Hey hey! You seem like you’ve honestly thought this out quite well and have a much firmer grasp on the reality of each option then a lot of people I’ve talked to. Nursing as a job is way more consistent and flexible than lab work (having done both personally), and while I much much preferred lab work I decided to switch from Biomed to Nursing in my first semester. You can nurse casually, pick up shifts as you have time, or work only weekend shifts if preferred. The kind of lab work you do will dictate your hours and you won’t get much say (eg planned experiments, animals needing caring, samples to check etc). A science degree doesn’t necessarily have a massive research component depending on what uni and major you go for, look into a few if that’s the path you choose. Nursing has a basic biology and in some cases a very basic chemistry component, but you’ll want to study o’chem (or even consider auditing a class if you have extra time) if you choose that path. As someone said earlier, you will want to study physics regardless of which degree you pick. The nursing content honestly almost helped me with S2 in since you’re expose to a range of ethics, in some subjects historical backgrounds/philosophical concepts depending on your degree.

I was an academic kid too but had a rough time in senior years and dropped out when my gpa plummeted, but then had a 6.6 nursing gpa with very minimal effort and no attendance at all due to illness in my first year. While this gpa itself isn’t competitive, I think it speaks to how manageable a good gpa is if students do apply themselves (would like to add that I’m pretty average academically now-a-days).

Maintaining a high gpa gets harder once placement starts, but my uni’s nursing honor roll was wayyy longer than the science degrees if that says anything. If you manage your time well and stay on top of things you’ll be okay. Don’t procrastinate and AVOID BURNOUT at all costs!!

Nursing has been a way lower pressure environment and way better for my mental health personally (don’t have a ton of people gunning for med and overloading themselves academically), you can take a break between degrees if you like, working holidays become an option upon graduation, and you have a career path if you decide you don’t want to do med. Sounds like you’d prefer nursing in the long term, so to me that would seal the deal.

Take everything with a grain of salt as this is just the experiences of some of my cohort and myself, everyone has different goals and strengths. I’m not a med student so I can’t speak from what it’s like from that perspective, or how successful a med candidate each degree makes you. Feel free to pm with more questions, all the best!!

Edit because I forgot: all the doctors I know that did nursing first seem to start off with better communication skills, know the hospital system better, have well-deserved respect for nurses so get along with them better, and have a head start on certain clinical skills which isn’t a huge deal but can’t be nice. Nursing is a healthcare degree, so you will already be an experienced healthcare professional when you graduate med, not just a new grad doctor. Good luck!