Is being a doctor really that interesting?

[John Valdez]

I visited a friend in the ER yesterday (minor accident) and it reminded me how cool medicine seems.
Lots of different diseases, new technologies, and great opportunities to learn about new stuff.

However, a large number of doctors I've talked with don't seem all that interested in their work...almost burned out. In fact, a lot of young docs have told me that they weren't really enjoying it due to lower than expected income. The one guy who I know is really happy is not concerned about money at all and just likes helping people.

On the other hand, all the dentists I've talked to have said they're happy with their profession. They all seemed very upbeat people and talked about having a good family life and being able to afford college tuition for their kids, etc.

I bet MD is much more interesting at the start...but it seems that it wears off after a while and money + free time matter more in the long term.

Anyone else have this experience? I mean, I really wanted to be an MD, but I'm 90% sure I'll go dental due to all I've learned now.

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[mcloaf]

May your dedication shine on as a beacon to all of us.

 

[John Valdez]

Hey, its just that I've met 15 or so docs in the past year, and they all seemed a bit down.
One guy kept telling me how he used to be skinny before resdency made him eat poorly and get fat.

I even talked to him about girl troubles I was having and he got pissed saying that he had no time for a girlfriend.

No problem, if the jobs is the main thing in one's life...but I see a lot of docs not happy with their choice.

 

[BurberryDoc]

I visited a friend in the ER yesterday (minor accident) and it reminded me how cool medicine seems.
Lots of different diseases, new technologies, and great opportunities to learn about new stuff.

However, a large number of doctors I've talked with don't seem all that interested in their work...almost burned out. In fact, a lot of young docs have told me that they weren't really enjoying it due to lower than expected income. The one guy who I know is really happy is not concerned about money at all and just likes helping people.

On the other hand, all the dentists I've talked to have said they're happy with their profession. They all seemed very upbeat people and talked about having a good family life and being able to afford college tuition for their kids, etc.

I bet MD is much more interesting at the start...but it seems that it wears off after a while and money + free time matter more in the long term.

Anyone else have this experience? I mean, I really wanted to be an MD, but I'm 90% sure I'll go dental due to all I've learned now.

bolded: because that's the only person you know who went into medicine for the right reasons. Yes, there are right and wrong reasons to pursue a career in medicine, and if you enter the field on an uninformed pretense that you graduate medical school and make bank, overlooking the fact it's usually a 10 year training commitment before you make "real money", then you will not be happy with the outcome of a $50K/year salary during residency.

Dentists:
9-5.
Many, many procedures are elective and thus, cash only.
There used to be a stereotype, that medical school drop-outs and failed pre-meds go to dental school. I am not sure if people still throw this around, but that was the case back when I was in college.

If you're more interested in money than the intellectual challenge and the gratification of helping someone that medicine offers, then you should absolutely pursue Dental school. Less competition for medical residencies for the people who actually want to go into medicine and contribute to the fight, not just their wallets.

 

[deleted407021]

The one guy who I know is really happy is not concerned about money at all and just likes helping people.

There you go. There is something called self actualization and he probably has it.

 

[Mad Jack]

Every job becomes a routine after a while. The goal is picking a routine you can live with day after day for the rest of your life. Can you pick the teeth of screaming children and skittish adults clean, drill some holes, and pull teeth every day for the rest of your life and be happy? If so, then do it. If you can do anything other than medicine that you believe can make you happy, please, do it. Because medicine is -not- a bundle of roses attached to a puppy that will love you forever that barfs rainbows and s***s gold. It's a career, a hard one with a long training period, a ton of responsibility, a lot of debt, and declining compensation. At first it's awesome, but like anything, eventually you're just like, w/e, another cardiac arrest, just going through the motions, wondering what's for dinner and if your team of choice won the game tonight. There'll be magic moments that make you feel warm and fuzzy every now and again, and you can sleep well knowing you make a big difference, plus you'll probably never starve from lack of employment. But it isn't perfect, by any means, because no job ever is.

So it's your move. Choose wisely.

 

[John Valdez]

Yeah, I guess its not too common considering of all the docs I met, I only know one really happy one.

He was working in a psych hospital...the place was filthy, paint peeling off the walls and lots of patients to be seen. Most of the staff were really grumpy.
But, the guy was really cheerful and upbeat...even radiant.
I saw him interact with this elderly patient and he really seemed to care about helping the man.

On the other hand, I've seen so many other docs who are just so...jaded.

 

[Gauss44]

A doctor doesn't have to ONLY be a doctor. In fact, with all of this new ObamaCare/healthcare stuff going on, I think it's important to get some hybrid doctors who can adequately speak up for themselves and/or the profession. People who are part time doctors and part time administrators - or who go back and forth between medicine, business, and politics might be needed. This is possible. A while back there was a heart surgeon elected to, I think the Senate.

 

[kyamh]

I am not sure who you are shadowing, OP, but you are getting a bit of a skewed sample. Do you live in an underserved area where doctors are overworked and underpaid (to a worse degree than normal) ? Certainly not all, but definitely more than half the physicians I have spoken to really enjoy their job.

A huge reason I want to become a physician is the amazing job flexibility you can get with the degree. With relatively little additional training, you can bounce between research, patient care, teaching, and administration in such a way that you eventually find the work style balance that works for you. I think that physicians who are truly unhappy in their jobs either have extraordinary life circumstances - eg spouse is severely limited in terms of job location - or are otherwise too unmotivated to make a change and try and find a better fit for their goals and personality.

Edit: career swapping won't let you become the "best" in anything, but you can find a situation that works for you and that is a fine goal.

 

[John Valdez]

Yeah, I do live in an underserved area but I have strong family ties so I absolutely want to stay here.
Here, it seems the only docs that are happy are the ones who do elective procedures such as dentists and some specialists like dermatology.

With all the years of training required I see so much stress and low compensation, at least in my neighborhood.

 

[SunsFun]

This is a typical entitlement mentality for our generation of special flakes. You're not supposed to find new and interesting and exciting things to do every day at work. You're not James Bond. Life is a grind and you endure it to make a living and hopefully some difference. Look, take the most avid gamer and pay him to play video games 60 hours a week for 10 years without many breaks or a chance to do something else and see how fulfilled and satisfied he is with his work.

The dentist comparison reminds me of a classical psychology experiment. Two groups of people did the exact same worthless activity with a pen. One got paid a lot and another very little. When asked about how useful they found the activity most people who got paid very little found it to be much more useful than the other group.

In my experience if you ask a dental student why he picked dentistry, most of them will give you reasons why they didn't pick medicine. The dentists then talk about how awesome their lives are and how great their jobs are. This stems from that same desire to justify their career path in light of a more popular "doctor" option. I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard a medical student answering "why medicine?" with "well, all of the areas I want to live in are saturated with dentists and it would be difficult to start a practice there if I chose dentistry". They just have no reason to come up with any excuses.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

People burn out in every profession. Everything becomes routine if you do it long enough. I would imagine, however, that there are other stressors that are getting these doctors burned out quicker.

 

[beethousand]

I work with plenty ED physicians who seem quite happy with their job, there's also another half who don't. This seems pretty in line with other careers I've been in. The ones who are happy I've noticed tend to have a passion for learning and genuinely are interested in their patients. They treat challenges as a plus to the job. It is an admiral trait and I don't think everybody is capable of it. Especially when you spend more of your time charting, dealing with insurance, dealing with difficult coworkers, general cynicism of others (which seems to be an easy trap to fall into) and generally poor attitudes of many patients. Also I think that there is an element of protocol based care (either dictated by institutional or regulatory standards) that can sometimes overshadow the autonomous clinical decision making that I think many of us want out if medicine.

 

[deleted407021]

For me, I don't know if the relatively low pay would be the issue. Underserved populations can be stressful to work with. If that had to be the only "demographic" I could ever serve, I don't think I would adore my job either.

EDIT: Specifically, socioeconomically disadvantaged.

 

[Lucca]

bolded: because that's the only person you know who went into medicine for the right reasons. Yes, there are right and wrong reasons to pursue a career in medicine, and if you enter the field on an uninformed pretense that you graduate medical school and make bank, overlooking the fact it's usually a 10 year training commitment before you make "real money", then you will not be happy with the outcome of a $50K/year salary during residency.

Dentists:
9-5.
Many, many procedures are elective and thus, cash only.
There used to be a stereotype, that medical school drop-outs and failed pre-meds go to dental school. I am not sure if people still throw this around, but that was the case back when I was in college.

If you're more interested in money than the intellectual challenge and the gratification of helping someone that medicine offers, then you should absolutely pursue Dental school. Less competition for medical residencies for the people who actually want to go into medicine and contribute to the fight, not just their wallets.

Skip to 1:50 on this

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

In my experience if you ask a dental student why he picked dentistry, most of them will give you reasons why they didn't pick medicine. The dentists then talk about how awesome their lives are and how great their jobs are. This stems from that same desire to justify their career path in light of a more popular "doctor" option. I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard a medical student answering "why medicine?" with "well, all of the areas I want to live in are saturated with dentists and it would be difficult to start a practice there if I chose dentistry". They just have no reason to come up with any excuses.

Can't argue with this logic.

 

[Mad Jack]

This is a typical entitlement mentality for our generation of special flakes. You're not supposed to find new and interesting and exciting things to do every day at work. You're not James Bond. Life is a grind and you endure it to make a living and hopefully some difference. Look, take the most avid gamer and pay him to play video games 60 hours a week for 10 years without many breaks or a chance to do something else and see how fulfilled and satisfied he is with his work.

The dentist comparison reminds me of a classical psychology experiment. Two groups of people did the exact same worthless activity with a pen. One got paid a lot and another very little. When asked about how useful they found the activity most people who got paid very little found it to be much more useful than the other group.

In my experience if you ask a dental student why he picked dentistry, most of them will give you reasons why they didn't pick medicine. The dentists then talk about how awesome their lives are and how great their jobs are. This stems from that same desire to justify their career path in light of a more popular "doctor" option. I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard a medical student answering "why medicine?" with "well, all of the areas I want to live in are saturated with dentists and it would be difficult to start a practice there if I chose dentistry". They just have no reason to come up with any excuses.

There's a thread on the Pre-Dental forum right now about why dentistry. Every single one is like, "money." It's pretty hilarious and refreshingly honest.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/fun-topic-why-did-you-decide-to-become-a-dentist.826959/

 

[John Valdez]

This is a typical entitlement mentality for our generation of special flakes. You're not supposed to find new and interesting and exciting things to do every day at work. You're not James Bond. Life is a grind and you endure it to make a living and hopefully some difference. Look, take the most avid gamer and pay him to play video games 60 hours a week for 10 years without many breaks or a chance to do something else and see how fulfilled and satisfied he is with his work.

The dentist comparison reminds me of a classical psychology experiment. Two groups of people did the exact same worthless activity with a pen. One got paid a lot and another very little. When asked about how useful they found the activity most people who got paid very little found it to be much more useful than the other group.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Pretty much everyone has told me that dentistry is the way to go for more money and free time.
You're right man, its not about being special snowflake doing creative stuff and having fun at work. Work is work, and its main purpose is to put food on the table. Fun is had during free time.

 

[deleted407021]

My FP tells me he regrets med school and wishes he became a dentist instead. He also went to the caribbean and the local hospital won't hire him. He is a great doctor but I really don't get the impression (aside from the obvious regret talk) that he's really into it. I think he had family pressure, too.

 

[mcloaf]

There's a thread on the Pre-Dental forum right now about why dentistry. Every single one is like, "money." It's pretty hilarious and refreshingly honest.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/fun-topic-why-did-you-decide-to-become-a-dentist.826959/

Best thing I've read on SDN in quite a while:

I love helping people....

by getting their $ out of their wallets

 

[BurberryDoc]

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Pretty much everyone has told me that dentistry is the way to go for more money and free time.
You're right man, its not about being special snowflake doing creative stuff and having fun at work. Work is work, and its main purpose is to put food on the table. Fun is had during free time.

You can have a job that you enjoy and to some extent have fun. There does not need to be absolute separation of the two.

 

[CarlosDanger]

Do average dentists make more than PCPs?

 

[MrChance2]

You can really help people in any profession. I'd be surprised if any but the weirdest of dental students got into it b/c they love being in people's mouths. That doesn't mean they can't make a difference. If you are cool with being in people's mouths all day I'm not sure dental isn't a better choice. Most doctors aren't constantly doing what most people would consider heroic procedures all day but pretty much no dentists are. If I had to guess 30-50% of medical students are primarily concerned about money and 70-90% of dental are. You are who you are though and you can be the type of doctor or dentist or whatever you want to be once you go into it. There's my 2c for ya.

 

[Mad Jack]

Do average dentists make more than PCPs?

The average independent general dental practitioner earned just over 192k in 2010 per the ADA, while the average independent specialist earned just over 305k. Dentists generally don't take call, work 9-5, and GP dentists have no residency requirement in most states.

http://www.ada.org/1444.aspx

Compare this to PCPs, which earned an average of 175k, had to complete a residency, and had to deal with all the hassles of insurance, low reimbursements, running patient to patient, etc...

http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2013/familymedicine

 

[SunsFun]

The average independent general dental practitioner earned just over 192k in 2010 per the ADA, while the average independent specialist earned just over 305k. Dentists generally don't take call, work 9-5, and GP dentists have no residency requirement in most states.

http://www.ada.org/1444.aspx

Compare this to PCPs, which earned an average of 175k, had to complete a residency, and had to deal with all the hassles of insurance, low reimbursements, running patient to patient, etc...

http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2013/familymedicine

I cant dispute any of this data but I remember that there was a pdf survey of salaries of all established medical specialists + dentists and oral surgeons going around. The numbers looked a bit differently. Cant find it though.

 

[Mad Jack]

I cant dispute any of this data but I remember that there was a pdf survey of salaries of all established medical specialists + dentists and oral surgeons going around. The numbers looked a bit differently. Cant find it though.

It's probably because the above survey only included independent dentists. Employee and associate dentists make less. If you're a dentist, you have to go big or go home basically.

 

[solitarius]

lol @ anyone who thinks you can make a ton of money in dentistry doing M - F , 9 - 5.

To make a ton, you have to have your own practice and work a lot of hours and manage a staff / business during non-clinical hours.

 

[tomi65463]

I visited a friend in the ER yesterday (minor accident) and it reminded me how cool medicine seems.
Lots of different diseases, new technologies, and great opportunities to learn about new stuff.

However, a large number of doctors I've talked with don't seem all that interested in their work...almost burned out. In fact, a lot of young docs have told me that they weren't really enjoying it due to lower than expected income. The one guy who I know is really happy is not concerned about money at all and just likes helping people.

On the other hand, all the dentists I've talked to have said they're happy with their profession. They all seemed very upbeat people and talked about having a good family life and being able to afford college tuition for their kids, etc.

I bet MD is much more interesting at the start...but it seems that it wears off after a while and money + free time matter more in the long term.

Anyone else have this experience? I mean, I really wanted to be an MD, but I'm 90% sure I'll go dental due to all I've learned now.

John Valdez, I am also realizing this. I always found myself second guessing wanting to go to medical school. My passion is medicine and still is but I have always wanted a job where I had a decent amount of free time to spend with family since family is so important to me. Medicine is great but most dentists definitely have a lot more free time to spend with their family than most doctors. I also have seen a lot of doctors who are unhappy due to the stress and how time consuming medicine can be. I do know this can be subjective depending on the specialty. The obvious exception being you match into one of the lifestyle specialties. For me free time to spend with family is more important than potential earnings. I think the choice between dentistry and medicine depends on your priorities. After talking to many doctors, I have discovered that you really have to love medicine to be truly happy in the field because there will be days where you are missing time with family to be with patients. This is why I am leaning toward dentistry.

I remember seeing a post on SDN a few years back about this guy who both of his parents were surgeons. He was basically raised by live in nannies due to the fact his parents were always so busy with work.What I am trying to say is medicine can be an extremely demanding field. The problem is society makes medicine look like its this glamorous field when its not. I have always had an enormous amount of respect for doctors because of how much time and effort they put into their field. Its a shame many patients don't realize this.

because that's the only person you know who went into medicine for the right reasons. Yes, there are right and wrong reasons to pursue a career in medicine, and if you enter the field on an uninformed pretense that you graduate medical school and make bank, overlooking the fact it's usually a 10 year training commitment before you make "real money", then you will not be happy with the outcome of a $50K/year salary during residency.

Dentists:
9-5.
Many, many procedures are elective and thus, cash only.
There used to be a stereotype, that medical school drop-outs and failed pre-meds go to dental school. I am not sure if people still throw this around, but that was the case back when I was in college.

If you're more interested in money than the intellectual challenge and the gratification of helping someone that medicine offers, then you should absolutely pursue Dental school. Less competition for medical residencies for the people who actually want to go into medicine and contribute to the fight, not just their wallets.

I really don't like it when people make ignorant statements like this suggesting a doctor is superior to a dentist. First, just because someone goes to dental school does not mean they are not helping people. Both doctors and dentist help people in different ways. You don't have to save a person's life to help them. Second, you are assuming that the reason every dentist decided to become a dentist was because of money. There could actually be people who enjoy dentistry work. I know quite a few. Lets be honest, how many people are NOT somehow going into medical school for money? In every job, money is and should be a primary motivator since we all have bills to pay for. Medicine and Dentistry are both great and rewarding careers. No need to belittle either of them.

I am not trying to bash you in any way BurberryDoc, I just think you should be open to the possibility that there are people who go into dentistry because its their passion just like medicine. Not everybody can handle the demanding lifestyle of a doctor so they choose dentistry which I don't see any problem with.

 

[BurberryDoc]

John Valdez, I am also realizing this. I always found myself second guessing wanting to go to medical school. My passion is medicine and still is but I have always wanted a job where I had a decent amount of free time to spend with family since family is so important to me. Medicine is great but most dentists definitely have a lot more free time to spend with their family than most doctors. I also have seen a lot of doctors who are unhappy due to the stress and how time consuming medicine can be. I do know this can be subjective depending on the specialty. The obvious exception being you match into one of the lifestyle specialties. For me free time to spend with family is more important than potential earnings. I think the choice between dentistry and medicine depends on your priorities. After talking to many doctors, I have discovered that you really have to love medicine to be truly happy in the field because there will be days where you are missing time with family to be with patients. This is why I am leaning toward dentistry.

I remember seeing a post on SDN a few years back about this guy who both of his parents were surgeons. He was basically raised by live in nannies due to the fact his parents were always so busy with work.What I am trying to say is medicine can be an extremely demanding field. The problem is society makes medicine look like its this glamorous field when its not. I have always had an enormous amount of respect for doctors because of how much time and effort they put into their field. Its a shame many patients don't realize this.



I really don't like it when people make ignorant statements like this suggesting a doctor is superior to a dentist. First, just because someone goes to dental school does not mean they are not helping people. Both doctors and dentist help people in different ways. You don't have to save a person's life to help them. Second, you are assuming that the reason every dentist decided to become a dentist was because of money. There could actually be people who enjoy dentistry work. I know quite a few. Lets be honest, how many people are NOT somehow going into medical school for money? In every job, money is and should be a primary motivator since we all have bills to pay for. Medicine and Dentistry are both great and rewarding careers. No need to belittle either of them.

I am not trying to bash you in any way BurberryDoc, I just think you should be open to the possibility that there are people who go into dentistry because its their passion just like medicine. Not everybody can handle the demanding lifestyle of a doctor so they choose dentistry which I don't see any problem with.

(A) see the thread someone linked above, the people have spoken.
(B) I was not making a blanket statement, I was addressing the OP.
(C) If money was even a factor for my career choices, I would have never have (a) majored in biology, (b) taken a job in academia instead of industry when I graduated (c) have spent $80K for a MS when I could have just put that in my pocket.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

That grass always looks greener on the other side heh

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Also I will add, for people who are interested in helping people. My PCP goes over seas a lot to do missionary and healthcare related volunteering. He says that 75% of the stuff that he does for people is dentistry. Think people dont have access to doctors? Now multiply that x3 for access to mouth care

 

[Escape_Goat]

For me, I don't know if the relatively low pay would be the issue. Underserved populations can be stressful to work with. If that had to be the only "demographic" I could ever serve, I don't think I would adore my job either.

EDIT: Specifically, socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Oh yea, the poors are terrible.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

And shoot, ANOTHER added thing again just for the sake of saying it. I think its important (at least it has been important for my own decision making on this stuff) to realize that stuff is constantly changing. A lot of stuff comes in waves. So lets say someone wants to practice medicine for 30-40 years (I plan to if I dont croke early) look at how up and down medicine as been for the past 30-40 years. There has been decades where it really sucked for docs (due to legislation crap, reimbursement, etc.) but then there has been some golden years where people look back and remark at how good they had it.

Now look to the future, I would imagine that the quality of career of being a physician will change drastically (some years horribly, some years great) over the next 30-40 years. It also changes spacially depending on where you practice. So just my 2 cents

 

[gyngyn]

This is an amazing job. I love what I do. I have practiced for over 30 years. I have cared for the very poorest as well as the very wealthy. I am sorry that your physician contacts appear to have lost the ability to appreciate the honor that it is to serve the suffering. Maybe they just forgot...

 

[BurberryDoc]

This is an amazing job. I love what I do. I have practiced for over 30 years. I have cared for the the poorest as well as the very wealthy. I am sorry that your physician contacts appear to have lost the ability to appreciate the honor that it is to serve the suffering.

#WilliamRootMD

 

[gyngyn]

#WilliamRootMD

I misquoted him a little but you still got it. Kudos (props?)!

 

[deleted407021]

Oh yea, the poors are terrible.

Some of them I love to death, but others are very frustrating. I suppose this is a part of any patient population, however, our medical coordinator has attested to it being a bigger problem in the groups we serve.

 

[roundza]

In my experience if you ask a dental student why he picked dentistry, most of them will give you reasons why they didn't pick medicine. The dentists then talk about how awesome their lives are and how great their jobs are. This stems from that same desire to justify their career path in light of a more popular "doctor" option. I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard a medical student answering "why medicine?" with "well, all of the areas I want to live in are saturated with dentists and it would be difficult to start a practice there if I chose dentistry". They just have no reason to come up with any excuses.

This viewpoint demonstrates a sense of superiority with no backing. Why do people act like dental school is not challenging? Why do people think that everyone should jump at the chance to sequester yourself in residency after graduation rather than going straight into the workforce? Some people like working with mouths, dealing with spatial reasoning. If you, SunsFun, want to focus your career on patient care, recognizing care of the whole patient is essential to your success. do you think the mouth is not going to affect a patient's health? mouths are freakin complex. dental care is often overlooked and more and more cases of dental emergency are winding up in EDs. Time to open your mind and start working with people. Dental students in my experience are intellectual and hard working. It is a worthy, respectable, intellectually challenging, and rewarding career option and if OP thinks s/he would be happier there I see nothing to criticize. In fact, I think that's great. We need more dentists.

Only time to look down your nose at a dentist is when you're saying AAAHHHH

 

[EvenStevens]

Skip to 1:50 on this

I've seen this before, im so glad i got to see it again
1:50 is so funny

 

[hayek]

If you're more interested in money than the intellectual challenge and the gratification of helping someone that medicine offers, then you should absolutely pursue Dental school. Less competition for medical residencies for the people who actually want to go into medicine and contribute to the fight, not just their wallets.

I came to this forum waiting for some intelligent pre-meds and I encounter myself with this crap.

 

[BurberryDoc]

I misquoted him a little but you still got it. Kudos (props?)

Kudos, props, much prop, huzzah, any of them works
I'm just glad someone knew what I was talking about ;-)

I came to this forum waiting for some intelligent pre-meds and I encounter myself with this crap.

Welcome to SDN @hayek !!!!

 

[KnuxNole]

I came to this forum waiting for some intelligent pre-meds and I encounter myself with this crap.

Where would you get this crazy idea from???

 

[SunsFun]

This viewpoint demonstrates a sense of superiority with no backing. Why do people act like dental school is not challenging? Why do people think that everyone should jump at the chance to sequester yourself in residency after graduation rather than going straight into the workforce? Some people like working with mouths, dealing with spatial reasoning. If you, SunsFun, want to focus your career on patient care, recognizing care of the whole patient is essential to your success. do you think the mouth is not going to affect a patient's health? mouths are freakin complex. dental care is often overlooked and more and more cases of dental emergency are winding up in EDs. Time to open your mind and start working with people. Dental students in my experience are intellectual and hard working. It is a worthy, respectable, intellectually challenging, and rewarding career option and if OP thinks s/he would be happier there I see nothing to criticize. In fact, I think that's great. We need more dentists.

Only time to look down your nose at a dentist is when you're saying AAAHHHH

You're pulling strawman after strawman out of thin air. And to prove my point further you feel a need to tell me how amazing dental students and how important dentists are. Too bad I don't posses any of those qualities. I am just a dude lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

P.S. Thanks for teaching me about dental career option. I honestly was never interested enough in it to know anything beyond few basic facts.

 

[Ferneezy]

this whole thread is neat.

not all aspiring dentists want to make it rain.
not all aspiring medical students want to fall on their MSF branded swords.

i hope to alleviate some pain and suffering of the mouth, and get some of those patients before they show up in 'your' EDs...and make a few bucks while i'm at it.

In my experience if you ask a dental student why he picked dentistry, most of them will give you reasons why they didn't pick medicine. The dentists then talk about how awesome their lives are and how great their jobs are. This stems from that same desire to justify their career path in light of a more popular "doctor" option. I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard a medical student answering "why medicine?" with "well, all of the areas I want to live in are saturated with dentists and it would be difficult to start a practice there if I chose dentistry". They just have no reason to come up with any excuses.

probably because the question is quite frequently dovetailed by a silent (or not-so-silent) "...instead of medicine?". but are they reasons or excuses? there is a distinct difference in connotation depending on which you pick...which you didn't.

 

[dbeast]

There's a thread on the Pre-Dental forum right now about why dentistry. Every single one is like, "money." It's pretty hilarious and refreshingly honest.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/fun-topic-why-did-you-decide-to-become-a-dentist.826959/

I kinda wish I chose dent school...

 

[solitarius]

I kinda wish I chose dent school...

The dental averages are misleading. They factor in highly-profitable practices with barely profitable practices with journeyman/employee dentists.

As with nearly every business and high-skilled occupation, the top x% makes most of the money and skews the average upward.

My cousin's wife is a dentists with her own practice. I would label her in the highly-profitable category. She works 7 days a week, employs a couple of hygienists, and never is done with work before 7 pm. Sometimes working until 10 pm.

My brother's friend is a dentist in the high-wage San Francisco region. Before she had her own practice, she said her salary was comparable to an engineer in that region. She also had stories of soul-less employers who only cared about extracting as much $ out of patients. One of her bosses had a gambling addiction, which unfortunately tilted his practice towards avarice.

Oh, and good luck trying to open a practice in many over-saturated markets like coastal California.

 

[roundza]

You're pulling strawman after strawman out of thin air. And to prove my point further you feel a need to tell me how amazing dental students and how important dentists are. Too bad I don't posses any of those qualities. I am just a dude lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

P.S. Thanks for teaching me about dental career option. I honestly was never interested enough in it to know anything beyond few basic facts.

do... do you want me to tell you you are amazing and important?

anyways. i'm just sick of people hating on other medical professions. there are lots of people who go into careers for the wrong reasons but feeding into a sense of superiority simply because of which career a person chooses is truly counter productive.

In the interest of supporting the OP as they make their decision, I don't get the sense that all dental students are in it for the money or because their grades are weaker... neither of which really holds up in reality. dentistry is intellectual and attracts a certain kind of thinker. i'd only do it if working with mouths appealed to me. also lifestyle is a huge thing to consider although I'd also argue that medicine can give you a great lifestyle depending on your specialty, you'll just have to go through more years of training to get there and suffer more cost up front.

 

[Mad Jack]

This viewpoint demonstrates a sense of superiority with no backing. Why do people act like dental school is not challenging? Why do people think that everyone should jump at the chance to sequester yourself in residency after graduation rather than going straight into the workforce? Some people like working with mouths, dealing with spatial reasoning. If you, SunsFun, want to focus your career on patient care, recognizing care of the whole patient is essential to your success. do you think the mouth is not going to affect a patient's health? mouths are freakin complex. dental care is often overlooked and more and more cases of dental emergency are winding up in EDs. Time to open your mind and start working with people. Dental students in my experience are intellectual and hard working. It is a worthy, respectable, intellectually challenging, and rewarding career option and if OP thinks s/he would be happier there I see nothing to criticize. In fact, I think that's great. We need more dentists.

Only time to look down your nose at a dentist is when you're saying AAAHHHH

None of us said dentistry wasn't hard. It's just that many people seem to go into dentistry more out of a love of money than a love of mouths, and they would rather not go through residency. There is nothing wrong with any of this. If that's what floats someone's boat, they should go for it. Dentists can do a lot of good work, and make a difference in the health and QOL of their patients, a fact no one is really disputing. But many have different motivations than physicians. These are not inferior or less worthy motivations, just different. If somebody wants to prioritize their family and a faster ROI, and picks dentistry over medicine for that reason, that's their business.

 

[EvenStevens]

I came to this forum waiting for some intelligent pre-meds and I encounter myself with this crap.

There is the door ------------------------->

 

[PharmlyDoc]

It is what you make it. When I shadowed at an orthopedics office it was awesome. I shadowed a hand surgeon and we had a guy with a bullet wound from his hand, a guy who cut his hand with a table saw and could see his tendons, a guy who got mad and punched a glass door and broke his hand, I even remember this one high school football player who broke his arm and traction was used to try and set the bone back in place, and he sat there for an hour in agonizing pain only to learn that it didn't work and he had to have surgery. And the list goes on and on. Every day in that place was interesting.