to pursue medical school or dental school....

[msmems]

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I have always been interested in medicine and specifically in becoming a pediatrician, as I love working with kids...but recently have been questioning pursuing this goal because I am realizing that I want to be able to have a life outside of my career, and will want to be able to spend time with my family (I recently got married) and my future kids and be able to go on vacations and have hobbies. And so I have recently started looking into dentistry, which is also interesting to me, as I always loved going to the dentist and loved having braces, plus with dentistry you definitely are able to have a life as well as a career, as most dentists work less hours per week then a physician...but I am just not sure that it would be as rewarding (feeling like I am really able to help someone and make a difference) as becoming a pediatrician.

I just turned 26 and already have taken the required science courses and have been working on a weight loss clinical trial for the past few years...but I want to get moving and pursue one of these options....but am finding it hard to make a decision between the two. Has anyone else gone through this and how did you decide?

 

[vkhalsa]

your best bet would be to post in the predental forum

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I honestly believe that you should become a physician only because you can no longer imagine yourself doing anything else. Although physician training and practice are not as brutal as they once were, it's still not an easy life. If you can picture yourself as a happy dentist, I would give that some careful thought. And I do mean that with respect - I definitely would have considered dentistry if were interested in it, but I'm not. 😳