Medicine & Dentistry

The field of medicine is very challenging. Doctors have to take sole responsibility for their decisions and the consequence they have on patients' lives. They must be prepared to work hard and face long and irregular working hours.  The program's key features include: the simultaneous learning of basic, clinical, biological and social sciences; the improved teaching of communication skills; the use of learning approaches that encourage lifelong learning skills; the incorporation of ethics and professional development as an integral part of the program; and the incorporation of information technology and computing skills to ensure that graduates are able to utilise technological advances to improve their learning skills and knowledge acquisition.

Dentistry is a small well-known and high-status profession. Perhaps that is why so many high academic achievers want to become dentists. There is only a small student contingent in Australia and UK. All courses are hard to get in and the duration is five years. It is part of science of medicine dealing with the study and maintenance of good health of the teeth, the bone supporting the teeth and the soft tissues in and around the mouth. Modern dentistry requires specialist knowledge not only of the mouth but also a wide understanding of the whole body. A dentist preserves teeth by filling, crowning, and scaling. He extracts teeth and designs and fits artificial dentures. He also does surgical operation on the jaws, orthodontics, which is the improvement of irregular teeth, mainly in children. But this is changing field of practice. Tooth decay has just about disappeared, thanks to fluoride, and dental therapists and other paraprofessionals who do most of the straight repair and health education tasks once done by dentists. Dentists now tend to spend most of their time on cosmetic and other specialist work.