Working in the NWT before applying

[Curveball]

Hello everyone. 

I hope you're all doing well. I was wondering if anyone here had any advice or input on a plan I've developed over the last few months. I graduated from nursing school in 2020 with a solid, but not outstanding GPA (3.88 on the OMSAS scale, 3.89 if you count summer courses), and since then I've been mulling over what the best approach for medical school might be. One thing that stood out to me while looking at schools out west is that the 5 schools between BC and Manitoba (UBC, U of C, U of A, U of S, U of M) all appear to grant in-province status to applicants from the NWT, Yukon, and Nunavut. To be considered as an applicant from these regions, one must reside in the area for 1-3 years (it varies based on the school), but as far as I can tell, one could theoretically considered as an in-province applicant at 5 medical schools. Is that how it works, or do you only get to be considered in-province for one school/province? I'm asking out of an abundance of pessimism, I haven't actually found any policies along those lines. On the other hand, if medical school admissions have taught me anything, it's that when you start to feel anything that could tangetially be described as "hope", chances are you've overlooked something. 

I have a nursing license for the NWT and Nunavut, and I also worked a locum contract in the NWT recently and greatly enjoyed it: the people were great, the scenery was incredible, and I don't mind the cold. Also, the money was much better than anything I'd find in Ontario, which I could put towards preparing for the MCAT (I didn't take a lot of the basic science prereqs the MCAT is based off of, so I'll need to do a lot of work in those areas). I definitely think this plan is my best route for medical school, but I'm wondering if there's anything I'm failing to consider? Are there any policies that would preclude this plan? If anyone has any input or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks for reading and all the best. 

[Bambi]

I believe you are correct in your strategy. Many years ago, kylamonkey, who was also a non-trad, did precisely that for the same reasons and she would be a practicing physician today. I have not seen her on this Forum for years but you can try to reach out to her by private message. You have a competitive GPA.  I wish you every success on this journey!