jhkoreacanada Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 hi everyone. I posted the same thread on the dental forum a few days ago. And I got great replies. But most of the responses were from those committed to dentistry. So i'd like to hear from those that are committed to medicine. Thanks alot to those that replied on the previous thread. So I'm going into third year. I didn't really consider dentistry until maybe 3 or 4 months ago. The thing I like about dentistry is being flexible with how much you work once you're well established. One thing I really want to do during my life is composing music for movies. I've played piano for quite a long time, more than 10 years. I actually went to some competition in Toronto last year. There were like 7 girls majoring in piano, some of them from U of T, but I got first place even though I was a science student. Yeah, so I always enjoyed music and I like to improvise and compose.. I heard that some dentists work 3 or 4 days a week. And I feel like this flexibility can help me pursue music along with a career as a dentist. But on the other hand, I always wanted to go into medicine. And I find medicine fascinating because it deals with more serious cases (life or death) as opposed to dentistry. I find that not too many specialties in medicine gives you the freedom to work 3 or 4 days a week (maybe aside from dermatology). I'm worried that maybe I would regret my choice to go into dentistry (right now I think I'm 60% into dentistry, and 40% medicine) since medicine was something I wanted to go into for a very long time. Has anyone faced situations like this?? I'd love to hear what you ended up choosing.. And I'd like your advice or inputs. thanks alott =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 But on the other hand, I always wanted to go into medicine. And I find medicine fascinating because it deals with more serious cases (life or death) as opposed to dentistry. I find that not too many specialties in medicine gives you the freedom to work 3 or 4 days a week (maybe aside from dermatology). Have you considered emergency medicine, either a 3-year or a 5-year program? As an attending, "full-time" is 12-14 shifts a month, but a lot of that will be evenings/weekends. You don't have complete control over your schedule the way a family doc or a dentist might but can sometimes swap with other staff. And of course, you get to see a fair number of serious cases (as well as dealing with percocetopenia, the worried well, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviathan Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Have you considered emergency medicine, either a 3-year or a 5-year program? As an attending, "full-time" is 12-14 shifts a month, but a lot of that will be evenings/weekends. You don't have complete control over your schedule the way a family doc or a dentist might but can sometimes swap with other staff. And of course, you get to see a fair number of serious cases (as well as dealing with percocetopenia, the worried well, etc) How're things going so far, plough? I'm definitely applying to EM in 2 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayervillager Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Have you considered emergency medicine, either a 3-year or a 5-year program? As an attending, "full-time" is 12-14 shifts a month, but a lot of that will be evenings/weekends. You don't have complete control over your schedule the way a family doc or a dentist might but can sometimes swap with other staff. And of course, you get to see a fair number of serious cases (as well as dealing with percocetopenia, the worried well, etc) By the way, this is how Dr. Vincent Lam (author of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures) found the time to be an author! He credits being an emerg doc in allowing him the freedom and time to write. Overall though, I think you can work part-time in many specialties. I know of several family doctors, an anesthesiologist, two physiatrists (as in physical medicine and rehab doctors, not psychiatrists), a respirologist and an oncologist who works part-time. The tricky part is finding a centre and colleagues who are understanding and accomodating, and being happy with the slower repayment of your medical school debt. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 How're things going so far, plough? I'm definitely applying to EM in 2 years! So far, so good. I'm off-service right now, but will soon be in the ER. We have a new program director, who seems very keen and on-the-ball, a solid group of residents and a good pgy-1 cohort. I think the next few years are gonna be fun. pm me if you have any questions. /end thread-jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely09 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 If i will be given a chance to study again then i will choose medicine.I want to work as a health professional who can assist patients in curing their illness as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebouque Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 It really depends. Do you want to be a specialist of the person (ie psychosocial family work health prevention)? then it's family medicine. Do you want to be a specialist of the diseases (either clinical or investigation)? Then it's internal medicine, its subspecialties and all the diagnostic specialties ie path, radio lab med etc. If you want to do tons of procedures though, and you are not too passionate about human biology but you still enjoy patient contact, dentistry might be for you. You also have psych all the surgery specialties ob who have a more or less specialised purpose in health care. Now that's the general picture. There is no single specialty that cures the illnesses as a whole from my point of view, and many areas of medicine don't quite cure anything at all (or spend lot's of time doing other stuff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddo Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 and you are not too passionate about human biology but you still enjoy patient contact, dentistry might be for you. I don't think this is accurate. Dentistry still learns A LOT of human biology, and not just of the mouth area, but of the whole body. I you aren't passionate about human biology you probably shouldn't choose either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebouque Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 I don't think this is accurate. Dentistry still learns A LOT of human biology, and not just of the mouth area, but of the whole body. I you aren't passionate about human biology you probably shouldn't choose either. I did my preclinical in dentistry and you do learn quite a bit about human bio but nothing compared to med. Also, you never really get to apply all that knowledge except for the mouth area (mouth, rarely maxillo facial or head and neck. ) Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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