Nursing Then Medicine

[medhopeful25]

Hello,

 

    I am thinking of applying to nursing next year as I am currently looking at the accelerated 2 year nursing program (e.g. Western, U of T, Calgary or UBC) and I'm just wondering if I intend to apply to medicine, how our my nursing marks affect my eligibility? I believe that nursing courses are mostly Pass/Fail, so for schools like U of T and U of Ottawa (or any schools that require you to complete 5 courses/term), will my application be nullified? Also, I already have a BSc. and my GPA is relatively low (3.6sh). 

 

 

Thank you. 

[Artier]

Your nursing marks count equally as any other degree would. You would be disadvantaged at U of T b/c your p/f courses would get dropped before your lowest marks in their weighting formula. I'm not sure about Ottawa.

 

I recommend you don't do nursing in your situation if you are serious about med school because you really want 3.9+ in your next UG years to make up for your previous GPA. But if you can see yourself actually doing Nursing as a career then go for it.

[medhopeful25]

Your nursing marks count equally as any other degree would. You would be disadvantaged at U of T b/c your p/f courses would get dropped before your lowest marks in their weighting formula. I'm not sure about Ottawa.

 

I recommend you don't do nursing in your situation if you are serious about med school because you really want 3.9+ in your next UG years to make up for your previous GPA. But if you can see yourself actually doing Nursing as a career then go for it.

 

 

Thank you for replying. After going through several postings on this forum, I found that a lot of people had advised against it. However, I thought nursing would offer more stability than let say a BSc degree. Also, I thought of doing another degree, but the financial burden is quite heavy in my case, so I think its safer to choose nursing over the others.

 

I know I won't be competitive for U of T since my first year marks were abysmal. Hence my 3.6sh GPA. 

[rmorelan]

Thank you for replying. After going through several postings on this forum, I found that a lot of people had advised against it. However, I thought nursing would offer more stability than let say a BSc degree. Also, I thought of doing another degree, but the financial burden is quite heavy in my case, so I think its safer to choose nursing over the others.

 

I know I won't be competitive for U of T since my first year marks were abysmal. Hence my 3.6sh GPA. 

 

is that after all the UoT dropped courses are included if it applies?

[medhopeful25]

is that after all the UoT dropped courses are included if it applies?

 

 

I know U of T drops my worst 8 half length courses, so that would probably go up to a low 3.7?

[rmorelan]

I know U of T drops my worst 8 half length courses, so that would probably go up to a low 3.7?

 

well you have to calculate it I guess - I mean in some cases it can rise quite a bit, depending on how well you did in the following years. I mean 8 half credits is almost enough to wipe out your entire first year completely

[lauren40]

I recommend against nursing in your situation. If you are serious about nursing school because you really want 3.9+ in your next UG years to make up for your previous GPA. But if you can see yourself actually doing Nursing as a career then go for it.

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[Happy_go]

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[RMTtoRNtoMD]

On 11/3/2017 at 11:01 AM, getrich said:

This is a case of having a plan B that affects plan A. By choosing nursing, you will have a safety net to fall on but it detracts from your plan A. Obviously you've done your research and you know your risks so all the power to you. Just know that in the case that medicine fails, you chose to fall back on nursing and be prepared to accept that fate.

Others have chosen to go all-in with a guaranteed "easier" program to boost GPA because they're circumstances have made them choose to go 100% into it. Otherwise, good luck. It's incredibly frustrating how nursing can be so difficult to get a high GPA yet med schools don't factor that in... and they'll take someone with a BA in Basket Weaving with a 4.0

 

So your saying to do Kinesiology, Nutirition instead of Nursing in order to boost the grades for Med School? or even doing any other UG as a 2nd degree, as long as the grades are boosted?

[Rahvin13]

9 hours ago, RMTtoRNtoMD said:

So your saying to do Kinesiology, Nutirition instead of Nursing in order to boost the grades for Med School? or even doing any other UG as a 2nd degree, as long as the grades are boosted?

There are factors to consider if you are going to take nursing as a UG to get into med, especially if it’s a 2nd degree in a fast track format.

It “can” be difficult to get a 3.9+ gpa in nursing depending on the individual student and the program because of the nature of the testing and assignments. Not impossible however because there are many who can, especially with weighted or best/last 2 year gpa.

Nursing also has pass/fail courses which can affect how some med schools view your transcript and weight your gpa. It really depends on the individual school.

If you’re doing a 2nd UG to get into med it’s probably because the gpa of your 1st degree wasn’t competitive. Gpa is extremely important for admission to any med school but particularly in Ontario/for Ontario applicants. With nursing you risk doing another UG and still not having a competitive gpa.

The benefits of taking nursing are that it allows you to be an RN so you can take a BScN, apply to med, and if that doesn’t work out you still have a good career. If you take a general science degree and don’t get in then you’re still gonna be taking something else anyways. It also allows you to pursue NP (or PA) which can be an acceptable alternative for some people who don’t get into med. Nursing gives you healthcare and collaborative experience and allows you to develop the CANMEDs competencies from a direct care clinical perspective which most  traditional premeds don’t get to do. This could help with essays/interviews. 

You really have to consider if nursing is right for you, if you can get a good enough gpa, and figure out if the med school(s) you want to apply for are nursing friendly in their transcript assessments. 

[RMTtoRNtoMD]

11 hours ago, Rahvin13 said:

There are factors to consider if you are going to take nursing as a UG to get into med, especially if it’s a 2nd degree in a fast track format.

It “can” be difficult to get a 3.9+ gpa in nursing depending on the individual student and the program because of the nature of the testing and assignments. Not impossible however because there are many who can, especially with weighted or best/last 2 year gpa.

Nursing also has pass/fail courses which can affect how some med schools view your transcript and weight your gpa. It really depends on the individual school.

If you’re doing a 2nd UG to get into med it’s probably because the gpa of your 1st degree wasn’t competitive. Gpa is extremely important for admission to any med school but particularly in Ontario/for Ontario applicants. With nursing you risk doing another UG and still not having a competitive gpa.

The benefits of taking nursing are that it allows you to be an RN so you can take a BScN, apply to med, and if that doesn’t work out you still have a good career. If you take a general science degree and don’t get in then you’re still gonna be taking something else anyways. It also allows you to pursue NP (or PA) which can be an acceptable alternative for some people who don’t get into med. Nursing gives you healthcare and collaborative experience and allows you to develop the CANMEDs competencies from a direct care clinical perspective which most  traditional premeds don’t get to do. This could help with essays/interviews. 

You really have to consider if nursing is right for you, if you can get a good enough gpa, and figure out if the med school(s) you want to apply for are nursing friendly in their transcript assessments. 

Thank you very much for the detailed writeup!! Really appreciate you taking the time and effort. I am in Quebec and planning on applying as an IP.

I applied to Nursing as a 2nd UG at ULaval. Waitlisted for now. Crossing fingers for tomorrow, when Med applicants get their answers. This might make the waitlist move.
I was informed by ULaval that an internal tranfer of 45 credits is accepted to to go into ULaval Med School, granted that the grades are meeting the requirements. 

I see that you are doing a fast track Nursing program. All the best in your endeavours!!