Dental Advice Post 1: Dentistry vs. Medicine
Reader Question: "I was reading that after graduation you had a change of heart and chose dentistry instead of ER medicine. I'm curious as to why you switched and what made you switch? Was it an obvious choice or more of a pragmatic choice once you learned more? Or a newly discovered passion? Was that change before or after you did dental shadowing? What do you love about dentistry?"
My response:
I was absolutely passionate about medicine growing up. I went to Summer Scrubs programs and decided that I wanted to become an ER physician. So I did the whole EMT certification thing so that I could put that on my resume and become a stronger applicant for medical schools after I worked for a year to gain residency in North Carolina.
I don't know exactly how the switch of what I was passionate about becoming happened to be honest. It was a slow process that took be really questioning myself to finally recognize that I was depriving myself of because I didn't know what else was out there. I was trying to balance studying for the MCAT/ work a full time job/ and commute 45 minutes each way to work at the urgent care center that I was employed by. I was so miserably tired every single night and could barely focus on OChem when I was trying to simultaneously eat during lunch break because I was just so tired and overworked.
One day, one of the physicians came by and asked me if I could imagine doing something like this until I was in my mid 30s. I laughed and told him heck no, but that eventually it would be worth it because I was absolutely determined to pursue a dream I was so stubborn about until that point. And he told me that as much as he loved medicine, he wouldn't chose it again if he were in my position (and he REALLY loved it bc he was still practicing at 94, walker in tow). He told me that I needed to honestly sit down and decide what was important to me in a career. I guess I hadn't really though about what characteristics I wanted in a profession besides helping people and improving their lives. I just always assumed that this is what I was supposed to do bc I never had anyone put me on the spot and question me.
So that night I went home and made up a list of Things I Wanted vs. Didn't Want in a career. On the "want side" I had things like autonomy, personal time for myself/ maybe a family one day, patients not dying on my watch and being able to truly make a difference in many people's lives. And when I compared that to medicine, I didn't really think that that fit my perception of the field. I didn't know that I wanted to do dentistry per se, but I realized that I was thinking that I wanted to do medicine without really considering the pros and cons of the field and what my life would be like over the next decade.
Sure, in medicine you definitely get to help a ton of people, you're respected, and you get awesome benefits. But for me, I had to determine if the 7+ year sacrifice was worth it. I had an acquaintance that knew a dentist, and he suggested that I try shadowing dentistry. And honestly within hours I knew that was the field I was supposed to go into. I loved the way that he transformed not only the superficial aspects of the person (i.e. their teeth and smiles), but moreso their deeper selves--their confidence and sense of self-worth. I loved the idea of being able to clock out at 5pm on a Thursday and then be done until Monday morning. I liked being the boss of my own schedule one day. And I really liked the idea of being able to be done in 4 years and begin my career.
So to answer your question, it wasn't a "flip of the light switch" decision. I was definitely struggling with the thought of medicine vs. any other field way before the older physician asked me that question, but I always shrugged it off and chalked up my questioning to just being tired and stressed. I think that being put on the spot like that was really good and life changing for me though because it made me honestly question if I was in it for the right reasons. And that's an important thing to know because it is going to not only come up during interviews, but also will be the thing that motivates you long-term when you're pulling all-nighters during exam week. And it will really set the stage for how you're going to approach how you practice post-graduation.
My response:
I was absolutely passionate about medicine growing up. I went to Summer Scrubs programs and decided that I wanted to become an ER physician. So I did the whole EMT certification thing so that I could put that on my resume and become a stronger applicant for medical schools after I worked for a year to gain residency in North Carolina.
I don't know exactly how the switch of what I was passionate about becoming happened to be honest. It was a slow process that took be really questioning myself to finally recognize that I was depriving myself of because I didn't know what else was out there. I was trying to balance studying for the MCAT/ work a full time job/ and commute 45 minutes each way to work at the urgent care center that I was employed by. I was so miserably tired every single night and could barely focus on OChem when I was trying to simultaneously eat during lunch break because I was just so tired and overworked.
One day, one of the physicians came by and asked me if I could imagine doing something like this until I was in my mid 30s. I laughed and told him heck no, but that eventually it would be worth it because I was absolutely determined to pursue a dream I was so stubborn about until that point. And he told me that as much as he loved medicine, he wouldn't chose it again if he were in my position (and he REALLY loved it bc he was still practicing at 94, walker in tow). He told me that I needed to honestly sit down and decide what was important to me in a career. I guess I hadn't really though about what characteristics I wanted in a profession besides helping people and improving their lives. I just always assumed that this is what I was supposed to do bc I never had anyone put me on the spot and question me.
So that night I went home and made up a list of Things I Wanted vs. Didn't Want in a career. On the "want side" I had things like autonomy, personal time for myself/ maybe a family one day, patients not dying on my watch and being able to truly make a difference in many people's lives. And when I compared that to medicine, I didn't really think that that fit my perception of the field. I didn't know that I wanted to do dentistry per se, but I realized that I was thinking that I wanted to do medicine without really considering the pros and cons of the field and what my life would be like over the next decade.
Sure, in medicine you definitely get to help a ton of people, you're respected, and you get awesome benefits. But for me, I had to determine if the 7+ year sacrifice was worth it. I had an acquaintance that knew a dentist, and he suggested that I try shadowing dentistry. And honestly within hours I knew that was the field I was supposed to go into. I loved the way that he transformed not only the superficial aspects of the person (i.e. their teeth and smiles), but moreso their deeper selves--their confidence and sense of self-worth. I loved the idea of being able to clock out at 5pm on a Thursday and then be done until Monday morning. I liked being the boss of my own schedule one day. And I really liked the idea of being able to be done in 4 years and begin my career.
So to answer your question, it wasn't a "flip of the light switch" decision. I was definitely struggling with the thought of medicine vs. any other field way before the older physician asked me that question, but I always shrugged it off and chalked up my questioning to just being tired and stressed. I think that being put on the spot like that was really good and life changing for me though because it made me honestly question if I was in it for the right reasons. And that's an important thing to know because it is going to not only come up during interviews, but also will be the thing that motivates you long-term when you're pulling all-nighters during exam week. And it will really set the stage for how you're going to approach how you practice post-graduation.