start a family and med school/residency wasn't going to be kind to my aversion to working 100 hours a week.

I wanted to be a doc for the wrong reasons, and it would have likely strained my marriage at best (killed it at worst).

As @TLDR20 eloquently stated, there are so many option in nursing. So many. I have done: critical care, ED, flight, hyperbarics/dive medicine, interventional radiology; I have been a bedside nurse, a nurse educator, a nurse manager (worst 6 months of my life, and I have the scars), and now a nurse coordinator, and I am currently in grad school.

Good luck in your search and carefully consider all the options. Some are better than other in some ways, not so good in others.

 

[Docboats]

Thanks for the advice guys. It gets tough out here in the real world.

Either way I'm going to stay on my current degree track (so much work for this damned piece of paper). I should be a college graduate this time next year! Plus wifey is on track for her grad school dreams, so my decision might be largely dependent on what programs she gets accepted to. Its nice to know there are options, but also kind of a pain in the ass having too many options.