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Confused And Feeling Shitty


lndale

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Hi everyone,

 

I'm currently a nursing student going into 3rd year. My GPA for 2nd year is a 3.45 (didn't include first year as it wouldn't count for UofC med anyways..) 

 

My story is that out of uni I had a 92% average without studying apart for my physics diploma. I applied for neurosci and didn't get in, so I chose to pursue nursing as my second choice. My dad (who comes from a family of nurses) insisted that I go into nursing because that way I would have a back up plan if med didn't work out. Ever since I entered uni, I've had the goal of pursuing medicine. 

 

However, now that I'm going into 3rd year with an extremely low GPA, I feel so lost and confused. Nursing at my school is very  difficult (a transfer from biochem who had a 3.8 GPA dropped to a 3.0 in a year, he also only went into nursing to boost his GPA for med school applications) and often times I feel it is harder for me to excel in my classes due to a lack of interest in nursing as it was never my goal to become a nurse. 

 

Over the past couple of months I have seriously questioned my motives for my career choices. I honestly love human anatomy, as well as my pharmacology courses. However, after realizing that my GPA will most likely stay at a 3.45, I quickly searched for other career paths such as dentistry and pharmacy. I realized that a big factor in my career goals was prestige. I do like nursing, but as it was never my goal to become one I looked into careers that would have higher incomes. After considering the options, I realized that nursing is the second best thing I could be doing, in terms of career satisfaction for me.

 

Right now I feel a lot of regret from the first two years of university. I regret going into uni when I wasn't in the program I wanted. I regret not trying harder. I regret not doing proper research before entering university. I also know that I am being quite unreasonable as nursing is in no way a bad career, and that I should not be complaining or overthinking the situation too much. Of course, it could be worse. 

 

I'm just wondering if anyone else there has been in the same boat... And how you dealt with it? I'm at a crossroad between giving up on trying for med, or trying to raise my GPA and apply for med school. I know that chances for med school are bleak, and that the competition is fierce. And I also believe that the sooner I acknowledge this fact, the easier it will be later on in my career. 

 

Any advice would be great to hear.

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Nurses have gone on to become MDs so it's not impossible but yes it is not ideal because of the grading getting a high enough GPA is probably difficult. If you don't enjoy nursing then why pursue it? It is a good back up to an MD since the pay is good and there's lots of opportunities but you're nearly finished so you could either switch out now or finish and take a second UG. Or maybe NP is a good option for you? If your interest is primary care then being an NP is a pretty good option I think. 

 

Also if prestige is your #1 reason for pursuing a job I don't think you're really ever going to be very happy even with an MD, I think the days of people looking at a physician and being in awe are pretty well past. If you're looking for other peoples validation you might even find that you would get more of that as an RN than an MD. I work with physicians, RNs and NPs on a regular basis and I find there's not a huge difference in respect given between the a good RN/NP and a good MD so don't get your hopes up that people are going to give you the validation that you seem to want as an MD.

 

Edit: Did a quick search about most "prestigious" jobs and physician seems to still be at the top so I'll add that my statement on the respect given to MDs having gone down is just from personal experience and mostly anecdotal. As an MD any mistakes that are made (even possibly by no fault of your own) tend to fall on your shoulders. It's still prestigious because everyone knows how difficult and how long it takes to become a physician but at least within the health care community it can be easy to lose that respect just due to the expectations you have because of your MD title.

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Indeed prestige is not a good reason to go into med, it goes out the window the day you get accepted and will be left to wonder what's left afterwards. Going into med for money would actually be a better reason than prestige imo.

 

It seems like you know what you want and how to get there, unfortunately it make take more time but you have the right idea in mind.

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Hey Indale,

 

First off, I'm sorry that you're going through uncertainty and doubt about your university/career choice; having experienced it first hand as well, I know how upsetting it can be.

 

I also went into nursing when I entered university. Like you, I always wanted to pursue medicine, and thought nursing was a good "stepping stone" so to speak, as well as a good back up plan in case I did not get into medical school.

 

Towards the end of first year, I started realizing that I wasn't enjoying my program. I really liked my science courses and interacting with patients, but I did not enjoy the nursing theory courses and found it extremely difficult to do well in them (went in with over 95% average in high school, and I was struggling to get high 80s in my nursing theory classes).

 

I never, ever thought I'd be one to switch programs, but the decision to switch to the sciences after first year was the best one I could have made. Ultimately, I had to weigh the pros and cons. I liked nursing, but I could not see myself pursuing a lifelong career in it, nor did I enjoy the nursing theory courses (and after first year, there were no more electives and only one science course). What served as the tipping point for me was the realization that if I was not in a program I liked and was passionate about, I was not going to excel in it or be happy. I also was not going to be able to take the science classes I wanted to take, which served as prerequisites for the med schools I am applying to. My GPA also significantly increased, which I believe in large part is due to the fact that I am enjoying the classes I'm in far more than when I was in nursing.

 

Ultimately, you have to make a decision that you feel is right for you. Write down a list of pros and cons, talk to as many people as you can, and explore your options. It will work out!

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If you're dead set on medicine than switch into an UG you have interest in, raise your GPA (may require taking an extra year, another UG, or a grad degree) and apply to medicine. You just need to commit, it seems like you're on the fence. Figure out what you really want out of medicine. The prestige and money are nice but trust me when I say that those are NOT the things that will make you live a happy life. You need a more solid footing to pursue a healthy, rewarding career in medicine. 

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Study what you would choose to study if you don't ever get into medical school. If you wouldn't want to ever be a nurse, regardless of applying to medical school, then you may want to consider switching. 

 

A back-up career plan isn't much more helpful than no plan if it's something you would be miserable doing. There are lots of other degrees, any of which you can apply to med school from.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

 

I'm currently a nursing student going into 3rd year. My GPA for 2nd year is a 3.45 (didn't include first year as it wouldn't count for UofC med anyways..) 

 

My story is that out of uni I had a 92% average without studying apart for my physics diploma. I applied for neurosci and didn't get in, so I chose to pursue nursing as my second choice. My dad (who comes from a family of nurses) insisted that I go into nursing because that way I would have a back up plan if med didn't work out. Ever since I entered uni, I've had the goal of pursuing medicine. 

 

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