Recently diagnosed with tremor, considering dropping out
Hiii everyone.
I'm currently in my third year of dental school. For background, I was never really that passionate about dentistry and just chose it because it seemed like a good career. Good income, relatively good work-life balance, flexibility. I'm not really that passionate about anything else either, so it just seemed like a good choice.
Going through dental school has been quite rough for me, I don't really enjoy the practical aspect and I'm not naturally a hands-on person to begin with (yeah... I ask myself why I chose dental school all the time). What gets to me most is being watched and evaluated all the time, the constant critique, and knowing that a mistake on my part could cause someone lasting harm. Also just the manual labour. If I could go back and choose a different path I think I would. I've literally been fantasizing about a cozy job that is low stakes where I can just turn up at my cubicle and use my brain to do the work instead of my hands, and mistakes don't involve a patient's health. But still, the positives - flexibility and work-life balance especially, are hard to find elsewhere at a similar income level. If these were the only issues, I think I could have made peace with it and finished the degree.
Now here's where it gets funny (not). I recently started noticing a tremor in my hands and went to go visit the neurologist, who diagnosed me with essential tremor. It's mild at the moment but definitely noticeable at times, and while I still think I'll be able to make it through dental school, I'm more worried about the long-term outcomes since it's a progressive condition. Now I'm thinking even if I graduate, will I even be able to work long-term? The neurologist did prescribe medication, but it doesn't work that well and the idea of relying on medication indefinitely just to sustain a career is hard to accept. And the fact that I wasn't even enjoying dentistry in the first place makes me think whether I should drop out and do something else altogether. I’m 24 so I feel like I still have some time to start over.
I'd love some advice. Should I drop out? Or just finish the degree and see from there? Any careers I should look into?
Thanks so much in advance 🥹