Giving up pre-dental for nursing?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Howdy everyone,

First all, Happy Mother's Day to the wonderful mothers out there!

A little about me: I graduated last year with a BS in Nutritional Sciences from a top tier TX school in hopes of going to dental school. I've wanted to become a dentist/physician of some sort since I was a kid but my true goal was to do something that can make an impact on someone's life. I thought serving those in healthcare was the best so I chose dentistry. For the first 3 and a half years of shadowing, I loved it. I loved the field and knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life. However, I was rejected from all dental schools so I decided to take some more classes to boost my application. I made a 4.0 last semester taking A&P, medical micro, and embryology so I prove that I am academically capable. However, for the last year I began to think about my career carefully and found out that I may not be happy pursuing this career. I don't know why considering I am observing a dentist with strong ties to my favorite dental school and a letter of rec + doing well in my classes would help me get an interview.

I have began to strongly consider nursing as a career I could be happy with since I enjoy taking care of others and I believe my best quality is empathy. I NEVER chose dentistry because of the money or prestige. I simply wanted to make a difference in someone's life and I'm disappointed in myself that it took so long for me to figure this out (I am almost 23).

I have like 90% of the prereqs done since I am a biology major at my post bac school and I am sure my nursing prereq GPA is def above a 3.7. I have close to 200 volunteering hours.

I'd appreciate any advice especially from those who changed their careers/majors. What do y'all think?

Thank you

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

I would HIGHLY advise you to shadow a nurse for a couple of full 12-hour shifts - day AND night before making your decision. Find out if it is really what you would be happy doing.

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How would you recommend I go about doing that?

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Call a hospital/ nursing home and ask.

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Thank you. I will see to it once the semester ends.

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If I were younger, I would have went to dental school. It provides autonomy, and a good lifestyle working 3 days a week for a digit salary. However, I don't really like being in other ppls mouth.

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Those 3 days a week most likely come after paying off your 250-500k student loans after 10-15 years. lol

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Can't go wrong with nursing buddy! Oops, I sound a little bit biased! Anyways, just like the previous responder said, shadow a nurse, research, talk with family /friend that might be in nursing. Look at the Pros and Cons from each perspective of Dentistry vs. Nursing. Good Luck!

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Thank you. I forgot to mention that I am also considering a specialty like FNP after working as an RN but yes, I will continue to look at the pros and cons of each field. :)

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Specializes in ICU.

With dentistry you would have awesome hours and money. Every dentist I know works 3-4 days a week and they roll in the money. It's something people will always need and I don't think it is an over saturated field. I know I have a hard time finding the "right" dentist. I have a little fear of going to the dentist and I literally shake in my chair until the dentist can come in and calm me down. I've found one, but he is super expensive. And he only works seriously 2 or 3 days a week which stinks for me. They don't work on holidays which will be nice when you have a family.

Nursing is also a good career that will never go away. There will always be a need for nurses. Saying that though, many, many people are trying to go to nursing school. Some areas of the country have 3 year waits to get into nursing school. It is extremely competitive. And you are getting way more intimate with people. Lol. I do love nursing. I know of several people that were interested in nursing only to decide they can't deal with the bodily fluids so they went to be dental hygienists so they could still help people but only deal with some bad breath. I'm the other way around. I can deal with all the bodily fluids, but I don't want to smell people's bad breath or have some kid bite me while I would be working in his mouth. I love working with sick people and comforting and caring for them. People are at their worst and most vulnerable when they are in the hospital. Caring for them and helping them heal is something I like to do. But in nursing you work all hours of the day and night. You will work holidays and have to go in when other call in sick. You may work the night shift or a midday shift. As long as your are prepared for that.

I can't tell you what path to take. There are pros and cons of each. You are only 23. That is young. I'm 39 and will graduate next year at 40. There are people much older than me in my cohort. Do some good research on both sides of the fence. Look at what will make you happy in life. I agree with shadowing a nurse. Go and see what they do all day because it is a lot and they never stop.

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