Switching from Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) to Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing at USYD (1 Viewer)

[Mmedynskyj]

I need some urgent help guys…

At the moment I’m currently enrolled in Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies), but my end goal is to get into medicine, and I found out that there is a degree called: Bachelor of Science and Master of Nursing. The reason why I chose Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) was because i was open to nursing being an alternative pathway if I wasn’t able to get into medicine, and I chose it over medical science because I wasn’t interested in the career prospects of medsci, but finding out that there’s a degree that covers the science content I may need in the GAMSAT (Bachelor of Science and Master of Nursing) for first year bio/chem, whilst a career in the end as a nurse seems like a good idea.

If there’s anyone who has done either of the degrees I mentioned above, should I switch from Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) to Bachelor of Science and Master of Nursing?

 

[jimmysmith560]

Essentially, both programs enable you to start a career in nursing, meaning that, at the very least, a career in nursing can be pursued as a backup option. A difference between the Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) and the Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing is that the latter takes an additional year to complete. Whether this is significant depends on your study preferences, as some students may wish to complete their tertiary education as fast as possible, while others may be happy to study for longer if needed.

In your particular case, it seems that your decision would be better informed by the content of each program rather than its duration. In such a case, you should check whether only the Bachelor of Science covers the content that you might need to be familiar with for favourable performance in the GAMSAT, or whether the Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) also covers that content. Your assumption regarding the need for scientific knowledge for the GAMSAT appears to be correct, since ACER states the following:

"If your first degree is in a non-scientific field of study you can still sit GAMSAT and succeed in an application for admission to one of the graduate-entry programs. A science degree is not always a prerequisite and institutions encourage applications from candidates who have achieved academic excellence in other fields. However, it must be stressed that success in GAMSAT is unlikely without knowledge and ability in the biological and physical sciences."

Overall, if program length is not an important factor in making a decision, then perhaps enrolling in the Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing would be your best course of action.

I hope this helps!