This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Habib Fanny, MD who used to be an RN I’ve done it but I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s no seamless transition. Nursing school also gives you a false sense of confidence about the extent of what you know and an underappreciation of the vast extent of what you do not know. I swear, half my nursing school curriculum was about how nurses were better than doctors: We’re holistic; we care about the whole person. We’re the ones who actually spend time with the patient while the doctor is somewhere out there doing God knows what. We’re the ones who actually teach doctors their job. I absorbed some of those attitudes myself. It wasn’t until after I was in med school that I realize just how much one has to learn to be a physician. But I digress. The main thing to remember, if you choose nursing as your undergrad, is that you will have to go work on your premed coursework and start from scratch if you want to apply to med school. You won’t get credit for any of your nursing classes. This is the main reason I wouldn’t advise it. The main thing I gained from my time as a nurse is my bedside manner. It’s what enables me to build a good rapport with my patients. Truth be told, I’d probably trade it away, if I could exchange it for being 3 years ahead. Source
