Medicine vs. Dentistry?

[munna_bhai]

they should make dentistry a speciality of medicine

[munna_bhai]

" Now if we're talking failed medics just look at the people on a pharmacy degree" sorry jake, i have to say this but the comment you made about pharmacy degrees is a bit arrogant! i can assure u that a pharmacy degree is actually a good deal harder than medical degree- its easier to get in to because not so many people want to do it. probably because the pay isn't brilliant!

so how many failed pharmacists go into medicine? iv done pharmacy and im now in my final yrs of medicine and i can confidently say pharmacy was piss easier and is inferior.

[bugsysmum]

Hey fatcat!
Some of us study podiatry because we like the smell of fungal toenails!!!
ha ha (joke) Just in case someone takes offence!

[geordie1]

I am in a goo position to talk about pharmacy because i am just going into the 3rd year of the mpharm degree.

My background is A levels (A in Bio, A in sport studies, B in chemistry + AS physics B)

I ended up in pharm by default, was all set to go to study sport science then after i got results changed mind and decided i should use my bio and chem more than just being a PE teacher (which is what i was going to do). Went do phamr through clearing

I am majorly regretting it now as i no i def want to do medicine and become a GP

Heres my opinions of Pharmacy

1. The 1st two years have been so easy, only a level standard and the amount of formulation modules and organic chem is stupidly boring

2. Pharm is a decent job that has 2 options hospital or community. IMO community is just like a shop assistant who check a gp's work. Gets decent money 30-40k however if you go into your own buissness could be extremely rich.

3. Hospital pharm is very poorly paid, pre reg is decent ~19k now but qualified = 22-35 normally, top ones may eventually reach 45-50k.

I intend to finish the MPharm degree and complete pre-reg in hospital then forfill my recently decided ambition to be a gp.

If i get onto a grad course i will be finished med school after a total of 9 years, as opposed to the normal 5-6. However at least i will have had one year in the middle earning 20k as pre-reg and can work as a locum during med school so i should hopefully have no debts.

Pharmacy is easy at uni, however the pre-reg exam is certainly not so straight forward (and a max of 3 attempts can be made)

Hopefully in the future i will be writing the scripts for the pharmacist to check

[Nayla]

hey everyone

Can i just say what is the big deal on Med vs Dentistry. The way I see it dentistry is a speciality of medicine already.

I mean to be honest whats the difference between a Dentist and a Psychiatrist.. they are both DOCTORS who have different specilities in the body so I dont understand y dentists and doctors are looked upon as if they are so different cos really they aint.

[dentalsurgerystudent]

I don't see all the fuss. When i was young i always wanted to be a doctor. I couldnt make up my mind whether i wanted to be a dentist, medic or vet. I liked them all, shifting from one to the other as time went by.

When my grandad was sick in hospital, my family and i used to visit everyday. I did not like the atmosphere there, too many sick people, dying patients and sadness. I wasnt ready to live the rest of my life like that. Television series and films often portrait things much better than they are in real life. Obviously becoming a medic is not just about sick and dying patients, it depends on the branch you specialise in and can obviously be very rewarding morally. Also i personally was not ready for all those long hours, night shifts etc... Eventually i ruled out medicine.

As i have many pets and love animals i thought Veterinary is what i should be doing. I could get to be around animals all day, curing and helping them. My father though did not like the idea of me becoming a vet.. wearing big boots as i walk in cow dung... putting my whole hand up... ok i do not need to get too graphical here , i quickly realised that such a profession was definitely not for me.

So it was rather obvious for me that dentistry is what i should be choosing. I still get to treat patients, a very gratifying profession, ok i may not be 'SAVING LIFES' (or i may) but i will be saving self esteems, curing what has often been described as the suicidal pain of a tooth ache, i still get the same perks of being a medic/vet, the different specialisations available to the field of dentistry, the ability to prescribe drugs. The dental surgeon is the leader of his team, same way the medic/vet is the leader of their team.
As a person who loves gadgets (ipod, pda's, laptops etc) dentistry offers a never ending selection of such gadgets... simply perfect for me.. lol i do not know how much profit i would ever make in my surgery as i would be spending too much money on the latest inventions. On the down side to dentistry i must definitely say it is the most expensive profession to work in. A lot of expenses to start your own surgery! I will not open my own till i have worked in several hospitals/ private practises in several countries. I want to travel the world, practising dentistry and then at the right time, settle down.

Since i had an A average result i could choose any profession i wanted, I chose dentistry, i am a dental surgery student, and do not regret it.


Obviously some medics feels superior to a vet or dentist. Some Vets feel superior to both medics and dentists. And some Dentists feel superior to vets and medics. This is natural, people are proud of their achievements, rightly so. So nobody should be affected by this kind of stupidity as it never ends. An orthodontist may feel superior to a endodontist,... a gynaecologist to a proctologist!... it never ends... in life you have to do what makes you happy and not care what others think. All different professions are important and needed!

Becoming a doctor is not a decision to be take lightly, i agree it is a caring profession,whether treating humans or animals and not everyone is capable of being a GOOD doctor. About the financial gain, although very important (since it isnt easy becoming a doctor) it should not be the ultimate aim.

Take care of yourselves!!


and remember your patient should come first!

[dentalsurgerystudent]

Doctor: person licensed to practice medicine, as a physician, surgeon, dentist, or veterinarian.

www.dictionary.com

[mass]

not happy about the lack of respect for pharmacy. Its a very popular course and pay is excellent.

[Clarkey]

not happy about the lack of respect for pharmacy. Its a very popular course and pay is excellent.

Look how old this thread is!?!? It was started in 2003! Why not let sleeping dogs lie? Pharmacy is popular, if you can find me a post where someone said it was an unpopular degree then they'd be a point to your post. The pay seems adequate, more if you locum but then i know that because i've worked in a pharmacy as have other people who posted on the thread.

If you do medicine you will hear humour that you may not agree with, that is sometimes un-pc, but that is a common occurence.

Now if i wanted to start another argument i could say biomedical scientists are all failed medics. Exaggeration? Sure. Based on some element of truth, also true. Does it matter? Not really.

[dentalsurgerystudent]

This is addressed to all those students who base their decision re choosing between Dental Surgery, Medicine or Veterinary on their future potential financial gain:

I am quoting some american studies:
Dentists earn the most cash per year for the 1st 10 years after graduation. After that it is the medics who will earn the most per year.
Vets constantly rank as the ones with the lower income.

What i must include is that although medics will eventually be earning more cash per year (after the 10th year of graduation) they will also be working a 70-80hr week while the dental surgeon would be working an average of a 35-40 hour week.

After 10 years (35hr week) the Dentist would be earning some $185,000 yearly and the medic (75hr week) $210,000. These figures are approximates if you want the exact figures google for them!

Which basically means that the dentist actually earns more per hour than the medic and if the dentist were to work a 70 or 80 hour week he would be earning much more than the medic.

Basically if you want the money and you ALSO want a life choose DENTISTRY no doubt!

lol Take care guys!