Question:
Are any of you current med students former nurses? Or do any of you med students have former nurses in your classes? i have some wonder about Rn to Md. Can anyone give me some information???
Answer:
I am not a former nurse but I am Registered and Licensed Respiratory Therapist who is currently a third-year medical student. There are three respiratory therapists, three emergency medical technicians, several pharmacists and one nurse currently studying medicine at my school. Respiratory Therapy is a great profession to do before medicine. Respiratory therapists routinely have to evaluate patients, perform many invasive procedures, work in pediatric, neonatal and adult critical care units. The nice thing about Respiratory Therapy is that you are not stuck at the bedside or on one floor for 8 to 12 hours. Most therapists work throughout the hospital, consulting and evaluating many different kinds of patients in the course of an 8 or 12-hour shift. When I took USMLE Step I, all of my physiology questions were respiratory physiology and needless to say, my Step I grades are good enough for me to do almost any specialty that I choose. My critical care experience, my hyperbaric chamber experience and my physical diagnostic skills have come in very handy for my clinical rotations especially surgery. On my very first clinical rotation, pediatrics, I was performing arterial punctures, drawing blood, starting IVs and giving shots from Day one while my most of my classmates were figuring out how to write on the charts. I am sure that most nurses who later attend medical school have similar experiences and a high degree of comfort with patient care and procedures
