BDS vs. BHMS vs. BAMS : Which Medical Course is best for you

A common dilemma many medical students face is, which sector to choose after finishing your 12th? Most students who plan to make their career in healthcare aim for MBBS, but not everyone can secure a seat in MBBS hence they plan to switch to the dental or alternative medicine branches. Now the question remains, which branch to choose? 

The most preferred options for students after MBBS are Dental, Ayurveda, and Homeopathy. All of these courses have different requirements. 

BDS (Dental)

4 years + 1-year internship

Language - English

BAMS (Ayurveda) - Alternative Medicine

4.5 years + 1-year internship

Mandatory to have Sanskrit in class 10th or 12th

BHMS (Homeopathy) - Alternative Medicine

4.5 years + 1 year internship

Language - English

Which one to go for?

So now you’ve decided that you will be pursuing one of these courses. Before making the final decision there are certain things you can do. Here are a few tips that you can follow:

Reach out to different professionals:

Meet with the practicing professionals in your city to understand the methods, benefits, and challenges they face. 

Look at the current working scenario:

Keep an eye on the current working scenario of how professionals are practicing, what are the preferences of the patients, what are the potential opportunities and pitfalls.

Search online and watch relevant videos on YouTube:

The Internet holds all the information that you’ll need to understand any subject. You can utilize it to gain knowledge from different sources. YouTube and Quora are the most preferred platforms to get this sort of information.

Identify future trends:

Look out for the future and be open to new and emerging trends. Learn to see the future options and how the industry is shaping so you can plan accordingly. 

Make the final decision:

Now that you’ve gone through every step, it is time for you to make the final decision.

Post Graduate Courses/Careers

Once you complete your graduation in any of these courses you might consider going for post-graduation. One thing that should be kept in mind is that all of these options have fewer seats in postgraduates compared to graduation. For example, there are fewer seats of MDS in different specialties compared to BDS. That is the same case with MD in Ayurveda or MD in Homeopathy.

After finishing your graduation, you can also pursue some alternate career options which have a higher scope. These options may include:

• Hospital Administration
• Primary Care Provider (EMS)/ Community Medical Service
• Clinical Nutrition
• Clinical Content Writer
• Clinical Research/ Health Research/ Health Science
• Clinical Psychology/ Health Counselling/ Applied Psychology
• Clinical Data Science/ Health Informatics 
• Epidemiology/ Public Health
• Diabetes Educator/ Health Educator
• Medical Coding/ Health Record Management

Career Options:

Below are popular career options for students of alternative medicine.

1. Government Jobs (Ayush Doctors): The government of India offers career options for alternative medicine practitioners under the wing of ‘Ayush’. Students of Homeopathy and Ayurveda can work with the Government under this format. 
2. Private Hospitals (Clinical assistant): After finishing their studies, the students can also join a private hospital and work as clinical assistants. However, one thing that should be kept in mind is that students of alternative medicine may get better career opportunities in Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities, compared to Tier-1, due to the smaller number of medical practitioners in those towns.
3. Career Options Abroad: There is a high demand for medical practitioners of alternative medicine in countries abroad. The increasing adaptation of different countries for alternative medicine has given a boost to the practitioners and increased the possibilities of practicing abroad. 

You can learn more about Healthcare courses and find the college/institute that suits you the best by visiting courses.docthub.com