Advice on the Nursing alternative

[Canuck75]

Hello all, I am a Canadian applicant and this year was my second attempt at gaining entry into my local school in Manitoba. I will receive a decision on my application in early June. However, I am not very confident of gaining acceptance, since my MCAT score of 27O falls quite short of the school average for acceptance of 10.30. The MCAT is worth 50% of the admission at my local school, and I don't think I can do that much better with a re-write. As such, I have applied to other programs in healthcare, namely nursing and pharmacy. I am very confident of gaining entry into nursing and will be very competitive with pharmacy. What do my fellow medical school applicants think of a career in nursing? I am definitely leaning towards nursing because of the patient interaction, which is very limited in pharmacy. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I applied to 9 U.S. schools in 2003, which cost me over $2000 in application fees and not one interview!!! heck, I even supported the war in Iraq and ballistic missile defence. Unfortunately, our government is formed by the population density in the east run by rampant Liberals. Heck, maybe I'll move down once I become a nurse, Texas and California are recruiting quite heavily at the local university.

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[ntmed]

Nursing and pharmacy are both valid career choices, if this is what you want to do. But if you really want to be a physician, you might want to get some feedback on your application to see what you can reasonable do to improve your situation.

For example, a 27 MCAT is borderline, but it is in the competitive range. However, you only applied to 9 schools The average applicant applies to 11 schools. Someone with a borderline MCAT should probably have applied to at least 18, preferably more. There are other issues, such as applying late (after June 1st), weak LORs, etc. Personally, I would make sure I maximized my chances of becoming a doctor before I looked at alternative careers.

 

[benelswick]

I think you should get close up and personal with what a nurse does before spending 2 or more years training to be one. I'm a tech in an E.R.; my job description consists of chiefly assisting the nursing staff, furthermore I was raised by a nurse who went back to get trained as an N.P. I came to know that I wanted to be a physician while working in the midst of all the health professions as the E.D. interfaces with everybody.

I'm just pointing out that I think alot of people are going into nursing--or medicine for that matter--with little idea of what their getting into. It's a very demanding field that works best for people who can ignore alot of crap to get to what they really enjoy--interacting with patients and making them well. Believe me its nurses who really do the intimate aspects of patient care. If you are not the right person for that job you will burn out...become bitter and generally be miserable and difficult to work with and then finally be a danger to your patients--I've seen alot of this. Be careful speculating with the finite amount of energy and time we're given on this earth--I've made my share of these types of mistakes. May Peace and Wisdom aid your search. --Ben.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Hello all, I am a Canadian applicant and this year was my second attempt at gaining entry into my local school in Manitoba. I will receive a decision on my application in early June. However, I am not very confident of gaining acceptance, since my MCAT score of 27O falls quite short of the school average for acceptance of 10.30. The MCAT is worth 50% of the admission at my local school, and I don't think I can do that much better with a re-write. As such, I have applied to other programs in healthcare, namely nursing and pharmacy. I am very confident of gaining entry into nursing and will be very competitive with pharmacy. What do my fellow medical school applicants think of a career in nursing? I am definitely leaning towards nursing because of the patient interaction, which is very limited in pharmacy. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I applied to 9 U.S. schools in 2003, which cost me over $2000 in application fees and not one interview!!! heck, I even supported the war in Iraq and ballistic missile defence. Unfortunately, our government is formed by the population density in the east run by rampant Liberals. Heck, maybe I'll move down once I become a nurse, Texas and California are recruiting quite heavily at the local university.

This means that you need an F-1 to attend med school, right? You are applying as a foreign student? (Though how foreign is Canada really!)

Nursing is the quickest route to a green card (which may make the application process easier, but a TAD unethical), but do you want to be a nurse?


Like the other poster said, nursing and pharmacy are valid career choices.

Good fortune
Agape

 

[Canuck75]

Nursing and pharmacy are both valid career choices, if this is what you want to do. But if you really want to be a physician, you might want to get some feedback on your application to see what you can reasonable do to improve your situation.

For example, a 27 MCAT is borderline, but it is in the competitive range. However, you only applied to 9 schools The average applicant applies to 11 schools. Someone with a borderline MCAT should probably have applied to at least 18, preferably more. There are other issues, such as applying late (after June 1st), weak LORs, etc. Personally, I would make sure I maximized my chances of becoming a doctor before I looked at alternative careers.

Hi there, thanks for the insight. Unfortunately, as a Canadian citizen, I was limited to applying to only about 9-11 US medical schools. The Canadian medical schools put similar restrictions on US citizens, only 2 out of the 16 schools take applications from non-Canadian citizens. In addition, each provincial school in Canada is similar to each state school in the US, whereby they reserve 90% of the spots to local residents. My best chance is in my home province, but as I mentioned my MCAT is below the average for matriculants and is worth 50% of the admission process. It's not impossible to get in with my MCAT score, but very unlikely. The way I see it, nursing is the next best thing to becoming a doctor, and I know I want to be in health care for the long term. Thanks again.

 

[Canuck75]

I think you should get close up and personal with what a nurse does before spending 2 or more years training to be one. I'm a tech in an E.R.; my job description consists of chiefly assisting the nursing staff, furthermore I was raised by a nurse who went back to get trained as an N.P. I came to know that I wanted to be a physician while working in the midst of all the health professions as the E.D. interfaces with everybody.

I'm just pointing out that I think alot of people are going into nursing--or medicine for that matter--with little idea of what their getting into. It's a very demanding field that works best for people who can ignore alot of crap to get to what they really enjoy--interacting with patients and making them well. Believe me its nurses who really do the intimate aspects of patient care. If you are not the right person for that job you will burn out...become bitter and generally be miserable and difficult to work with and then finally be a danger to your patients--I've seen alot of this. Be careful speculating with the finite amount of energy and time we're given on this earth--I've made my share of these types of mistakes. May Peace and Wisdom aid your search. --Ben.

Ben, I agree with you and I'd be lying if I said I know everything there is to the nursing career. In fact, it's a four year degree following by RN certification. At 27, I need to move on from the aspirations of becoming a doctor and nursing is the next best thing. Thanks for the advice, Mike.

 

[Canuck75]

This means that you need an F-1 to attend med school, right? You are applying as a foreign student? (Though how foreign is Canada really!)

Nursing is the quickest route to a green card (which may make the application process easier, but a TAD unethical), but do you want to be a nurse?


Like the other poster said, nursing and pharmacy are valid career choices.

Good fortune
Agape

I agree with you, how foreign is Canada after all, I mean outside of gun restrictions and national healthcare, no difference. Canadian medical schools put the same restrictions on US citizens as well. Only 2/16 of the medical schools will even take applications from non-Canadians. It boils down to a lack of supply of medical school spots in both countries, which limited my applications to the US to only 9 schools. Nursing and pharmacy are careers in very high demand in both countries, but I'm definitely leaning towards nursing for the patient interaction. I'm looking forward to one day moving up to America from America junior

 

[sunnyjohn]

Ben, I agree with you and I'd be lying if I said I know everything there is to the nursing career. In fact, it's a four year degree following by RN certification. At 27, I need to move on from the aspirations of becoming a doctor and nursing is the next best thing. Thanks for the advice, Mike.

Canuck, your only 27? You have time ! Wow your still a young chick!

If you are sure you want to move on, then go for it.

IMHO, I think you should give it a bit more time. Why not try studying for the MCAT for a few months and taking it again. I know you said in your OP you could not do better with a retake, but with the right study material and a good review class, just maybe?

If you can't get it above the average needed for admission in Canada then maybe you should explore your other options.


Even if you don't get in to med school for another 3 years, you will still only be 30. Trust me 30 does not feel much different than 27. You just get smarter....and cooler

Think of it this way, at 40 you could be a full fledged attending at UWO or Royal Victoria Hospital with 25 more years of practice ahead of you.



Agape...

 

[sistahnik]

Hey all, I agree with benelswick!! I also work in the ER and I tell you what, you better make sure that you really know the scope of their job before you switch solely over to nursing. just get to know what the field is demanding from you and make sure you do your research on nursing. I think that you should contact the schools you applied to just to get an idea of what you can do to improve your chances if you really want to be a Doc. just my .02!! good luck with your decision.

P.S. just another thought, see if you can volunteer in the ER or the hospital floors to get close and personal with the nursing staff. The ER and the floors are run a little different if I'm not mistaken.

 

[TwoLegacies]

i agree that nursing and pharmacy are both great careers. with nursing especially, you'll never be out of a job.

but since you put a on the title of your post, i'm guessing you don't REALLY want to be a nurse. like everyone else said, make sure you know what it means to be a nurse. and if you don't want that, don't give up on the doctor dream!!! think about it this way: what's one more year or so reapplying compared to the rest of your life in a job that is your second choice? if you do become a nurse, are you going to keep wondering "what if"? the choice will be staring you in the face every day as you interact with doctors.

that said, maybe you would be happy with the choice. just don't choose it "because you couldn't get into med school".

good luck and here's to hoping you get good news in june.

 

[benelswick]

I hear you, not tryin to tell you your business....nursing will provide a good stable career. There are 2 year certificate programs at community colleges, that might lessen the time investment. But just as a side note....I am 31 and just getting started with the pre-med game...so you know, don't let just the number bother you. Good luck finding your way stateside.--Ben

 

[Sancho]

30 is the new 21, so rock on yo.
when you are a relatively wealthy doc at 40+, you'll be able to afford the nanobots to keep you hella young.
and us frozen people in canada and in lands close(MI) have the advantage of being well preserved.