Having Doubts....

[HealthNombreUno]

New here so please excuse any mistakes. I've been wanting to go to medical school for almost my entire life. I just love healthcare in general. Recently I've been having doubts about medical school because I can't handle stress that well and I'm afraid I won't be happy working so much. I was hoping dental school would provide opportunities to do stuff like diagnosing and procedures just without the 24 hour shifts that come with residency in medical school. What do you think is the best choice for me? Please keep in mind that I love to work. I just have a fear of getting too depressed to enjoy what I do. I guess I just want a balanced lifestyle.

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[Hannah Banana]

New here so please excuse any mistakes. I've been wanting to go to medical school for almost my entire life. I just love healthcare in general. Recently I've been having doubts about medical school because I can't handle stress that well and I'm afraid I won't be happy working so much. I was hoping dental school would provide opportunities to do stuff like diagnosing and procedures just without the 24 hour shifts that come with residency in medical school. What do you think is the best choice for me? Please keep in mind that I love to work. I just have a fear of getting too depressed to enjoy what I do. I guess I just want a balanced lifestyle.

Pharmacy.

 

[Screwtape]

Training for medicine and dental are both very stressful. Once you are out you can dictate your own work life balance, but some type of stress will always be there. Plenty of MDs out there with "lifestyle" hours. From family medicine (least competitive) to dermatology (most competitive). Pursue what you want in and outside of a career. Shadow shadow shadow. Be honest with yourself. And in the end, if stress is something you don't deal well with maybe being the only doc in the room isn't for you. That goes for Dent or Med.

 

[738177]

Pharmacy.

Retail pharmacy is pretty stressful to be honest. I vote Optometry.

 

[breadsenpai]

I highly suggest shadowing both medical doctors and dentists. However, I highly recommend that you look into optometry or physician assistant (PA) since you said you can't handle stress well. Dental, pharm, and med school are all very stressful, and the same can be said for careers in those fields. If you're looking for an easy way out in healthcare, then there are very few because healthcare, in general, can be very stressful.

Working as a dentist is a different stress compared to a physician or other medical provider because you are also a business owner. You'll need to be business-minded (i.e. how to keep your staff and patients happy, how to increase patient flow, business trade-offs, marketing, segmenting yourself to target certain demographics of the population, etc.).

 

[cacajuate]

New here so please excuse any mistakes. I've been wanting to go to medical school for almost my entire life. I just love healthcare in general. Recently I've been having doubts about medical school because I can't handle stress that well and I'm afraid I won't be happy working so much. I was hoping dental school would provide opportunities to do stuff like diagnosing and procedures just without the 24 hour shifts that come with residency in medical school. What do you think is the best choice for me? Please keep in mind that I love to work. I just have a fear of getting too depressed to enjoy what I do. I guess I just want a balanced lifestyle.

If you think dental school will be less stressful, you'll have another thing coming. I wish I had the time that medical students have during medical school. They have so much time to study.

 

[FanOfCostco]

If you dont think you can handle the hours of work/stress, the medical field is not for you. med/dent/pharm/opt no matter what it is, it comes with it's own stresses.

 

[2TH MVR]

Another variable should be mentioned also. In dentistry .... you need to have some form of business acumen to run a successful practice. You are essentially running a small business with all the headaches that come with it. Most MDs work in the large health, hospital settings where they are employees. Not all, but most.

 

[setdoc7]

Any job where you are responsible for the well being of others comes with stress. If you are looking for a stress free lifestyle, it would not be in healthcare. You could always sell socks at the GAP.

 

[small]

Dentistry doesn't have as much of the "really long hours" type of stress, but it still has lots of the "worrying about other people" stress, "making important decisions for yourself" stress, and "am I making enough money to pay off all of my loans" stress. If all you're worried about are the long hours and being on call, then gun for dentistry. But first try re-posting with a list of the types of stress or activities you simply cannot stand along with the types of things you've enjoyed in past jobs or things you think you would enjoy. This will allow people to give you better responses.

 

[Greyangel6]

If you can't handle stress, that may not help you get through professional school. There had been 4-5 people getting held back or dismissed in the class below me because they couldn't handle the course load. Maybe re-evaluate your goals and then see if you are really fit for healthcare field.