Pre-Nursing Student Dilemma

[kornmealz]

Hello everyone this is my first time posting on allnurses, but I've read countless threads and articles. I am currently facing a dilemma and would like some advise on the future of my educational career.

I am currently attending a state school as a pre-nursing student and have completed the majority of my prerequisites. I have completed all of my physiology courses, mathematics courses, English courses, and physics courses. I have also completed A&P II and received an A-, and I am currently taking A&P I. My overall GPA at the moment is a 3.83, I am providing this information because I am currently having a dilemma.

My dilemma is that I do not know if I want to continue on the pre-nursing track, or switch to pre-med next semester at UCONN. This is for several reasons. I have fallen in love with studying, but understand that my current classes are not as difficult as nursing or pre-med/med classes. This leads me to doubting my ability in becoming a doctor. I simply do not know if I would be able to handle all of the school work that comes with becoming a doctor. I also think that my current classes at my current school are not as difficult as the classes at UCONN, so I have the fear of going to UCONN as a pre-med student and failing out because it is too difficult for me. Also the majority of my classes do not directly transfer over, so I would have to retake classes such as physics and A&P.

I've applied to UCONN for next semester (Spring 2016) without knowing if I plan on going or not, I also plan on taking the TEAS test and applying to the nursing school at my current school. I am just really unsure of what I want, expect for the fact that I want a career in the medical field.

There are several options I see:

1) Finish my RN at my current school and work as an RN

2) Finish my RN at my current school and then apply to med school

3) Switch schools next semester and begin my journey as a pre-med student

I've also looked into pursuing my RN degree even further, more specifically becoming a CRNA, but that is a whole other story.

If you guys could provide me with some advise I would greatly appreciate it, and thank you for your time.

TL;DR: Currently pre-nursing student with 3.83 GPA, unsure if I want to continue with nursing or switch over to pre-med at a more difficult school. Scared of not being able to succeed as a pre-med student or even get into medical school. Unsure of what to do.

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

If enrolling into med school is your ultimate goal, there is no point in becoming an RN first.

The nursing model and medical model are completely different. And nursing is not something you should go into because you think medical school might be too difficult. I'm not comparing the two, but nursing programs have their own challenges.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[nalie2, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, NP]

Go to med-school. You can do it if you dedicate yourself!

[schrutefarms]

Hey, man. I'm also thinking about pursing a career in nursing. For the longest time I was sure I wanted to do either PA or med school, but I've since changed my mind. I think I would enjoy the direct patient care aspect more so than the diagnosis/prescription writing aspect of the medical field. I also LOVE the idea of having a number of different paths to take for grad studies. Whether it be psychiatric NP, family medicine NP, Emergency NP, CRNA, or any other of the massive variety of specialities, I know there are so many options that it seems inevitable for people to find their niche. Let me know what you decide to do, as I'm curious. I actually already did two years at a community college and am taking a year off to shadow and decide what path I want to take. Good luck with your decision.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

I think no matter how many posts you make its ultimately your decision & no stranger can make the decision for you.

[NurseEmmy]

I suggest shadowing a nurse and an MD if you are able to. They are COMPLETELY different in their roles of the healthcare team. If you like being in charge there are careers like N/P that many states allow to Rx and manage patient care with limited restriction.

I understand it is tough to decide. I went through the same thing. I guess luckily for me I couldn't afford to go to medical school so my decision was made pretty easily once I considered the time and cost of medical school. Plus I prefer the hands on care of nursing. Doctors don't provide much of that unless you're a surgeon - real life is not like the show House.