Dentistry, medicine, pharmacy: treatment interests, ability and socioeconomic index of three stable career groups.

Career development literature indicates that many who enter a specific health profession may do so after actively considering one of the other health professions. From a field of 36 variables representing abilities, interests, temperanment, and socioeconomic index, 16 significant variables were found that best differentiate between and among physicians, dentists, and pharmacists. These 16 served as reliable discriminators for predictive classification.