Need some advice...

[tendram]

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I apologize in advance if this has been covered before but I just need some advice. I am a pre-dent as of now and have been for quite a while, however, I am starting to second guess my decision mainly because I really am not looking forward to the business aspect of it (I really enjoy the thought of having my own practice but I just hate the thought of that being pretty much my only option after graduating). I have been considering medicine here lately but I really can only see myself in only a few medical specialties. I guess my question is, how easy/hard is it to get into something you want? I'm sure there are a lot of factors that determine this but I would just hate to get stuck in something I don't enjoy. And I'm sure I'm not the only one in this predicament and again, I apologize if this is something that has been covered before but I'm just trying to sort things out. I really enjoy medicine but I would just hate to get into a specialty that I can't stand and be stuck with it. Thanks in advance for any advice 👍

 

[boshtrich]

What specialties you are able to do depends strongly on your USMLE Step 1 score along with your grades in third year rotations. A good Step 1 score can open you up to most specialites, while a poor step 1 score limits you to the less competitive ones (family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine at a less desirable location). In general, step 1 scores mostly depend on the person, not the school you attend so if you think you can do well, you could have a wider range of choices. However, I assume dentistry has a similar system (not everyone can be orthodontists or maxillofacial surgeons) so if you were worried about career flexibility in dentistry, I wouldn't expect medicine to be all that different.

 

[tendram]

I appreciate the help guys. As mentioned before, I can see myself in medicine but only in a certain specialties; others, I could not see myself doing at all. I probably need to shadow a few doctors and weigh my options then. And it's not really job flexibility that I'm concerned with as much as it is being certain that going into medicine/dentistry that I will be able to get into something that I like at least somewhat, rather than being forced into something I don't like doing at all. I guess that could be grouped in with job flexibility though