You’ve done your work, you’ve put in your hours, and now you’re wondering, “what the heck am I doing?” You’re at a crossroads between medical and dental school and pharmacy school. What is the best option?
Choosing your career path is a journey of discovery.
I am a senior Biology major. I have changed my major 6 times. I have 50+ hours shadowing doctors and PAs, I work as a pharmacy technician, and I recently got into LECOM School of Dentistry. It took me almost 5 years to decide on my career choice. I wasn’t one of those kids who “knew I wanted to be a doctor since I was 6.” It took hours of research, more hours of shadowing, and even more hours of studying and securing a spot at a school.
The best advice I can give on this journey to finding your career choice: Journal your experiences. Reflect on what you learned, what you want to learn, and what you want to see in your future. There are many reasons why some people want to go into a certain field. How do you know which option is the best FOR YOU?
1. Why do you want to be in healthcare?
Take a mental walk with yourself. Why do you want to be in healthcare:
- To educate people in health
- To serve the underserved communities
- To improve peoples’ self-confidence and self-esteem
- To save lives
- To change lives
- To make money
- To have a good lifestyle
- To offer guidance and motivation to others
- To work with patients
- To work hands-on
- To do research
- To teach
2. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to work in healthcare?
It’s no mystery, healthcare is a field in which many sacrifices are made. Sacrifices can be: time, money, hobbies, even your health. Professional school is a grueling battle with the books, which can take a toll on your mental and physical health if you do not balance. With the current COVID-19 situation, there is an alarming number of healthcare professionals falling ill to fight this pandemic war. What are you willing to sacrifice?
- Health
- Debt expenses
- Residency and fellowship periods
- Expensive study materials for MCAT/DAT/PCAT
- Time spent studying
3. Have you shadowed and gotten experience?
I cannot stress enough the importance of shadowing. I thought I wanted to be a doctor all throughout high school and into my freshman year. I didn’t realize I like dentistry until I tagged along with a friend shadowing a dentist. The experience was fun and awe inspiring. If I hadn’t shadowed, I might still be on the pre-med track, but I would never have discovered a new passion and perspective on healthcare.
- Medical school: Shadow doctors in all fields. Shadow physician assistants. Shadow nurse practitioners. Talk to medical students. Follow medical students on social media or on their blogs/vlogs. Volunteer at a local hospital, urgent care, and underserved clinic. Get experience in triage. Work as a phlebotomy assistant or medical scribe. Get direct patient care hours.
- Dental school: Shadow dentists in all fields. Shadow oral maxillofacial surgeons, shadow orthodontists, shadow pediatric dentists. Talk dental students and follow their social media and blogs. Dentistry doesn’t offer as many jobs and volunteering experience as medical schools, so shadowing will be your biggest exposure to the dental field. Not to mention, many dental schools have a requirement of shadowing hours. If you get the opportunity to work as a dental assistant, do it.
- Pharmacy school: Shadow pharmacists in all fields. Shadow a hospital pharmacist, retail pharmacist, and research pharmacist. Talk to pharmacy students and follow them on social media and blogs. Work as a pharmacy technician. Volunteer at a non-profit pharmacy for underserved communities.
Journal your experiences. Jot in down in Apple notes, or find a cute notebook at a department store to write your thoughts down. Record everything. What did you learn? What do you want to learn? Did anything affect you? How do you feel about this? What do you see in your future?
4. Which profession resonates most with your passion?
To answer this question, you have to gain experience in the field. You have to find what you truly love about healthcare, or if you love healthcare at all.
As I said before, journal your experiences so you can go back and reflect on yourself.
Study Tea 