Secondary Careers?

[Smilemaker100]

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I recently bumped into a former collegue from dental school at a local coffee shop ( I always seem to bump into him in coffee shops all over the city 😀 ). He graduated a few years ahead of me and was intensely studying for an upcoming exam. We briefly chatted about our recent endeavors.

After graduating from dental school, this fellow went into medicine. He is presently specializing in otolaryngology/ENT. It was absolutely delightful to hear how passionate 😍 he was not only of his present field of study, but dentistry too. As a matter of fact, he still holds his permit to practice dentistry. We got into a fascinating discussion on oral pathology and a multitude of head and neck conditions. I was amazed at some of the similarities of the two professions (dentistry & ENT).

I really admire this guy's courage. He has to do FIVE more years for his speciality and then two years for a fellowship. He still intends on practicing dentistry. I've never met someone so studious in my life! 😱 This made me wonder...how many other people in dentistry are practicing other careers? And how many people in this forum have intentions of getting involved in other fields of study?

 

[gryffindor]

I had a research mentor in college who similarly followed the path you described: 4 years DDS, 4 years MD, ENT residency, Fellowship in cancer (I think, if this is something that exists). For his career, he did cancer surgeries at the hospital, trained residents, involved in minority recruitment stuff at the med school, and ran a small clinical research lab on the side. He spoke fondly of his dental school days & dental degree (his father was a dentist) but was always trying to convince me to go for the MD instead. 😕 He said the MD lead to more opportunities and is a more versatile degree compared to the DDS. True, but the MD didn't teach anything about teeth which is what I really wanted to learn.

We had 2 OMS guys from my GPR go on to plastic surgery residencies: 4 years DDS, 6 years OMS/MD, plastics residency.

But as for me, I think I'll stick to bending wires for a career.

 

[Smilemaker100]

I had a research mentor in college who similarly followed the path you described: 4 years DDS, 4 years MD, ENT residency, Fellowship in cancer (I think, if this is something that exists). For his career, he did cancer surgeries at the hospital, trained residents, involved in minority recruitment stuff at the med school, and ran a small clinical research lab on the side. He spoke fondly of his dental school days & dental degree (his father was a dentist) but was always trying to convince me to go for the MD instead. 😕 He said the MD lead to more opportunities and is a more versatile degree compared to the DDS. True, but the MD didn't teach anything about teeth which is what I really wanted to learn.

We had 2 OMS guys from my GPR go on to plastic surgery residencies: 4 years DDS, 6 years OMS/MD, plastics residency.

But as for me, I think I'll stick to bending wires for a career.

This collegue told me that he contemplated having a career in oral surgery after dental school. While in medical school, the thought of specializing in plastic surgery crossed his mind before he finally decided on ENT.

At the moment, I am perfectly happy being a general practitioner but who knows if I will have other ideas in mind in the future. People can change over time. I guess it would all depend on my priorities in the future. One never knows...

 

[dentalstudent]

I think its admirable that someone is so ambitious to go for another degree so they could better serve their patients. However those who have multiple degrees such as DDS, MD, JD, MBA etc. so they could impress others is just ridiculous. I know a student who graduated dental school and went to med school because he said med school offered many specialty that dentistry doesn't. So I am sure there are lots of reasons why people choose another career after devoting so many years of their life studying.

 

[Smilemaker100]

I think its admirable that someone is so ambitious to go for another degree so they could better serve their patients. However those who have multiple degrees such as DDS, MD, JD, MBA etc. so they could impress others is just ridiculous. I know a student who graduated dental school and went to med school because he said med school offered many specialty that dentistry doesn't. So I am sure there are lots of reasons why people choose another career after devoting so many years of their life studying.

A life without passion 😍 , is a life unlived. What's the use in doing something JUST to impress others? You're only bound to be a bitter individual and a slave to your job if you have that attitude.

Like my mama likes to say, "It doesn't matter how many possessions or degrees you hold,whether you are royalty or a beggar, your cemetary plot and everyone else's is the same size. You don't take anything with you to the other side."

 

[Smilemaker100]

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