Leaving dental school due to medical issue with eyes, applying to medical programs

[malikhind]

Hello,

I just finished up my first semester of dental school and have made the decision to withdraw due to a medical condition in my eyes. About halfway through the semester I noticed an issue with my eyes and it unfortunately cannot be fixed. I withdrew from my dental courses and finished up my 3 science courses (neuroanatomy, histology and medical microbiology). When I was in undergrad I was always debating between dental and medical school (I was pretty active in both medical and dental clubs), but ultimately chose dentistry for a few reasons (even though I knew I'd probably be happier with medical school and the job itself). The few biggest reasons were because dental school was only 4 years, more potential for money/business aspect, and dentistry as a big career in my family (around 12 dentists total in my family).

When I first noticed the issue with my eyes I was extremely devastated. All I had to do was pass my classes and practice dentistry for 4 years and my life would've been set, and then something out of my control hit me out of nowhere. However, after some reflection I realized I chose dentistry for the wrong reasons and that medicine was the best option for me. I made the choice to withdraw because I would rather be a good doctor than a bad dentist.

My question to you is how will this look to medical schools when I apply? I know medical schools want someone who is dedicated and I am afraid they will see this as a cop out since I dropped out of dental school. I am extremely passionate about working in health care (I loved the little time I spent with patients in the clinic) and want to pursue a career in the medical field. I can provide letters from my dean/professors explaining that it was purely due to medical reasons if that will help as well.

Any advice/wisdom is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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[imbesrs]

What is preventing your eye issues from being an issue in medical school? The education rigor is almost identical, and medical training is longer, and your eyes are just as important in practice as dentistry even if you do not pursue surg/hands on.

Right now, you dropping out of dental school is the least of the issues. If you are able to explain the medical issues, and why it wont be a hindrance/cause a repeat scenario.

 

[deleted480308]

It’s unlikely any eye problems that make dentistry impossible will work well in medicine

 

[clinicallabguy]

If you are dissatisfied and want to do medicine instead, then claim that as the reason.

If you cannot see well enough to see dental pathology, then what medical specialty would suit you. Every medical specialty requires a visual assessment of patients, parts of patients, or images of patients.

 

[Doc_Avatar]

Very few people understand the role, importance, and challenges of the differently abled in medicine. If you post on SDN you will likely get bad information - as people propagate myths about what abilities are necessary and what are not. Reach out to someone in your school’s leadership or a a Dean of Student Affairs who has experience with accommodations to discuss what is and is not possible. Either way - you definitely need a game plan for how your issues will be handled BEFORE you apply. Best of luck!

 

[Cornfed101]

Can you be more specific? Is your condition affecting visual acuity, depth perception, something else?

 

[malikhind]

What is preventing your eye issues from being an issue in medical school? The education rigor is almost identical, and medical training is longer, and your eyes are just as important in practice as dentistry even if you do not pursue surg/hands on.

Right now, you dropping out of dental school is the least of the issues. If you are able to explain the medical issues, and why it wont be a hindrance/cause a repeat scenario.

Can you be more specific? Is your condition affecting visual acuity, depth perception, something else?

If you are dissatisfied and want to do medicine instead, then claim that as the reason.

If you cannot see well enough to see dental pathology, then what medical specialty would suit you. Every medical specialty requires a visual assessment of patients, parts of patients, or images of patients.

My issue (mainly amblyopia) affects to visual acuity and depth perception. I'm fine with spotting dental pathology, however, the procedural aspect is extremely difficult for me. Macroscopic lab work is fine, my issue arises from procedures that require a 0.5mm margin of accuracy. My right eye has extreme difficulty focusing on extremely small details (around 1mm). My hand skills were fine and I knew what to do in lab but I did not have the ability to self assess since I visually could not see (even with loupes) what was wrong with my work. I could be wrong but besides some surgery specialties I don't think there are many specialties that require a daily use of being within 1mm of accuracy with something.

Very few people understand the role, importance, and challenges of the differently abled in medicine. If you post on SDN you will likely get bad information - as people propagate myths about what abilities are necessary and what are not. Reach out to someone in your school’s leadership or a a Dean of Student Affairs who has experience with accommodations to discuss what is and is not possible. Either way - you definitely need a game plan for how your issues will be handled BEFORE you apply. Best of luck!

I made a thread a couple months ago asking if anyone was in medical school with similar issues as me. I found a couple of people who have almost identical issues with their eyes who are in medical school. They said that they were fine with everything except the general surgery rotation was difficult (but doable). That was the main reason i have hope for applying to medical school now. Thank you!

 

[Moko]

My issue (mainly amblyopia) affects to visual acuity and depth perception. I'm fine with spotting dental pathology, however, the procedural aspect is extremely difficult for me. Macroscopic lab work is fine, my issue arises from procedures that require a 0.5mm margin of accuracy. My right eye has extreme difficulty focusing on extremely small details (around 1mm). My hand skills were fine and I knew what to do in lab but I did not have the ability to self assess since I visually could not see (even with loupes) what was wrong with my work. I could be wrong but besides some surgery specialties I don't think there are many specialties that require a daily use of being within 1mm of accuracy with something.



I made a thread a couple months ago asking if anyone was in medical school with similar issues as me. I found a couple of people who have almost identical issues with their eyes who are in medical school. They said that they were fine with everything except the general surgery rotation was difficult (but doable). That was the main reason i have hope for applying to medical school now. Thank you!

If this is the extent of your deficits, then you should be fine for most specialties. Before jumping in though, make sure that you have the needed clinical and nonclinical experiences needed to be competitive for med school. Also make sure that medical school is what you actually want to do. The last thing you want is debt from two graduate schools with no way to pay it off. Good luck

 

[Goro]

Very few people understand the role, importance, and challenges of the differently abled in medicine. If you post on SDN you will likely get bad information - as people propagate myths about what abilities are necessary and what are not. Reach out to someone in your school’s leadership or a a Dean of Student Affairs who has experience with accommodations to discuss what is and is not possible. Either way - you definitely need a game plan for how your issues will be handled BEFORE you apply. Best of luck!

When you teach students with disabilities, you get a sense of what students can and can't do.

 

[Doc_Avatar]

When you teach students with disabilities, you get a sense of what students can and can't do.

Couldn’t have said it better myself! So important for all students to find mentors like you who understand and can guide them to be their best. I was simply advocating for a little more research than listening to the masses of peers on SDN.

 

[BigRedBeta]

I could be wrong but besides some surgery specialties I don't think there are many specialties that require a daily use of being within 1mm of accuracy with something.

I think the biggest question I have about this is will it get worse over time?
I also think you are underestimating the number of fields that have some degree of procedural requirements and how precise you would want to be. In particular as a resident, when you have to get exposure through the entirety of a field.

Certainly off the bat Derm, NSGY, Ophtho, Ortho, ENT, and Plastics are probably not the best matches for you. Portions of General Surgery too likely aren't great either (CT, Vascular, Oncology, Peds). Even some things like Electrophysiology Cards could present a challenge.

But if this is something your doctors think will progress, then it becomes questionable about other procedural fields as well. Like Neonatology and placement of Umbilical lines or arterial lines probably isn't that big of deal at 0.5mm, but at 2mm or more becomes more challenging on a 500g micropreemie. Anesthesia and line placement not likely a huge problem, unless you again go into Peds and have to deal with sick neonates.

As we move away from landmark based procedures and towards bedside ultrasound, other fields like PM&R, Rheum, and Pain Medicine may refine their margins of error beyond the scope of your limitations over the course of a career.

But...there plenty of non procedural specialties that exist where you would never have to worry about this - Psych, Diagnostic Radiology, General IM or Peds obviously or any number of subspecialties out of those fields: Endocrine, Cardiology with an imaging focus, Allergy/Immunology, ID, Hematology, Genetics, Sleep Medicine. Maybe you might have some issues during residency/fellowship, but once out in the real world you'd be able to avoid certain things.

I think also there are some fields, where your overall comfort level may play a huge role in determining if you feel like they are reasonable options. Some procedures that if no one knew your issues would probably not notice but if you are worried might limit you - I'm thinking things like LPs in Neuro or Oncology, kidney biopsies in Nephrology, or endoscopic procedures in GI (eg, variceal injections).