Posted on Mar 24, 2019
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Hello, I am nearing the end if my first enlistment into the Army. I am currently close to getting my associates degree and was wondering, if I went green to gold and became a nurse, could I become a doctor sometime after? I want to become an endocrinologist, but school of course is expensive.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.usuhs.edu/gsn

Look at this....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.tesu.edu

Them too, they also have a DNP at doctoral level online....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.excelsior.edu

Call them about nursing, trust me, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=military%20program%20to%20encourage%20enlisted%20to%20go%20for%20medicine&s_it=loki-tb-sb

Trust me, look at all of these, if you hadn't seen it, you'll obviously want to dive into it...it didn't exist when I'd wanted to go...further, look at the osteopathic (D.O.) vs. allopathic (M.D.) schools, as well as what's termed the USPHS Commissioned Corps COSTEP, the USPHS analogue to ROTCs, as well as USMC platoon leaders course (PLC)...you may know about USUHS (not USPHS, that's the separate svc I'd just mentioned), the svc med school that also has doctoral-level nursing, either a Ph.D. or DNP, I'm unsure which at the moment, as well as Ph.D. programs in basic biomed sciences, neuroscience, microbiology/immunology, physiology, they've changed around (they're also for civilian, as well as active duty)...also, you could try for the Army intersvc PA program at Ft. Sam Houston, then seek to transition, USPHS also takes typically much older, up to 44, I've seen...i'm doctoral allied health, I was supposed to have gone med, I got sick, I couldn't do it, one of my attendings for doctoral allied health was O-6 USPHS, I'd really wanted to go back in that way, I just became too ill, I'm afraid, I'm total perm disabled...look also at the USCG Auxiliary, I have no clue if you'd be allowed to spend time with them while active duty in another svc, they're what's termed an "instrumentality" under the Geneva Conventions, as opposed to Civil Air Patrol (CAP), which, while real, isn't at that level, though both are svc auxiliaries, of course...the reason I'm suggesting you look at USCG Auxiliary is that, apparently, they let licensed clinicians, incl RNs, as well as sevl other fields, assist them at USCG facilities...look up USCG Auxiliary Health Svcs, you'll see the site, promise, it's there, I've been wanting to volunteer with them for a long while now, I just reached 10-yr statutory noncombat 100% disabled vet the end of las month, I might be able now, I'm unsure, you'd get good exposure in an environment you "might" be allowed to do, just don't just do it without asking, ask first to be sure, svcs tend to encourage that sort of volunteering, however, I merely mention it, as many are unaware USCG Aux has it...USCG also uses their own PAs, I'm unsure if they train at the army intersvc PA program I'd mentioned, you might ask...also, USCG, as well as Indian Health Svc (IHS), for the Indian reservations, as well as NIH, CDC, FDA, AHRQ, Bureau of Prisons (BOP) of Justice Dept., all use USPHS clinical staff...the O-6 I rotated under was senior allied health for what I'd trained for at a reservation clinic near the doctoral program I'd gone to, I'd always wanted to go over there with him to train, I never got the chance...finally, USPHS also has an intersvc agreement for psych-related clinicians, in mult fields, to serve with Army, Navy, USAF, in 3-yr tours, there's a site for it, I've seen it, I'll try to send you more when I have time, just trust me, I've been where you wanna go, promise, I just didn't know what I was doing then, and hadn't handled it right, I'd wanted bioengineering, I should'v gone USAF Biomed Sci Corps (BSC), rather than line engineering for USAF, I was an idiot, and didn't take the time to ask the right questions, the USAF OTS recruiter who processed me tried to warn me, I was a jerk, and didn't listen, out of pure benighted ignorance, I assure you...elaborate for me, if you can, about your training, associates, bachelors, grad school ambititions, cause you're gonna have to IMMEDIATELY go masters level if you go commissioned or warrant, it's DEFINITELY expected, REGARDLESS of field, PROMISE, been there, done that (BTDT), I can also most definitely assure you, I've been around a good many bureaucratic and academic blocks, if you'd care to chat more...further, DO NOT discount going dental...look up what's termed orthognathic surgery, the highest level of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS), in dental...since the 70s, they've had a little-known back door that'd take a LONG time to explain, to short-circuit the normal med application process, for BOTH M.D. AND D.O....do NOT discount D.O. schools, they're TOTALLY separate from M.D. schools, few know of them, they're BOTH med schools, also, look up http://www.iuhs.edu, as well as http://www.uhsa.ag, on St. Kitts and Antigua, I know more about the first, it had an agreement with one of the doctoral allied health schools for what I trained for, to allow their doctoral allied-health students to go for M.D. while doing the clinical allied-health doctorate, I learned of that while a resident with that school, that was NOT the one I trained at, somehow, I never quite learned how, ECFMG, look it up, http://www.ecfmg.org, allows IUHS and UHSA, I've checked and am fairly certain, to do the first half of an M.D. online, to sit for USMLE Part I, analogous to NCLEX for RN...now, whether the svcs would take it or not, I honestly don't know, however, I HAVE researched that whole thing VERY extensively, promise, and can assure you, after chatting with MANY others, that somehow, that possibility apparently DOES evidently exist...I'm here if you wanna chat...the USPHS website is http://www.usphs.gov, the USUHS website is http://www.usuhs.edu...if you'd be willing to switch from endocrinology, which I've trained a good deal in for allied health, to dental, and go for craniofacial reconstruction, you could get possibly, the following, M.D. or D.O., DDS or DMD in dental, there are two identical versions of the dental degree, and a Ph.D. in either oral biology or dental materials, the closest dental gets in the latter case to bioengineering...look up the NIDR or whatever it morphed into at NIH, the Natl Inst of Dental Research, or whatever the name is now, it changed recently, just trust me, if you give me GPAs, specific STEM coursework you've taken, all the rotations you've done, clinical exposure you've had in painstaking detail, I genuinely can suggest things for you, that you wouldn't typically find from others, as I hope is evident at this point, if you wanna chat, I'm here, if you send a link to me, we can also chat that way on here, as well, OK? No rush, whenever you want, I'm here, I'd send the sites if I had more time, and will try later, I just thought explaining everything this way would be quicker, you're not exploring other allied health doctoral level options, that could also be very serious possibilities you're simply overlooking, as I did, also out of ignorance, just trust me, OK? If you wanna look at my profile, go ahead, you'll see what I did before the disability, I genuinely can help you find things you wouldn't have considered till now, as I'd said, I'm here anytime if you wanna yak more, hope that all helps, OK? USPHS also has a toll free recruiting phone, the one I remember if it still works, is [login to see] , I think there's another one now, look it up...also, I've seen stuff on here, and researched it, you can do ROTC, as well as USMC PLC, and also USPHS COSTEP, not just for undergrad, but also for grad level, in both academic, as well as clinical fields, in the case of the ROTCs and USPHS...USCG also has scholarship programs, I don't know if they'd cover PA, you could ask...trust me, I've been around the whole block you're trying to circle since before you were born, lemme help you, OK? I'm here, as I'd said, anytime, if you wanna yak more, OK? Enjoy....
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SFC Clark Adams
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I have worked with physicians who were nurses prior to attending Medical or Dental School even a few who went to PA School after Nursing School. If you desire to become a physician, just concentrate on meeting the requirements for Medical School which are very different from nursing school requirements o prerequisites. There are many medical schools out there MD(allopathic) or DO (osteopathic), both in the US and abroad.
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CPT James Corr
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I would guess that you could. Doctors seem to one the fields that is always in demand. You might have to complete your obligation as a nurse first though but as a lot of other posts have said why don't you go straight to becoming a doctor if that's your long term goal? Another issue is actually being accepted into a medical school.
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SPC Radio and Communication (COMSEC) Security Repairer
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Well, I'm trying to finish my my last two years for my bachelors with green to gold. my ultimate goal is to become an endocrinologist. I understand I could get my biology degree once I finish G2G, I do not know if I can go to medical school right after, and I understand even getting the medical school option does not guarantee my endocrinologist position.
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1SG Retired
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Another factor to consider is the typical courses you take to complete a BSN, would have you short of the normal prerequisites for medical school, specifically:
8 SH Biology w/lab
4-8 SH General Chemistry w/lab
8 SH Organic Chemistry w/lab
3 SH Biochemistry
8 SH Physics w/lab
Some universities have programs that allow non typical students to complete the prereqs. Otherwise, you'd have to be accepted as a non degree seeking student.
Completing this demanding courseload in one year, while active Army is doable, but would be extremely demanding.
Further, most colleges run these in sequence Fall-Spring, which would be another factor to consider.
There's more, but others have covered those in their responses.
You've got more research to do. Best wishes.
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1LT Critical Care Nurse
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Yes it’s possible but, as others have pointed at not likely.
The requirements for nursing and for becoming a doctor are completely different. The pre-requisites for nursing school alone will take a few semesters to a few years depending on what classes you have completed. You also have to take in account the wait list for nursing school which, can take years.
The requirements for MD or DO school are different than nursing and don’t build off of the nursing requirements, meaning you will need to take different bio, chem, math classes than what is required for nursing.
Keep in mind some nurses do decide to go the physician route but, talk about the long and hard road. There is always the nurse practitioner route if you are set on becoming a nurse and then a provider.

I would ask you, why do you want to be a nurse? Why do you want to be a physician? How well are you versed in what doctors and nurses actually do? Good luck! Message me if you have a questions and I will do my best to give you some solid answers.
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SPC Radio and Communication (COMSEC) Security Repairer
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I say nursing, however, my goal right now is getting my bachelor's in biology, which would have the prerequisites you mention, I assume I would get nursing after I would finish getting my bachelors through green to gold? Though you are right, I don't have the full knowledge of this entire process.
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