Nursing College/University in Ontario help please?

hey guys, i'm in 2nd year of a BSc program at waterloo university. i don't really know what it is i want to do in terms of career, but know it will be health care. i hate the whole idea of taking these science courses in hopes of getting good grades for med/dental school.... ever since i came here, i have been debating whether i should switch to nursing...i feel that im not motivated/aspiring to become a doctor/dentist regardless of how prestigious they are. i sometimes feel like i'm trying to find an easier path by going through to nursing. i am really confused and need to decide before life passes me by. also, i heard college > university for nursing...any advice? thanks
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Hey, If you feel that nursing would be right for you, then do it. It certainly isn't taking the "easy way out" (though a lot of people seem to think so). Nursing is intensive, both physically and emotionally. You will have more patient care training than a doctor, so it is important that you are comfortable working closely with others. Not just the patient, but the doctors as well. Don't feel like being a nurse is inferior! If the motivation is not there to be a doctor, don't do it. If it's there for nursing, do it! I went through a similar dilemma, going into a BA in Psychology thinking I wanted to be a psychologist, but quickly realizing that I didn't have the patience to go through all the schooling. About a year and a half ago I decided I wanted to do nursing, so I'm finishing my pre-reqs before applying to nursing schools next year. If Waterloo offers a nursing program, see if you can transfer from your program. I know for my school (University of Ottawa) you can only switch programs if you are already in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Otherwise, you have to do a separate application to get in. There are lots of schools in Ontario that offer accelerated programs that you can finish in about 2 yrs. As for the college/uni debate, the thing you should consider most is this: clinical hours, clinical hours, clinical hours. Classroom learning is obviously important but your clinicals are when you get the hands-on experience that you will require for the future. My father is a nurse and one thing he laments is that nursing programs nowadays don't offer enough clinical hours. You can do a college/uni collaborative program (like McMaster/Mohawk), which will give you a BScN, a strictly uni program that will give you a BScN, or a strictly college program, which will usually give you a diploma (there are some colleges that grant degrees). If you get a diploma, you won't be an RN, but a Licensed Practical Nurse/Registered Practical Nurse. If you decide later that you want to be an RN, there are LPN-RN bridging programs. But you will require a BScN if you ever want to do grad studies. Also, the BScN allows you to work in other provinces or countries, while sometimes the LPN programs are only applicable for the province you live in. I hope I helped. To give you an idea of where you could go, all these schools offer accelerated nursing degrees: University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, York U, McMaster, University of Western Ontario, Queen's, and Trent. Good luck!
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