Really stuck in life. Advice?

[TAS2354]

I'm a current freshman at a community college and I have been rethinking things lately! I am earning an associates of science and transfering to a local four year university to major in Biology. I plan on going to medical school after earning my bachelor's from this university. My parents want me to move out and be independent as soon as possible and start earning a decent wage. I'm not the smartest person in the world, i'm horrible at math and did really poorly in my high school math and science courses but this was due to depression and being lazy. I do struggle very badly with depression and anxiety, as well as social anxiety. I feel like entering a nursing program with social anxiety is a recipe for disaster? I know I want to work in healthcare and help people. If I became a nurse I would like to work in the psych unit or the ER and eventually become a psych/mental health NP. My parents want me to earn my ADN from my community college and start working as soon as possible, they think that the ADN program only takes two years. For me it would take three to complete because I plan on only going part time next semester (this is not an issue for me). In all honesty, I am leaning towards nursing because it's easier to complete than being a pre med and erning a bio degree, not saying getting into a nursing program and completing it is easy! In order to get into the nursing program at my school yoou have to have a good GPA, good TEAS score, and have your CNA. I like how you can be a CNA and still go to class and have time to study, compared to pre meds who have to volunteer and do all this other stuff (extrcurriculars) and also hold a job as well as having time to study. Another thing I would really hate is to do all this work (take the MCAT, earn a really high GPA after four years of college, do all of these extracurricular activities and shadowing and volunteering and not be accepted into medical school. What do you do then? I'm not saying getting into a nursing program is easy, it's more simple to get into compared to medical school. It seems with being a nursing student you have more time to focus on certain things, like being a CNA and studying for class. While pre meds are doing all this stuff and working as well as trying to study for classes like genral chem 1 and calculus 1. Also I like how with nursing you can do a lot career wise. You can become an NP, CNRA, etc. Based on what have I said, what do you think would be the best fit for me? If I earn my ADN, I plan on working for a year or two before doing a RN to BSN program. The four year university I was planning on transfering to for Biology, has an RN to BSN program that's really flexible and i've heard many of the nurses at the local hospitals that haven't earned a BSN yet, are in this program. I really like the concept of working and making decent money while working on a bachelor's degree, instead of being almost broke for four years earning a Biology degree with the chance of not getting into medical school! I don't want to go into nursing for the money, I just like the concept of working a professional job and earning a degree. Should I really consider nursing or becoming a physician? Advice?

[Devon Rex, ADN, BSN]

Hello!

It seems to me that you are rushing into a decision because of our parents' pressures. As you know, either way you decide to go (nursing or medical school), you will need to complete a set of general education classes first; that can take a couple of years to complete. So slow down on your long term goals.

First concentrate on your general education classes and take more time researching the scope of practice of nurses vs medical doctors. Either track will produce anxiety as they are both challenging. Medical school is much heavier on math and chemistry than nursing. If you do not do well on those, you will not pass the MCAT. Nursing has its own set of challenging topics in science such as: basic chemistry, biology, microbiology, anatomy, and physiology... which most nursing schools will require a 3.0 science GPA.

My greatest concern for you is your social anxiety. In both fields you must interact with people at their worst... mental and/or physical state. Would you be able to handle that? I recommend that you meet with a mental health counselor, your primary care physician, or a psychiatrist to help determine if these fields are compatible with you. I truly understand your passion to help others, but many times one needs to help oneself before we are ready to help others. It is essential that you do this before you finish your general education classes, to avoid wasting time and tuition money.

If those fields do not work out for you, know there are many other ways to help others in the healthcare field. Consider: physical therapy assistant (PTA), radiation technologist (RT), phlebotomist, certified nurse assistant (CNA), medical assistant (MA), surgical technologist, pharmacist assistant, autopsy technician (if not afraid of dead bodies), and many others.

Once you complete your general education classes and sign up for the track of your choice, concentrate on doing that and somehow acquire experience (paid or unpaid). Always do your very best. Short term goals are faster to achieve, gives you more confidence, and the stress level goes down. Then plan your next educational goal.

Hope this helps!