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The results
of any M.D.S entrance exam usually end up dividing the successful candidates
into two very dissimilar groups; CHOOSERS and COMPROMISERS. The CHOOSERS
include a small percentage of candidates who possess both clarity of mind as
well as a top rank and end up bagging a seat in a branch of their choice. The COMPROMISERS, on the other hand, include a vast
majority of the successful candidates who settle for a branch other than the
branch of their interest even after scoring a decent rank.
It is natural
then to have an element of doubt in your
mind when it comes to choosing the RIGHT branch with the rank you scored and
the options available to you at that rank. No wonder, the candidates looking to
make the RIGHT decision often bombard PG students and practicing dentists of
every branch with questions regarding the scope of their respective branch, the
future prospects and countless other doubts as soon as the M.D.S admission
process begins.
However, many times a candidate looking for some
clarity of choice often ends up even more confused since opinions and
perspectives are dependent on individuals and tend to overlap or contradict
each other.
But what if I
told you that in reality, there is only ONE piece of advice that really matters
when it comes to choosing the “RIGHT” branch for yourself? Especially, if it is
a branch other than the one you originally intended to pursue?
That piece of
advice can be summed up in ONE sentence;
“THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE RIGHT
BRANCH!”
While the
statement itself can generate a lot of debate, the purpose of this blog is to
orient the dental graduate towards the mindset that it is YOUR APPROACH that makes
the branch RIGHT for you and NOT “the branch” per se.
Outlined
below are a few basic principles behind this line of thought. They are intended
to guide the candidates in arriving at a LOGICAL SOLUTION when the situation
demands that they choose a branch other than the one they originally intended
to pursue.
#1 EVERYONE HAS TO
START FRESH AFTER 3 YEARS
Irrespective
of the branch you choose, at the end of the course, YOU alone will be
responsible for building YOUR CAREER in that field...be it gaining experience
in academics, pursuing a clinical practice or a career in research.
In the
absence of a lucrative job market, recruitment drives like other professions
and a general lack of basic infrastructure to provide employment opportunities
to qualified dentists, everyone, irrespective of their branch is left to fend
for themselves once they are out in the real world.
#2 BEING A SPECIALIST
AND BEING ABLE TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
How well you
know your branch and how well you apply that knowledge is completely different
from how well you manage your practice. It is the latter that ultimately
determines your success.
So
irrespective of the branch you choose and whether or not it was the right one,
in the end, if you can’t master the art of successful practice, the RIGHT
BRANCH won’t be of much help to you in the LONG RUN.
#3 NO BRANCH IS TRULY
INDEPENDENT OF GENERAL DENTISTRY
Irrespective
of the branch you specialise in, there is
no escaping the fact that a majority of your income will depend on GENERAL
PRACTICE at least till the time you gain the right CREDENTIALS and the right
EXPERIENCE which itself will take years.
What
differentiates specialisation in
dentistry from specialisation in other
professions is the lack of EXCLUSIVITY. So it doesn’t matter what branch you
choose initially, in the end, your career WILL be partially-dependent on
general dentistry as well.
Managing a
good score and a rank in the highly competitive M.D.S entrance exams is a huge
feat in itself but in the event that the score is not good enough to get you a
seat of your choice, deciding which branch to choose can turn out to be a
difficult decision to make.
However, keeping
in mind the principles outlined above and adopting
a mindset that seeks to change their APPROACH towards the RIGHT BRANCH
mentality, making a choice can turn out to be an easy task for the successful
candidates.
In the end,
it is what you do with those 3 years of post-graduation
and beyond that determines your success irrespective of what branch you
choose!
So stop
losing sleep thinking about the future and the COMPROMISE that you think you
are making by not getting a branch of your choice and start training your mind
to do the best with what you have!
All the best!
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