i absolulely hate pharmacy school

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sandy24

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i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?

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sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?
Find someone to talk to about the trouble you're having. I obviously don't know beans about pharmacy specifically, but your trouble sounds like it's a broader issue of you mentally fighting your education rather than trying to make it work for you. Unless you're able to come to some sort of cease-fire with school, you're going to be in for a long four years.

I offer this, not to castigate you, but to encourage you to find someone to help you work through this problem--an upperclassman, a counselor, maybe someone who I'd never think of. Your professional education will be one of the most expensive, demanding, & time-consuming endeavors of your life; it'll be a lot more bearable if you're able to make friends with it. ;) Best of luck to you.
 
i think that you're just a bit burned out. just try to take it easy and pace yourself. i know that the curriculum is tough but i think it's necessary because of the complexities of all the medications out there and the great responsibilities of a pharmacist with respect to medication therapies (at least in the clincial setting). in a clinical setting, i'm sure a pharmacist has to know physiology, med chem, etc. in order to effectively do the job. i agree in a retail setting we probably won't have to regurgitate course material to a regular joe but it's still beneficial to know how the medications work and how everything relate to each other. it's still an adjustment period for you since it's the first year so give it a bit of time. try to get to know your classmates and form good study/support groups. i'm a p1 also and making friends and forming study groups helped me tremendously in the first quarter.
 
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A 3.0 is not bad. Just relax and have fun. Remember "C's get degrees." :)
 
haha, Cs get degrees, good one... :laugh:
 
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sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?

Hey, I'm the same way, I study my butt off and only manage to get Bs. Actually, if I pulled all-nighters like alot of people I know I could probably pull off As but my sleep is precious to me ;) I know it seems like a waste now but you're going to need that in-depth knowledge when it comes to rotations. You may be asked questions about MOAs and the differences between drugs within a class and how they differ. I know I was. Anyway, just count down the days until 3rd year (mine was the easiest b/c all the hard classes were finished) or rotations. Good luck!
 
I'm not having fun in school, either, but it will be worth it in the end. The pathophysiology is a pain, but it will come in handy when you get pharmacology later on. In order to understand how a drug works, you have to know how the body works. Hang in there. You're doing great.
 
just going to bring a little ray of sunshine to this topic.....

i was told coming in that the first year was easy the second year was the hardest and the 3rd year was no big deal....

i would like to say that yes... the first year was by far the easiest and i didn't appreciate it at the time.

the second year was extremely hard with tons of "important" classes

however... if you think you're burned out now... i have never wanted out of school as badly as i do now.... the third year for me has sucked the most.

i want done.

the majority of my class has gone around saying i don't want to be a pharmacist. or just let me work at CVS don't make me learn all of this.

just hang in there...
you don't want it to all be a giant waste of time.
 
I think we probably all have moments like this. Like the others said, find someone with whom you can vent. It may be hard to see it now, but it will all be worth it in the end.

As for studying, there is what a few of my classmates have called "the law of diminished return." At some point , the extra amount of time you spend studying does not translate into enough of a differnece to make it worthwhile. Sure, we would probably all like to get straight A's, but we have to be realistic. WE are all used to doing VERY well in school and I know I have foudn it hard to "let go" a little and not expect perfection.
 
dgroulx said:
I'm not having fun in school, either, but it will be worth it in the end. The pathophysiology is a pain, but it will come in handy when you get pharmacology later on. In order to understand how a drug works, you have to know how the body works. Hang in there. You're doing great.

I once had a math teacher who used to tell us; "Never ask why. If you ask why something works you are in danger of becoming a math major"

The same applies to Pharmacy school. [Almost] nobody likes Pharmacy school. There are just different degrees of hatred. For the rest of you; get a life, drink a beer, shoot some pool - you worry me. I worked with a guy whose idea of a good time was to go home and read Pharmacy journals....
pleeez! (Hi NORMAN!!!) :sleep: :laugh:
 
Agreed. Repeat after me; "I'm going to Happy Hour---who's with me?" :D

Take a step back, relax, and breathe.

This too, will pass. It is normal.
 
sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?

Although I can't relate to your complaints of competitiveness (my class seems to be really willing to help one another), I too HATE physiology and biochem. Some of the things we learn in these classes are really abstract and sometimes downright ridiculous (I mean some of the explanations for how and why things work, and the cartoon figures that accompany these explanations.....gimme a break!). We are just supposed to accept that what they're telling us is true, and study it and learn it. I sit there in class thinking "Am I in pharmacy school or church?!" I feel like standing and shouting "AMEN!" at the end of lecture. Blah, Blah, Blah, and Mary was a virgin. :laugh:

If I have to go back to winter quarter on Monday and be miserable, then so do you dammit!!! I really don't feel like studying this crap either right now, as I'm dealing with the recent death of my children's father as I try to read about cardiac physiology and genetics, but I know that I have to if I want to earn my PharmD. But I have learned all too tragically, life is too short to be miserable, so we must try to make the most of where we are, and what we have (since so many people didn't get into pharm school last year). If I can get through this, you will get through this too! A 3.0 is perfectly fine.
 
Roxicet said:
I feel like standing and shouting "AMEN!" at the end of lecture.

Hey Roxy, at least we've stopped applauding after everyone speaks! I swear, I think there was applause for a few lectures back in the fall quarter! :laugh:
 
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Hate is not even a strong enough word for me at this point.
Here we have this lovely little thing called "Jan Term" this is one class in the month of january and the regular semester actually starts in feb.

I have Therapeutics II for 4 hours a day right now.
Occasionally the professors will switch out but not often.

My hatred just went to an all new level.....
 
I wish I only had one class instead of 6....
 
Rfour said:
A 3.0 is not bad. Just relax and have fun. Remember "C's get degrees." :)

It's not Pharma A, it's not Pharma B, it's Pharma C school!
 
I just wanted to let you know, it crosses into all levels of medical education. There were times during my second year of OD school I seriously started to wonder why I was PAYING someone to do this to me. I taped phone numbers for beauty schools on my desk while studying second semster pharm. Why was I taking 22 credit hours?? Am I insane!! now that I've been through rotations , worked with patients, am about to graduate... I love the choice I made to go back to school. would I EVER go through the first two years again.. hell no. But, it's almost a rite of passage for medical professionals.

And yes, C = OD (and in this case PharmD).

Good luck guys !! :D :D :luck:
cpw, a former pre-pharm turned OD
 
I absolutely hated pharmacy school too. I already had my BS in bio&chem and my old school was one of those who let in kids right out of high school for the 6 year pharmd program. I transfered into the "3rd year" and found myself with a bunch of kids who, frankly were too young to take their classes seriously. My class had its share of students with undergads already so that last sentence didnt apply to everyone. Then there were those REALLY REALLY dorky kids who took their classes too seriously (ie wearing a shirt and tie to every class every day because they thought they were "professionals" LMAO). I agree that if you guys study way to far in depth for what 98% of what your jobs will require...thats why i feel their should still be the RPh option..oh well....good luck :thumbup:
 
SigPi said:
I absolutely hated pharmacy school too. I already had my BS in bio&chem and my old school was one of those who let in kids right out of high school for the 6 year pharmd program. I transfered into the "3rd year" and found myself with a bunch of kids who, frankly were too young to take their classes seriously. My class had its share of students with undergads already so that last sentence didnt apply to everyone. Then there were those REALLY REALLY dorky kids who took their classes too seriously (ie wearing a shirt and tie to every class every day because they thought they were "professionals" LMAO). I agree that if you guys study way to far in depth for what 98% of what your jobs will require...thats why i feel their should still be the RPh option..oh well....good luck :thumbup:

Why is being young such a negative thing on the maturity issue? We had several straight-to-Pharm.D. students, including myself, and it never seemed to be a problem. We actually thought that a few of the "mature" students were screwups who dithered about choosing their career until it was almost too late. (This anecdote is not directed at the young mothers, or technicians to pharmacist trainees, or those who didn't have the money or opportunity to go before.) Also keep in mind that a degree wasn't necessary to get a pharmacy degree when I was in school (although some schools are de facto postgraduate degrees). On the old school BS Pharm side, it was unusual to get someone who had a bachelor's elsewhere into the program.
 
School sux period...not just pharmacy school! :smuggrin:

Sooo glad I've been out for 10 years... :laugh:
 
ZpackSux said:
Sooo glad I've been out for 10 years... :laugh:

methinks zpack is 10 years closer to looking like this :D
Old%20man.jpg
 
damn, why are you guys doing this if you dont like it... i love these subjects. its a great opportunity to learn how our bodies work and deal with drugs, don't you find this interesting? i know you should take the times to go out and get drunk, get laid etc... but a lot of the material is fascinating (no im not a nerd, i never even did science subject till i was 22 and starting college)... try taking a different point of view, you may enjoy the 4 years a whole lot more (although there are the few classes [calculations in my case] that are boring, but the rest are interesting if you think about it from another point of view)

school rules, it is a well known fact that work sux
 
sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?

try this
fukitol5xf.jpg
 
sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?


:laugh:
 
I am not trying to flame you, but pharmacy cannot continue the ways its going forever in community practice. Are we going to dispense meds the rest of our lives? There is automation making its way into pharmacy, which will drastically reduce the dispensing role of pharmacists, allowing them to be more clinically involved in patient medication management. This is why you need to know about the kidneys, lungs, etc... I really hope that all pre- pharmacy students realize this before they make the decision to come into pharmacy hoping to make 100k per yr to dispense medications. Also, everyone needs to realize that there are lobbists in Washington trying to limit the profession of pharmacy altogether (other health professional organizations). However, many pharmacy organizations are already making progress towards a clinical role. For example, look at ASHPs goal outlines for the yr 2015. Many community practice settings are also pushing for this to happen. Not only would automation save them a lot of money, but it would allow pharmacists to move into an expanded job role. I know its rough, esp 2nd yr, but trust me you will benefit in the future.




sandy24 said:
i can't stand it. i work so hard and yet my gpa is just slightly above 3.0. I hate the competitiveness and the workload. I really don't even understand why we have to know all that we know. Why do we have to study the kidneys and other organ systems in such depth? we aren't going to be diagnosing people and i think that doing all these years of schooling is a huge waste of my time if I am going into retail. Don't flame me ...i just feel depressed at the thought of going back for another semester of that hell. I don't know if I study poorly or manage my time wrong or just suck at studying. I don't hate the pharmacy profession itself but it just bothers me how rigorous our curriculum is.

anyone else feel the same way?
 
VCU07 said:
I am not trying to flame you, but pharmacy cannot continue the ways its going forever in community practice. Are we going to dispense meds the rest of our lives? There is automation making its way into pharmacy, which will drastically reduce the dispensing role of pharmacists, allowing them to be more clinically involved in patient medication management. This is why you need to know about the kidneys, lungs, etc... I really hope that all pre- pharmacy students realize this before they make the decision to come into pharmacy hoping to make 100k per yr to dispense medications. Also, everyone needs to realize that there are lobbists in Washington trying to limit the profession of pharmacy altogether (other health professional organizations). However, many pharmacy organizations are already making progress towards a clinical role. For example, look at ASHPs goal outlines for the yr 2015. Many community practice settings are also pushing for this to happen. Not only would automation save them a lot of money, but it would allow pharmacists to move into an expanded job role. I know its rough, esp 2nd yr, but trust me you will benefit in the future.

I'm very interested in pharmacy moving to a more clinical role. Do you think it's reasonable to think it ever will? I'm a soph in college looking into pharmacy, but all of the uncertanties of the profession's future scare me. Also, do you think pharmacists in a clinical role would be financially rewarded for their efforts, or would the field turn more in the direction of physical therapy (over-saturation)? I am curious because pharmacy school is very expensive, and one needs a way (or in my case) to be able to pay back such large school loans from undergrad and professional school. Thanks
 
I have almpst a 4.0 average now going into pharmacy school but do I expect to maintain it? Absolutely not! I expect to get far fewer A's and far more B's. Maybe even a few C's.

I am glad I have already given myself some breathing room ;)

There is nothing worthwhile in life that does not come without a bit of good hard work: blood sweat and tears. Nothing. Professional school is one of the highest goals a person can have. There is a reason pharmacists are paid so much: it is because most people don't have the drive/willpower to think very deeply.

I am going to pace myself through pharmacy school: not think about the future too hard. Just deal with the present tests, etc and slowly move forward. If you think about all the work you will have to do to get through you will go mad.
 
Oh man, I have said that to myself no less than once a day since the beginning of pharmacy school, multiple times a day this last hellish P2 year.

But, I know I made the right decision. If I think about what I would rather be doing right now (in terms of work, not lying on a beach) I can't think of anything.

Busting your ass and getting Bs when you are used to As is hard to get used to, just realize that your GPA is no longer the be all end all. I think I could maybe make straight As but that would seriously hamper my social life - something that keeps me sane. It's OK to let your priorities change, I sincerely doubt you'll remember what you made in chemo 20 years from now but you will remember that you nurtured your relationships and yourself.

That was kinda cheesy :D
 
Also I don't think my GPA is indicative of how much I know. I will make a damn good pharmacist whether or not I can draw the structure of cefuroxime. Those classes where I've just had to memorize the info in order to get an A haven't helped me a lick in terms of advancing my education. I have no qualms about diverting my efforts from those classes into those that encourage critical thinking and will help me be a better practioner.
 
Sandy,

I think you're going through a "natural stage" in the pharmacy cirriculum. I might be able to give you a different perspective in response to your questions. First, pharmacy is very difficult. I know that it seems that we cover a lot of topics that we'll never use, but part of the schooling process is to prepare us for the future- the changing trends of medicine; 20 years from now we'll probably be doing genomics delivering peptides instead of tablets etc. You need to learn as much now so that you'll be prepared for these new advances in medicine. As far as learning about the renal system etc. - its very important to understand the physiology.

When a patient goes into renal failure, mulitple organ systems are affected. This affects plasma protein binding in which some drugs are highly bound which will in turn effect the free or total concentration of drug in the body. GFR etc will effect drug abosorption or secretion. Are you starting to see the picture? The same is also true of the liver in much CYP450 enzymes may be induced or inhibited. We need to understand all these processes and the physiology that undermines it for the above reasons.

Everything will eventually tie back together.

(just wanted to let you know, my friend typed this up under my SN)
 
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i hate finals.....
 
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bbmuffin said:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i hate finals.....

Hate is too weak a word for how much i despise finals. Just one more week.

Good luck, bbmuffin.
 
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