So I am a freshmen in college (19 years old) and will be entering my sophomore year in August. I am very fortunate to have been awarded provisional acceptance to a medical school as long as my GPA stays above a 3.5. I have been debating over the past few weeks whether I really want to go to medical school or follow through with my previous plan, nursing. Nursing was originally my dream career, but then when I was presented with that acceptance, my mindset changed from becoming a nurse to a doctor. I am now wondering if I should actually do nursing and forfeit my acceptance to the medical school. I realize the vast differences between the two jobs, but I cannot decide which I would rather do. Seven more years of schooling plus residency seems grueling. I just really do not want to forfeit the acceptance and then always think, "What if?". My goal through this post is to get some advice or assurance that nursing is the right path for me...I know that only I know which path is right...but I really don't! At this point, my whole family expects me to go to medical school.
Schooling wise, I am having to take a lot more classes (Organic chemistry, physics, etc) to fulfill the requirements of the medical school acceptance. In the Fall, I am planning on taking both of my pre-requisites for nursing and medical school. ...it is daunting trying to do both. Never in my life have I not been able to do something, which is one thing that makes me want to keep on the medical path.
Your dilemma reminds me of the one I recently had to make. I'm a freshman too and like you, I have been lurking AN and SDN and spending countless hours reading posts and forums on these two different professions ever since I was a HS freshman. I'm assuming you got accepted to an accelerated program that combines your Bachelor's and medical degree together. I agree with the advice everyone else has given you on this thread. You have to figure out what you want in a profession. Do you want to be part of the diagnosing illnesses or more on the treatment and care side of medicine? You have an offer that many pre-med students would die for. I honestly think it's too good of an opportunity to give up. If anything, you can enter an accelerated nursing program if it does not work out. You're young and still have time, although, I think this is something I think you should figure out now to avoid wasting years/classes and unnecessary stress you don't need. At the end of the day, you have to make this decision based on what you think is best for YOU. Good luck and let us know what you decide!
95% of freshman like yourself who boast about being pre-med won't get in because they are, like yourself, not ambitious or driven enough to do so. I heard a guy, "pre-med", complain about engineering, saying it was too hard. Well if engineering is hard, *** do you think med school will be? A walk in the park? I don't think so! Sure, residency is grueling, but if that is what is putting you off of med school then you don't belong in the field of medicine in which your life is CONSUMED by your work.
As for nursing, Nursing school isn't a walk in the park either from what I've been told. It is almost like a "mini-med" school in the sense that it is extremely competitive to get into and is brutal for some.
I'd go for being a Nurse Practitioner. It is a happy medium and, if you have a BSN, you can become an NP in two to three years (grad school). That seems to be a lot better than, say, four-five years of med school, and four years of residency. I do NOT want to spend all of my child bearing years in school.
Hi. Congratulations on your acceptance into medical school. That's a great achievement at such a young age.
I graduated at the age of 22 with a BSN and have been working as a staff nurse for 2 years now. I am currently finishing up my first year at NYU, I am in the adult nurse practitioner program. I have 4 semesters left. Now that you know my background, here's my 2 cents:
Go to medical school.
I understand that you always wanted to be a nurse. But the fact of the matter is, if you have the opportunity to GIVE the orders, why follow the route that forces you to have to TAKE them? Medical school is a wonderful opportunity for autonomy and responsibility.
Yes, you will dedicate your life to medical school. It may be consuming. But if you love it, then it's a career that's worth it. Listen, I'm dating a surgeon and I can't tell you the number of times the hospital pages him and 2 seconds later I find myself sitting alone at the restaurant finishing up my glass of wine. Being a doctor will consume your life, but so long as you can manage your time, it shouldn't be a problem.
I would NOT take nursing pre-reqs with med school pre-reqs at the same time...unless you can strategically spread out the hard classes and balance them with easy classes. It sounds easy enough to keep your GPA above 3.5 but it's really not...especially when you're taking orgo with physiology and anatomy and OMG you HAD to go to that party last night (listen, you ARE in college, right? you still need to enjoy it). If you're so concerned, some medical school pre-reqs satisfy nursing pre-reqs. The rest, like psych 101 and sociology 101, can be taken over the summer. That way, you can major in nursing. You have to have a major anyway. Pre-med is not a major.
I'm not trying to put my career down. But nursing can be a very thankless job with little to no respect filled with abusive patients (and family members....and some doctors) and lots of physical labor.
If medical school doesn't work out, you can always reconsider nursing later on. Your actions are not set in stone so relax. For now, don't give up such a wonderful opportunity that I'm sure you worked really hard for!
Seems like you need to deicde what you want to do. If you applied to study medicine, and your excepted, why are you questioning yourself? Its hard to advise someone who has not graduated from nursing school yet. How can you say you would be good at either if you have not done either?? So I guess my point is you go in the direction that you hope you can acheive and be good at.
Engineering is supposedly the hardest major out there. No experience. Just saying. I do know a doctor who was a civil engineer. He actually said med school was easier bbecause it was mostly memorization while engineering is mostly application. Him talking. Not me. We know med school has appication lol.
Engineering is supposedly the hardest major out there. No experience. Just saying. I do know a doctor who was a civil engineer. He actually said med school was easier bbecause it was mostly memorization while engineering is mostly application. Him talking. Not me. We know med school has appication lol.
But medical school isn't a major and the sheer amount of time and memorization alone makes it harder than med school, imo.
Personally, I always get a bad taste in my mouth from the "nursing as a backup plan" approach. They simply aren't comparable. I think when choosing a career path one needs to consider many factors. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you want to be doing all day, literally? How much time and money do you want to invest in education? What else do you want to accomplish in life outside of career ambitions? Are your career choices compatible with those goals? Ask yourself WHY you think you want to be a nurse, physician or candlestick maker, whatever. Answer the questions and Examine your own motives and you can come to the conclusion that fits with your personal wants and needs. Good luck.
CluelessNursingGuy
280 Posts
Your dilemma reminds me of the one I recently had to make. I'm a freshman too and like you, I have been lurking AN and SDN and spending countless hours reading posts and forums on these two different professions ever since I was a HS freshman. I'm assuming you got accepted to an accelerated program that combines your Bachelor's and medical degree together. I agree with the advice everyone else has given you on this thread. You have to figure out what you want in a profession. Do you want to be part of the diagnosing illnesses or more on the treatment and care side of medicine? You have an offer that many pre-med students would die for. I honestly think it's too good of an opportunity to give up. If anything, you can enter an accelerated nursing program if it does not work out. You're young and still have time, although, I think this is something I think you should figure out now to avoid wasting years/classes and unnecessary stress you don't need. At the end of the day, you have to make this decision based on what you think is best for YOU. Good luck and let us know what you decide!