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Anyone Applying To Accelerated Nursing After Failing To Get Into Medical School?


parttimebookworm

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Hi everyone,

 

I'm new here but I figured I would check it out. I applied to medical school in the US this year and got a single interview invite which was later rescinded because of internal issues. I didn't apply to OMSAS this year because I didn't think I would get in with my stats and I couldn't afford a futile application.

 

I've done my undergrad (currently in 4th year) at a school with a second entry nursing program and I've had a work-study job closely tied to the School of Nursing. My boss suggested I look into nursing because she thought I would make a great nurse. I think nursing is a great career, in fact I kind of wish I had applied right out of high school but I kind of feel like I'm settling. 

 

I have the option of doing a Master's degree and reapplying to medical school but I don't know how much it would help. I have student loans and nursing seems like a good choice right now but I'm still a bit unsure. 

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What is your GPA/MCAT/EC breakdown and residency status?

 

You'd have to look into the competitiveness of the nursing programs you are interested in and gauge your stats vs their acceptance cutoffs.

 

Don't do a master's just for a med school application. Do it because you're genuinely interested in it and it would be a worthwhile alternative to medicine.

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GPA is 3.4 and MCAT is 508. I live in Ontario. I've worked four years at my work-study job, volunteered three years at the hospital, two years at a crisis line, and two years as a tutor. I've also worked as a research assistant in a lab, as a nanny, and as a camp counselor. I've actually spoken to the nursing coordinator at my university and she thinks I've got a pretty decent chance, obviously nothing is guaranteed. Also since a lot of the nursing programs actually only look at pre-reqs and the most recent two years my GPA is actually closer to 3.6ish. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think you should apply! It gives you two years to raise your GPA and a career at the end. And you never know, you might decide that nursing is a better fit! Just my two cents. But it would be kind of a long route to do another full undergrad in case med school doesnt work out and then you are hard pressed to find a job at the end and have more student debt. 

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  • 3 months later...

Hi,

 

I found this thread after falling into the same boat. Almost done my biosci degree and I'm not sure what to do with my life now. To be honest education is so far the only other thing I want to do in my life other than medicine. However I feel I need to get a job and start working ASAP while continuing to pursue med... I don't mind nursing, but med is my end goal (wheres I was thinking of becoming a senile substitute teacher when I'm much older).

 

I've got a 3.715/4 at the University of Calgary, with 513 on the MCAT, 127 CARS, 126 psych/soci, 130 on the sciences. 2 years of hospital volunteering (gift store, not much use i suppose), 2 years at a senior home, 2 years tutoring and have been learning, now teaching karate for 7 years in total. From my high school days until now, I've been working as a cashier, cook, children's day camp leader, all for short work terms (temp employment (summer/events)). I am doing a bit of research over the summer for 4 months, in a lab I've been volunteering with for about 5 months. I just went through the talk with my mom (who is very uncertainty-avoidant) and don't know what to do...I've been considering military... sorry for the rant. Oh! I did do a student exchange in South Korea...I might do my nursing degree (accel 2 yr program) in another province (not AB) for some adventure.

 

Please help me find a girlfriend!

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  • 1 month later...

Hey there,

 

I just wanted to put my two cents in!

 

I am currently finishing an accelerated nursing program, I just have the final preceptorship left. I was like you, finishing up an undergraduate degree program and med was my ultimate goal, but I needed time to write the MCAT and knew that it was very unlikely that I'd be accepted into med immediately from an Arts degree. I applied and was accepted to an accelerated nursing program and before starting that I wrote my MCAT. 

 

I did the first year of the nursing program and then applied to two med schools (first application). I had great references because of my clinical rotations in nursing and was able to talk about my experience in the healthcare setting. I was invited to both schools for interviews and I've been accepted to one of them and am waitlisted at the other. 

 

If med is your ultimate goal I would highly recommend an accelerated nursing program. I firmly believe that is what made the difference and got me accepted. Plus, nursing gives you an almost immediate job when you graduate (depending where you're located) if your student loans are a concern that might be a huge plus. From the people I met at the interviews this year there were quite a few who had masters degrees and this was their second or third application vs. this being my first application and being invited for the interviews. 

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Hi, 

 

I did this exact thing many years ago.  I had around a 3.2 gpa in my first B.Sc., and obviously didn't have the GPA to be considered for medicine.  I could have applied for pharmacy, but thought pharmacy was just "putting pills in a bottle"...its SOOO Much more than that, and there are some amazing opportunities in it. 

 

If medicine is your final goal, the danger with after degree RN programs is it can be very difficult to get a good GPA.  In science courses you study hard to do well on tests/assignments, etc.... In my experience Nursing classes evaluate in a much more fluffy way.  It didn't seem to matter how much I studied, I always got bad marks on the predominantly multiple choice tests.  I would get the same marks whether I studied or went in "cold".  It was very discouraging and frustrating. Furthermore, other than the clinical rotations, it really didn't feel like I learned anything. This was very different coming from a science degree.  I had horrible GPAs during my after degree B.ScN like 2.2-2.5, despite scoring a in the 94-95th percentile on the old MCAT.  

 

That being said, I thoroughly LOVE my jobs in the nursing field. They are fun and engaging and its nice to make a difference in people's lives.  The compensation is also very nice in my opinion. I've never made <100k in any year where I've worked full time. For the last 5 years I've been working casually (basically like a self-employed contractor) in a few different specialized departments in a large level 1 trauma center.  This set up is great as you get to make your own hours.   I totally feel overpaid for the work I do as I find it quite easy and fun. The only thing I dislike is the lack of intellectual fulfillment/challenge.  Toughest part is getting up in the morning!

 

In my opinion the patient care exposure that you get "in the trenches" as a front line healthcare worker is invaluable if an MD is your final goal.  Nothing teaches as well as experience. That being said, the GPA you get in the program could hurt you...of course you could do very well, I just found it very tough to excel academically. 

 

Anyways, hope this helps. 

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