Apprenticeship level 4/5 or foundation degree?

So I don't know whether to do a foundation degree for health studies which is 3 years long or apprenticeship level 4/5 which I heard is the same as a degree. I'm on a level 3 health and social care course now and eventually want to become a junior doctor. How long will it take and what progression route should I take. I find mental health interesting also, can I not do that along the way? Thanks!!

you would need to do a degree then a medical degree - I doubt an apprenticeship would be viewed as the same even if produces the same qualification. grad entry med is very competitive

no you need a full bachelors for grad entry and you wouldn't be allowed onto undergraduate without a levels or access course

So will I never be able to become a junior doctor because I couldn't do a levels?

I believe that's accurate but not for the reasons that fxlloutboyy stated.

You can get onto an undergraduate degree without A levels or an Access course, things like BTECs are fine, or sometimes professional experience can even be used for entry.

Where you would struggle is that a lot of programs, even grad entry ones, ask for A levels at certain grades, usually As or Bs. The exceptions to these are: Imperial, Newcastle, Nottingham, St. George's, Swansea, Warwick. However it should be noted that in the time it takes for you to do a degree this could easily change. Whether it will be in your favour is another matter.

To add to this, graduate entry is highly competitive. You will be competing against a large proportion of the people who were rejected from medicine initially and as a result have had 4-6 years of preparing and being very knowledgeable about the medical school application process.

There's also the cost factor, realistically you will need significant support from your parents in order to do GEM as the maintenance you get is noticeably lower than in your first degree.

That said, go and do a nursing degree, even if it takes an access course. Anyone who is in the realm of medical school admissions quality will make a very good nurse. You have more career options from nursing, you get into the workforce and start earning earlier, you can earn more and do so earlier if you are reasonably ambitious e.g. Nurse Consultants and Nurse Managers get paid extremely well, more than GPs is not uncommon, you will always be in demand and won't be waiting for jobs like doctors often are (the stats can be found online but for this year about 40% of post-F2s didn't have a specialist position). Most importantly for you, it will give a fantastic basic for joining a medical course.

I thought I had to retake my gcse's and pay for a level

What GCSE grades did you get? Because a few of the universities I mentioned do require Cs or Bs in English and sometimes Maths. Warwick and Newcastle are fine without that. The MSC guide says St. George's are fine without it also but after looking at their site it's a bit confusing and you might need a B in English so I would contact them to make sure. However that would still mean you only have 3 choices which is quite problematic.

My gcse grades were terrible due to being physically/emotionally abused and having clinical depression at the time. Hence why I had to do level 2 & 3 health and social care at college. Should I pay and retake my gcse's? I retook English which I got a level 5 (good pass) and passed level 1 maths and now I'm doing gcse.

Yes, it would be strongly advised to retake your Maths and English GCSEs to get Bs. Partly for medical admissions, partly because a lot of things in general will have at least Cs in these subjects as an entry requirement including many degree courses, I think Nursing would be one of the areas which require this but don't quote me on that.

Helloworld_95 is right. It might benefit you to try nursing instead, and sometimes being in nurisng does offer high paid opportunities. Just as an example, at my hospital theres a nurse in my clinic that is a nurse consultant

I've got a good c in English, I'll try my hardest in maths and revise to the max hopefully to get a B, should I take a foundation degree (3years) and see if I can get into a nursing in Uni

I don't think you'll need to take a foundation degree, an Access to HE diploma or foundation year may be a better option.

Will I still get on he diploma with level 3 health and social