Any extra money you may bring in as a medical student will help you a lot. Your school and housing expenditures are paid for by student loans, scholarships, or your parents. It’s difficult to come by beer money these days.
But, in all seriousness, bringing in some additional cash will help you keep your credit card balances low, pay for conferences, interviews, and residency applications, and possibly minimize the number of student loans you will need to borrow.
Is It Possible to Work While Attending Medical School?
Yes, it is feasible. This, however, is not advised because it might have a negative impact on your physical and emotional health.
Medical schools, unlike law schools, do not allow full-time employees the option of taking classes at night or on weekends.
It’s either 100% commitment or dropping out. However, you can still contribute financially by applying for scholarships or working part-time during your summer holidays.
Working and studying at the same time, on the other hand, is borderline suicidal. Even the brightest full-time students struggle to pass their topics; imagine how much more difficult it is to pass your subjects as a working medical student.
But, then again, everything is possible if you are truly committed. Jomel Lapides, who worked while in medical school, was able to not only pass but also to excel on the 2020 Physical Licensure Examination.
Is It Possible to Work Part-time as a Nurse while Attending Medical School?
Although this sounds like a great idea, I believe it would be exceedingly difficult to implement.
There are two fundamental issues here, one practical and one legal. To begin with, there is the practical side, which has two strands: being a nurse is a full-time job that is quite exhausting.
Being a medical student is also a full-time job: it’s not something you can fit into your hectic schedule as a side project, like a Tuesday evening workout class. There just aren’t enough hours in the week to complete both of these tasks. The second set of practical challenges is that getting into a UK university to study medicine is extremely competitive; it is tremendously overcrowded, and every year, many well-qualified applicants are denied admission.
On the legal side, I assume the Individual is not in the United Kingdom and will require a visa. This might be a Tier 2 visa, which allows an employer to sponsor you as an employee, or a Tier 4 visa, which allows you to study full-time. However, you can only work for a maximum of 20 hours per week if you have a Tier 4 visa, and you can’t be a full-time student without one.
So, in general, the answer to your question is No, it would be quite difficult to study medicine while working, whether as a nurse or otherwise. I apologize for being so pessimistic.
This must be discouraging if you are a qualified nurse who aspires to be a doctor. However, there are options for becoming a specialist nurse with many of the same functions and responsibilities as a doctor, such as midwifery or working as a nurse practitioner in a GP’s office. There are options to specialize in specific areas such as neonatal care, epilepsy, or asthma, or to become a Health Visitor – it’s not just ward work.
Conclusion:
Working while a medical student is not a good idea. It will only cause you problems in the future. The goal here isn’t only to make it through medical school. You’re aiming for something specific.
Make progress towards your goal. Make a short-term sacrifice by squeezing pennies in order to achieve your long-term aim.
I think my point is that managing your time and resources in medical school is always a struggle. You want to do well and not have any justifications for why your grades have fallen as a result of your efforts.
I hope this response is helpful, even if it is disheartening.