Nursing school in place of gap year?

[Radishguy]

I will have enough credits to graduate at the end of this academic year, and the hope was to go right into medical school. However, I haven’t received an interview yet, so even though it is still early in the cycle, I need to make plans for what to do next year if not medical school. For reasons that are way too long and difficult to explain here (I could if ever asked by an interviewer and they would understand the explanation) I can’t take any time off school between undergrad and medical school. I have two three options: 1) add another undergrad degree (I could finish up a chemistry BA to go with my bio BS with an additional year), 2) find a grad program to go into, or 3) attend an accelerated nursing program.

For cost reasons, I’d rather not do a graduate program, so unless it is truly the best option, I’m trying to avoid it. Logically, the nursing program seems better as a primer for medical school than a chemistry BA—I would have patient interactions via clinicals, learn a little more about how offices and hospitals function, etc. — however, I remember seeing something on here that AdComs generally frown upon nursing degrees. So, is an extra BA in chem really better than a BSN? Even if it’s slightly better, I still like the BSN better, so the BSN hurt me if I went that route?

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[LizzyM]

Unless you want to be a nurse, do not take the spot from someone who wants to be trained so as to work as a nurse. We are too short of nurses in this country to give a spot to someone who does not plan to work in the profession.

 

[inwantstobeadoctor]

Even if you don't get an II and acceptance (in the worst case scenario) and would have to take a gap year regardless, you couldn't get a clinical job? Such as working as an MA or scribe or tech? I feel like that would be more meaningful than staying in school (although that's what I did, but more for reinvention purposes to recover from a horrible GPA than to just stay in school in my gap years). I know you said you can't explain your situation (which I'm not asking you to) but I guess that explanation would answer why you wouldn't just get a clinical job or something along the lines of adding valuable and meaningful experiences to your application.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

Make the assumption that you don’t ever get into med school. Then ask yourself what these extra degrees and loan debt are going to add to your professional life. If the answer is nothing, find a paying job and start working. I’m not sure what these life factors are that prevent you from taking more time to pursue med school, but it sounds like you need to have a backup.

 

[Goro]

I will have enough credits to graduate at the end of this academic year, and the hope was to go right into medical school. However, I haven’t received an interview yet, so even though it is still early in the cycle, I need to make plans for what to do next year if not medical school. For reasons that are way too long and difficult to explain here (I could if ever asked by an interviewer and they would understand the explanation) I can’t take any time off school between undergrad and medical school. I have two three options: 1) add another undergrad degree (I could finish up a chemistry BA to go with my bio BS with an additional year), 2) find a grad program to go into, or 3) attend an accelerated nursing program.

For cost reasons, I’d rather not do a graduate program, so unless it is truly the best option, I’m trying to avoid it. Logically, the nursing program seems better as a primer for medical school than a chemistry BA—I would have patient interactions via clinicals, learn a little more about how offices and hospitals function, etc. — however, I remember seeing something on here that AdComs generally frown upon nursing degrees. So, is an extra BA in chem really better than a BSN? Even if it’s slightly better, I still like the BSN better, so the BSN hurt me if I went that route?

Your plan is great for a backup career, but one which will surely NOT get you into a medical school.

 

[LizzyM]

I'm guessing that the OP is an international student who needs to stay in school for purposes related to immigration or has some financial handcuffs imposed by a family trust or something similar. So, stay in school. Get a second bachelors or get a masters in a useful subject area such as biostatistics or bioinformatics.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The OP describes themselves as a non-trad career changer for which English is not a first language (right?), so I'm not sure why you have to keep going to school. I also don't know why you are thinking about nursing school as the backup. I would finish up the second degree, but there is not much known to gauge their chance of admission.

 

[Radishguy]

The OP describes themselves as a non-trad career changer for which English is not a first language (right?), so I'm not sure why you have to keep going to school. I also don't know why you are thinking about nursing school as the backup. I would finish up the second degree, but there is not much known to gauge their chance of admission.

Lol, is my grammar that bad? I am a career changer and not. I was a lawyer and a cop, broke some vertebra and fractured my skull on a foot chase, and the department medically retired me and gave me a very generous pension with one big provision, I could not work in any capacity ever again. Going back to school is a grey area—if I went back to school, I keep the pension so long as I continue in an undergrad program, but the minute I stop, I lose all or half of it (half if going into a graduate program). So, if I keep going with undergrad, I’ll be able to keep half of the pension through med school, only losing the other half when I hit residency. If I start a grad program now, I’ll lose the half sooner. If I stop going to school all together and work in any capacity, then med school is really no longer feasible because I won’t be able to pay my mortgage, kids’ schools/sports, etc.

 

[LizzyM]

Financial handcuffs, it is.

Do you have a WARS score? What do you estimate your chances of being admitted this year? Would you want to be a nurse if you couldn't get into medical school? If your admission to med school is a long shot and you think you would be happy as a nurse or nurse practitioner, then do the BSN and make that your plan B.