Feeling lost between going all-in on premed or getting healthcare experience first
I’m 21 and feel really stuck trying to figure out what direction makes the most sense for me, so I’d really appreciate advice from people who have been through nursing, premed, post-baccs, or nontraditional paths to medical school.
I originally started college on a pre-law track. When I transferred to NYU, I realized I was much more interested in medicine and switched toward premed. Since then, (after a year) I’ve decided to leave NYU and move back to California, and now I’m basically trying to decide how I want to rebuild my academic path from here.
Financially, I’m in a somewhat unusual position because I received money from a sexual abuse lawsuit, so I have the opportunity to choose between programs based more on what makes sense for my future rather than only choosing the cheapest option. I know I’m very fortunate to have that flexibility, but it almost makes the decision harder because there are so many possible routes.
Academically, I still need to finish precalculus before moving into the rest of the traditional premed science sequence. Right now I’m considering a few different paths.
One option is going back to community college, completing my prerequisites, and eventually transferring to a UC or another four-year school for something like psychology or biology while doing the full premed track.
Another option I’ve been seriously considering is going into healthcare first. For example, I could do a surgical technology program or attend a private BSN/RN program, become licensed and actually work with patients, and then complete a premed post-bacc or any missing prerequisites afterward if I decide I still want to pursue medical school.
The reason I’m considering the second option isn’t because I’ve stopped wanting to become a doctor. I’ve always wanted to do something significant with my life, and medicine is still the path I’m most drawn to. I’m just having a lot of self-doubt about committing immediately to the very long premed → medical school → residency timeline when I haven’t actually had any real experience or gotten my foot in the door in healthcare yet.
Part of me thinks becoming a surgical tech or RN first could give me real clinical experience, and a much clearer idea of whether I love medicine enough to keep going. If I did nursing, I could potentially finish my BSN, work as an RN, complete whatever traditional premed courses I’m missing through a post-bacc, take the MCAT, and apply to medical school later.
But another part of me worries that I’m overcomplicating things and that if becoming a physician is what I ultimately want, I should just commit to the traditional premed route now instead of adding several years and another career in between.
If you were in my position, would you:
- Go back to CC → transfer for psych/bio → complete premed prerequisites → apply to med school?
- Do a private BSN/RN program → work as an RN → complete a post-bacc/missing premed prerequisites → apply later?
- Do surgical tech first → work in the OR → return to school for premed?
Again, I know that I’m in a particularly fortunate financial position, and I don’t take that for granted. I’m just genuinely very lost about what I should do. A huge part of this for me is wanting to build a life and career that I’m proud of and make my immigrant parents proud too. I think my biggest fear right now is making a decision based on self-doubt instead of what I’m actually capable of.