Too ill at medical school - second chance or nursing?

I would definitely try GEM! If it's your dream you might as well try, even if you only apply once, what have you got to lose? And if you get rejected then at least you'll know you've tried and can then go onto the nursing? Because if nursing isn't as competitive then I guess it wouldn't matter if you didn't apply yet? I've applied for ug medicine this year and although I'm not the perfect candidate, I would have always regretted not at least trying to follow my dream

Hi.
Just wanting some opinions and advice really.

I went to medical school when I was 18. Incredibly excited and motivated, being something I decided that I wanted to do from the age of 12.

However when I was at medical school I unfortunately developed a whole heap of fairly severe medical problems. I finished my third year, and then made a decision to take a year out and have hospital treatment.

Unfortunately it took much longer than a year, and so I made the only decision I could at the time and withdrew from the course. I was in no way pressurised to do this from the medical achool, but I knew that I'd had too much time out and couldn't guarantee when I'd be well enough to return. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, and I've been through a sort of mourning for the life I'd dreamt of and worked so hard towards.

Fast forward a couple of years. I made the decision to apply for postgrad children's nursing. (As I'd completed 3 years and 360 credits I was awarded an honours degree in medical sciences). I had always wanted to specialise in paediatrics, and believed the path of being a dr was closed to me as in my eyes I'd failed medical school.

Anyway, here comes the issue. My medical school gave me the most glowing reference. They made it very clear that I hadn't failed, were very complimentary over how I was as a student, and said that I'd shown great insight and maturity to know that I wasn't well enough at the time to do full time study. And it's sort of made the penny drop with me - I hadn't failed, I am good enough, I'd always passed academically and clinically, I was just sick.

So now I don't know what to do. Pursue nursing and work hard and get to advanced practitioner level. Be less stressful, quicker to learn, fees paid for, certain to get in. Or withdraw my application and instead apply in 2014 to do graduate entry medicine? Which is crazily competitive, and I'm not sure how any uni would view the whole been to medical school before... My health is better, but I'm still not 100%. But I think I have the right treatment package around me.

I've been told by several people that I am too intelligent for nursing and should instead be looking at GEM. But I've left medical school full of personal doubts over my academic ability, although no one else has them in me.

What would you do? Thanks for any replies


Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you for your advice. I think you're right about not wanting to have any regrets. Good luck with your application!


Posted from TSR Mobile

Is it worth getting in touch with your old medical school to get their views on you reapplying? It would be unorthodox but it doesn't seem that yours is a traditional case.

Good luck whatever happens, and its great that you're in better health now.

I'm not sure on the ins and outs of how it would work, but would your old medical school maybe consider letting you reapply for your original place? I.e. maybe repeat 3rd year to get back into things but otherwise continue where you left off? You're a very unusual case anyway (in the best possible way!), so there's no harm in asking about very unusual ways back into medicine.

Certainly, as Sarky suggested, speak to your old school about your plans regardless. It sounds like your confidence took quite a knock with having to leave, and whichever route you choose to take it would be sensible to do it knowing that you are academically capable of succeeding in whatever you put your mind to, and an old tutor might be able to have a chat with you to that end.