Advice for switching to dent

[switcher101]

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I'm currently in pharmacy school (just finished 1st year) and i want to switch to dentistry.

I don't think my gpa is high enough for canadian school (only 80% overall at ubc and 81% with worst year dropped), however i plan on raising that to maybe 82-83% during second year pharmacy.

I have converted my % grade to 4.0 GPA scale using OMSAS and it comes to around 3.46 (which i plan on bringing up to 3.53).

Can anyone give me advice and.or recommendations on which dental schools i have a shot at (US and canadian) if i score 20-22 on the dat?

thanks

http://www.premed101.com/forums/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=361338

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=619685

 

[NyCzPeter]

Are you from Canada? Also, there is a section on the applications that asks whether you are currently applying, have previously applied, or have previously attended any healthcare institution. So you better have one heck of a reason (or make one up), since adcoms will naturally be somewhat suspicious of your intentions. With that been said, congratulations on your decision to pursue dentistry.

 

[switcher101]

Are you from Canada? Also, there is a section on the applications that asks whether you are currently applying, have previously applied, or have previously attended any healthcare institution. So you better have one heck of a reason (or make one up), since adcoms will naturally be somewhat suspicious of your intentions. With that been said, congratulations on your decision to pursue dentistry.

yes i am from canada.

i'm switching cause pharmacy isn't what i expected (haven't worked in pharmacy till now). its really repetitive, really high stress and you absolutely have to be able to keep track of multiple things going on at once and very little autonomy.

 

[xylem29]

yes i am from canada.

i'm switching cause pharmacy isn't what i expected (haven't worked in pharmacy till now). its really repetitive, really high stress and you absolutely have to be able to keep track of multiple things going on at once and very little autonomy.

Welcome to the working life of a healthcare professional...with the exception of autonomy, you will find this in dentistry as well.

Since you've never worked in a pharmacy until now, I think you should shadow a dentist just to make sure.

 

[somethinpositiv]

i'm switching cause pharmacy isn't what i expected (haven't worked in pharmacy till now). its really repetitive, really high stress and you absolutely have to be able to keep track of multiple things going on at once and very little autonomy.

Well, dentistry might not be what you expected either lol. When you're an associate, it's really repetitive, really high stress, you absolutely have to be able to multitask well, and you have little autonomy. After several years and you own your own business, then you'll have the autonomy; just like the previous poster said.

Dentistry is probably as stressful/repetitive/difficult as Pharmacy, if not more so. You'll find repetition and stress in any healthcare field. To me it sounds like you might be choosing Dentistry for the wrong reasons...

As far as schools go, take the DAT and then come ask us, we really can't tell you what your chances are right now. Take the American DAT not the Canadian (since with your GPA you'll be exclusively applying to American schools). And getting a 20-22 DAT is harder than you might think...

 

[switcher101]

Well, dentistry might not be what you expected either lol. When you're an associate, it's really repetitive, really high stress, you absolutely have to be able to multitask well, and you have little autonomy. After several years and you own your own business, then you'll have the autonomy; just like the previous poster said.

well, i'm sure every mouth is different.

checking pills is a 99% same checklist procedure.

i find the fact that there are so many things going on high stress (aka some one is waiting for their pills, doc on line, deliveries to be made that day , etc...).

i'm sure in dent, you only focuses on one task at a time and you multitask in that task alone.

either way, i don't really need to justify my reasons on this online post.

for sure, i will shadow dentist (since most DS requires it as well)

As far as schools go, take the DAT and then come ask us, we really can't tell you what your chances are right now. Take the American DAT not the Canadian (since with your GPA you'll be exclusively applying to American schools). And getting a 20-22 DAT is harder than you might think...

while i'm sure the dat is a lot harder than pcat, i still got a 97 th percentile in the pcat, and i believe i can do well on the dat as well.

i am wondering what would the advantage of taking the US dat would be VS c dat?

can i take the US dat in canada?

i believe most US DS accept the cdat.