Finished pharmacy school, but hungry for more. My chances.

[PacificTraveler]

Hello cardiology!

I recently finished pharmacy school classes and currently am finishing off my p4 year rotations. It has been a wonderful 3.5 years so far; I met my wife, who happens to be in the same graduating class as me . At the turn of 2010 we will both be pharmacists.

I, however, want more knowledge and want to continue climbing up the medicine ladder. I absolutely love cardiology. It would be my dream to be MD, PharmD Cardiologist. Wifey isn't too happy about this plan , as she wants children in the very near future. But I digress. Having a PharmD degree and being bi-lingual; how much of a help would that be? I know for sure that w/o long preparation I would stand no chance against other applicants as far as the MCAT score goes. How much do you think my degree would help me get in? I could spend a year preparing for the MCAT.

Any advice? Go for it? Abandon it? Is this possible?

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[punjabiMD]

difficult question to answer. it depends a lot on what you want out of your career/life balance 10 years down the road (4 years med school, 3 years IM, 3 years cardiology). the field will be entirely different at that time. plus priorities change over time. the least anyone can do to help you is to tell you what to expect:

- getting into med school can be difficult for some. you have to be able to "talk the talk," and make yourself look good on paper. your PharmD training may likely give you some insight into this.

- 4 years of med school can be one of the most difficult times in your life. you need to sacrifice a lot. be prepared for that. plus if you can't afford the tuition up front or get other financial grants, you will walk out with tons of debt. this is the most important factor to consider, as a newly married couple (the #1 point of contention in most marriages is over financial matters). how will you handle the debt? will the debt mean that you will have to delay having children? will your spouse's salary be plenty enough for both of you to have a family and the other costs associated (home, etc.)? I'm out of touch with the field of PharmDs but last I remember the salaries are pretty darn good.

- then you have to apply again for residencies. if you definitely want to do cards you have to concentrate on getting good grades in med school in order to get a competitive IM residency. IM as a whole though is not as competitive as other fields. Also despite what many people on this forum may have you believe, you don't have to go to a top 5 IM program in order to cardiology. Residency lifestyle, by the time you get to it, should be vastly improved. This summer alone many programs are initiating the ACGME requirements for a 60-hour work weekly limit.

- say you play your cards right and match into fellowship. cardiology is an interesting field but it's difficult to predict where the field will be in 6-7 years down the line. With new cost controls the salaries may be down a bit. Don't go into the field for the $$$. You will also be best off training at a program that gives you exposure to the many sub-specialities of cardiology: EP, HF, preventive, interventional (coronary, peripheral, valvular), interventional HF, imaging. Most cardiologists leaving fellowships, to my knowledge, do not leave as general cardiologists. They leave with some additional training or expertise in particular areas.


-in the end, you're the one who should make the decision, with your spouse. It would be difficult to go this route without her support. It's a huge financial and psychological investment. But if it's truly what you want to do, then it's worth every cent.

 

[KRichards62]

During my CCU rotation, the unit pharmacist was one of the most important members of the team. He was extremely well versed in the current literature, and provided invaluable advice on making evidence based decisions for treatment. He is also actively involved with academic cardiologists in cutting edge clinical research. As you know, there are lots of parameters to consider when medicating acute cardiac patients (anticoagulation, BP management, QT prolongation, etc), and a knowledgeable pharmacist can be very helpful in making sure this is done correctly.

I encourage you to pursue whatever you think would make you happy. MCAT, medical school, IM residency, and cardiology fellowship will certainly be a LONG addition to the time you have already invested. Before taking on such an endeavor, you should know that it is possible to have a fruitful career as pharmacist in the field of cardiology.

 

[Myostatin]

I second the above post. Cardiology is an amazing field, but you will be much better off using your current degree and finding a meaningful niche involving cardiovascular medicine, rather than trying to become a cardiologist - as of now the training length is more like 4 years med school + 3 years IM + 3-4 years general cardiology + 1-2 years of inteventional or EP training. = 10 - 13 more years that you're deferring a substantial income as a pharmacist and accruing debt, not to mention opportunity cost, investment losses, etc. Money is by no means everything but the current training path is not financially viable unless you start young. Rather than this, try finding a niche in one of the following areas:

-CCU pharmacist (as mentioned above), though few places I know have a dedicated pharmacist specializing in cardiac critial care
-Industry, with an emphasis on clinical trials/drug development in cardiology

 

[PacificTraveler]

Appreciate the invaluable advice, thank you. It is a dream, albeit an expensive one. I will investigate CCU residencies.