Need advice about options :)

Hi, so I'm having a bit of a dilemma atm. I want to go into medicine, nursing or paramedic science after Uni but I'm unsure of how to get there. Medical school is very competitive and I was thinking of doing a degree in Biomedical science first and then applying to a graduate medicine degree. However, I am unsure if I instead would like to do a nursing degree or a paramedic science degree. Is it flexible? For example, if I go down the medicine route and then decide to do nursing would I have to go and do a nursing degree in order to do it or will having medicine be fine? Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance xx :smile:

Reply 1

Mightybadger16

3

Original post by Becka_Kinchin

Hi, so I'm having a bit of a dilemma atm. I want to go into medicine, nursing or paramedic science after Uni but I'm unsure of how to get there. Medical school is very competitive and I was thinking of doing a degree in Biomedical science first and then applying to a graduate medicine degree. However, I am unsure if I instead would like to do a nursing degree or a paramedic science degree. Is it flexible? For example, if I go down the medicine route and then decide to do nursing would I have to go and do a nursing degree in order to do it or will having medicine be fine? Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance xx :smile:

I am slightly confused by your wording towards the end...Do you mean do a full medical degree and then go into nursing? To work as a nurse you would need a nursing degree. Although if you have graduated with a medical degree why would you not continue in the field? You mention medicine, nursing and paramedic science after uni so i'll try break these down below:

Graduate medicine: As you say it is competitive but if its what you want to do its worth it. If you can get a 2.1/1st with good experience and a good entrance exam score you have a great chance. It requires commitment though and the admission process weeds out people who aren't fully committed to a lifetime career in the field.

Nursing: If you do a degree you can do a 2 year masters in nursing that will qualify you as a nurse. This is an option unis are trying to push due to the nursing shortages. You will also receive funding for this believe but you may need to check that.

Paramedic: unfortunately there is no postgraduate conversion to become a paramedic. You would have to do a paramedic science degree which you would not get funding for as its a second degree. You could become a student paramedic and work upwards through experience, but having a degree would potentially make this route a bit pointless.

Hope this helped!

Reply 2

junior.doctor

18

You cannot do nursing with a medicine degree.

Medicine, nursing and paramedic are all very different careers. It sounds like the best next step for you would be some good work experience in each of these areas to understand the differences and start to consider which one you might be best suited to.

If you decide that medicine is what you want to do, then the most straightforward way of doing it is by working hard at your A-levels, getting those grades and doing the undergraduate course. Don't aim immediately for graduate entry medicine before you even have any grades.

It is possible to apply for graduate entry medicine with nursing as a first degree, but don't do this if you are sure from the outset that you want to do medicine rather than nursing.

Best wishes.

Reply 3

Democracy

20

Original post by Becka_Kinchin

Hi, so I'm having a bit of a dilemma atm. I want to go into medicine, nursing or paramedic science after Uni but I'm unsure of how to get there. Medical school is very competitive and I was thinking of doing a degree in Biomedical science first and then applying to a graduate medicine degree. However, I am unsure if I instead would like to do a nursing degree or a paramedic science degree. Is it flexible? For example, if I go down the medicine route and then decide to do nursing would I have to go and do a nursing degree in order to do it or will having medicine be fine? Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance xx :smile:

Graduate entry medicine is more competitive, not less.

Medicine, nursing and paramedic science are very different courses with very different entry requirements and career outcomes. They're definitely not interchangeable. It seems like at the moment you've narrowed down your general career interest to healthcare - to further narrow it down to a more specific job and degree, it's worth doing some work experience and reading around about the different jobs available in healthcare and what they're like. This website is a good starting point, as it contains useful info on training and personal stories from current healthcare professionals: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles

It's also worth thinking about what kind of job and lifestyle you want to have in the future - the length of training and demands on a doctor are very different to the kind of demands which a paramedic faces in their day to day job. At any rate, the most important thing is to do lots of research and to try and match what you want to do to your personality and interests.

Reply 4

Becka_Kinchin

OP

2

Original post by Democracy

Graduate entry medicine is more competitive, not less.

Ok, so starting at undergrad is probably a better option. However, with my current GCSE grades and my predicted A level grades I'm unsure if I will be accepted (my GCSE grades are listed in my bio, and my predicted grades are AAAB). Also, where can I do relevant work experience apart from in a hospital? Would care homes be ok?

Reply 5

Democracy

20

Original post by Becka_Kinchin

Ok, so starting at undergrad is probably a better option. However, with my current GCSE grades and my predicted A level grades I'm unsure if I will be accepted (my GCSE grades are listed in my bio, and my predicted grades are AAAB). Also, where can I do relevant work experience apart from in a hospital? Would care homes be ok?

A care home is good for volunteering experience and to see whether a patient oriented profession is for you generally speaking, but to actually see what day to day life is like for doctors, hospital or GP work experience is really second to none.

Your GCSE grades are generally fine. Some medical schools look for a high number of GCSE A* grades when choosing candidates for interview, so it's better to think strategically and apply to medical schools which would look at other aspects of your application e.g. UKCAT score. But on the whole, your GCSEs shouldn't stop you from getting an offer assuming the rest of your application is in order.

Lots more info here:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine

Need advice about options :)

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you