Being a GP/dentist/chiropractor/whatever

<p>So what's the route that I must take? After HS, how long do I have to take a related course for (the university I'm planning to go has a medical science program)? Then how long do I have to take the next professional school (say, dentistry) for before I can actually come out and work? And during my time at the professional school, how much experience will I actually gain from working as an intern?</p>

<p>I'll answer for dentistry: typically 4 yrs undergrad (but there are some combined BS-DMD programs), 4 years dental school. During the last two years of dental school, it is about 80% working in the clinic on patients. You can go into private general practice right after dental school (I did), but these days, most students do 1 yr general practice residency in a hospital. Add anywhere from 2-4 years for specialty programs.</p>

<p>Hmm, this isn't that bad then. I'm becoming much more interested in pursuing a career in the medical science field. :D</p>

<p>How well do you have to do in HS in order to get into, say, a dentistry program?</p>

<p>2 more questions... how are the interviews for dental school? (eg. what kinds of questions, how stressful the atmosphre was, how much research about the medical field you may need to gather beforehand, what kinds of research, etc.)</p>

<p>And how difficult is it to get by dental school compared to other schools?</p>

<p>I'll try to answer your questions regarding becoming a General Practitioner.</p>

<p>A GP is a branch of medicine. Like dentistry, you would have to obtain a Bachelor's degree, in any subject you like. You will have to complete the pre-med courses (Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Calculus, English, and possibly a few others, depending on the med school). Once you've finished your Bachelor's degree, you would spend 4 years in medical school. In your 3rd and 4th year of med school, you have "rotations" through different areas of medicine, and I believe you are working with actual patients.</p>

<p>After med school, you would enter a residency in the area of your choice (ie. Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pathology, etc). I think the residency for a GP is about 3 years, although I'm not entirely sure.</p>

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How well do you have to do in HS in order to get into, say, a dentistry program?

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<p>From HS, you go to undergrad, complete the pre-reqs and your bachelor's degree. No one will look at your HS grades at that point. I recently read the average college GPA was 3.6/4.0 in UPenn's most recent incoming dental school class.</p>

<p>For the interview, you need to show a demonstrated interest in dentistry (as opposed to a 2nd choice to medical school). Here's a link for more info on a career in dentistry: <a href="http://www.ada.org/public/education/careers/dentistry_fact.asp#prepare%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ada.org/public/education/careers/dentistry_fact.asp#prepare&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>More information! Thanks a lot guys. I guess I'll take chemical engineering co-op (at University of Waterloo) and the necessary courses to get into a dental school. Is it still ok to major in something unrelated (partially) as long as I fulfill the required courses in university? Chemical engineering would be my back up plan.</p>

<p>I can't say for sure with dental school, but with med school, you can definitely major in something completely unrelated to medicine (there are math and music majors that have been accepted). I'd assume dental school is the same way.</p>

<p>But would they consider me as a person who's not as interested in dentistry if I were to major in chemical engineering? A friend of mine has his eyes set on being a doctor and he will be majoring in medical science.</p>

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But would they consider me as a person who's not as interested in dentistry if I were to major in chemical engineering?

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<p>One of my house mates in dental school was an engineer who graduated from RPI.</p>

<p>Thank you both so much for the information provided. I now know my plans much better than before. Thanks again.</p>