Pharm D --> MD

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

RxConfused

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
38
Reaction score
5
Just wondering, how many of the pharmacists/pharm students on here have gone on to med school or are considering going?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Did he apply directly from pharm school or did he work for awhile?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
i think there is poster here who is in the process of doing it

there was 2 rph professors at my school who also went to med school

i have thought about it, but imo its too late in the game for me now to make another 7yr commitment
 
My boyfriend has been a pharmacist since he was 22 years old and he is going to go to Med school. Two of my classmates flat out told me they are going to med school after they graduate pharmacy school. I am sure there is more.


I personally would have gone to med school instead of pharmacy if the sight of blood didn't make me turn pale white and faint. LOL...
 
My boyfriend has been a pharmacist since he was 22 years old and he is going to go to Med school. Two of my classmates flat out told me they are going to med school after they graduate pharmacy school. I am sure there is more.


I personally would have gone to med school instead of pharmacy if the sight of blood didn't make me turn pale white and faint. LOL...

you arent the only one, i know PLENTY of rph who wouldve done med school if they could handle looking at blood or the needle phobia

i think the thing is people really dont know what they want to do undergrad, then they go to pharm school for 3 yrs and explore different things and realize they actually want to do something different. but they still finish pharm school to have something in hand as a backup
 
This is one of the few things in life that I am absolutely sure I do not want to pursue. I am not afraid of needles, just blood or bodily fluids.

I worked with a pharmacist that went back to med school after working as a pharmacist for a few years. Now that's dedication.
 
This is one of the few things in life that I am absolutely sure I do not want to pursue. I am not afraid of needles, just blood or bodily fluids.

I worked with a pharmacist that went back to med school after working as a pharmacist for a few years. Now that's dedication.

Some people are just career students. I personally hate our education system from K12 all the way through grad school. Once I get my pharmD, I am DONE. Oh and I hate needles too so no med school for me. Hate blood too so bye bye dental school. When I got blood drawn right before undergrad the nurse accidentally poked herself with the needle AFTER she took my blood. She was so nonchalent about it, I would have FLIPPED and threw myself out a window. I don't like having that kind of risk at work. I saw a TV commercial about a non needle flu shot or something like that for customers who don't like needles, what about a no-needle flu shot for a pharmacist who doesn't like needles! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I think being the poker may even be worse than getting poked. I don't want to find out. I want to be the pharmacist who works 50 floors down in a basmeent of a mail order pharmacy. :scared:
 
Just wondering, how many of the pharmacists/pharm students on here have gone on to med school or are considering going?

I might go for it. Depends on what the job market is like when I graduate. If I don't match into a residency or find a job that I will be happy with, I might apply to med school. Not sure if I can get in though :laugh:
 
i think there is poster here who is in the process of doing it

there was 2 rph professors at my school who also went to med school

i have thought about it, but imo its too late in the game for me now to make another 7yr commitment
JDUB? I think he's currently in med school.
 
I just jumped ship from pharm to med. Message me if you have questions.
 
I might go for it. Depends on what the job market is like when I graduate. If I don't match into a residency or find a job that I will be happy with, I might apply to med school. Not sure if I can get in though :laugh:

Do you have unlimited funds?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Just wondering, how many of the pharmacists/pharm students on here have gone on to med school or are considering going?

I am finishing up my anesthesia residency this year. I worked for 10 years asva pharmacist, including clinical work and I went back to med school in 2004. It's a long road, and very expensive. But I still don't regret it. I love what I'm doing. Now it's time to look for a job......again.
 
I'm doing it at the moment, M2. Took a year in between and worked - solidified the desire.
 
Some people are just career students. I personally hate our education system from K12 all the way through grad school. Once I get my pharmD, I am DONE. Oh and I hate needles too so no med school for me. Hate blood too so bye bye dental school. When I got blood drawn right before undergrad the nurse accidentally poked herself with the needle AFTER she took my blood. She was so nonchalent about it, I would have FLIPPED and threw myself out a window. I don't like having that kind of risk at work. I saw a TV commercial about a non needle flu shot or something like that for customers who don't like needles, what about a no-needle flu shot for a pharmacist who doesn't like needles! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I think being the poker may even be worse than getting poked. I don't want to find out. I want to be the pharmacist who works 50 floors down in a basmeent of a mail order pharmacy. :scared:

You do realize that if you plan to head into retail pharmacy as your posts indicate, most employers mandate that you are immunization certified these days? And the trend is increasingly towards not just flu shots, but shingles/hep/every shot possible...
 
You do realize that if you plan to head into retail pharmacy as your posts indicate, most employers mandate that you are immunization certified these days? And the trend is increasingly towards not just flu shots, but shingles/hep/every shot possible...

His posts besides this one. Hello2011, I :laugh:'d. What a fantastic answer when Express Scripts / Medco / LTC Packaging Manager says "why do you want to work here?" "How deep is your basement? No windows? Perfect. That should be far enough from the needles..."
 
Doctors also never administer shots, that's what the nurses are for.
And as for blood, once in a while, you'll have someone bleed after their flu shot. Not to mention, if you help someone perform blood glucose testing, you'll need to be close in encounter with their blood, albeit with gloves.
 
I never wanted to do Pharmacy. In fact, I didn't want to have anything to do with the medical line. But I was forced into Pharmacy by my Dad. Now I that I've been working for four years, I feel that I love Medicine so much that I want to practice it. I've just taken BCPS as a backup. But I'm determined to go back to school to do Medicine next year.
 
Doctors also never administer shots, that's what the nurses are for.
And as for blood, once in a while, you'll have someone bleed after their flu shot. Not to mention, if you help someone perform blood glucose testing, you'll need to be close in encounter with their blood, albeit with gloves.

depending what field you go into, you'll most likely have to do some sort of shots..whether its vaccines, epidurals, nerve blocks, cortisone, etc
 
I never wanted to do Pharmacy. In fact, I didn't want to have anything to do with the medical line. But I was forced into Pharmacy by my Dad. Now I that I've been working for four years, I feel that I love Medicine so much that I want to practice it. I've just taken BCPS as a backup. But I'm determined to go back to school to do Medicine next year.

How do parents force an adult to do something? As soon as I was 18 and out from under their roof with my own job to pay for my own care, what leverage do they have...
 
How do parents force an adult to do something? As soon as I was 18 and out from under their roof with my own job to pay for my own care, what leverage do they have...

We'll pay for your college if you do [blank]. Pretty decent leverage if you ask me.
 
We'll pay for your college if you do [blank]. Pretty decent leverage if you ask me.

If you're going to a field where grad school is needed, you can play the system. Just get parents to pay your bachelors in biology or something. Then when you apply to law/medical/pharmacy/whatever school, be like, "Just kidding, I decided to be [what you want], but thanks for paying for undergrad."
 
If you're going to a field where grad school is needed, you can play the system. Just get parents to pay your bachelors in biology or something. Then when you apply to law/medical/pharmacy/whatever school, be like, "Just kidding, I decided to be [what you want], but thanks for paying for undergrad."

My parents paid 0, zip, zelch for my undergrad or grad school regardless of what I was going for. Maybe that's why I'm so independent and some of my classmates go nuts when their parents forget to deposit money in their account every month...
 
How do parents force an adult to do something? As soon as I was 18 and out from under their roof with my own job to pay for my own care, what leverage do they have...

If you were Asian, you would know. Asian parents will tell you what they want you to do EXACTLY and you do it.
 
If you were Asian, you would know. Asian parents will tell you what they want you to do EXACTLY and you do it.

But what if you don't do it. What would they do if you brought home a big black guy with a do-rag on?
 
But what if you don't do it. What would they do if you brought home a big black guy with a do-rag on?

I was brought up with very strict parents. They told me if you want a good life, if you want to be successful then you better get perfect grades. So I grew up getting perfect grades. It wasn't so bad it was just kinda tiring at times. Then when I was in college, I had NO idea what I wanted to do...my parents told me MEDICAL FIELD is the way to go. You must do any profession in the MEDICAL field. I didn't know what I want to do and I still don't know! :laugh: So I will like...Okay, I guess I'll try it. If I had a real passion, I would do my real PASSION, but I don't. So I am trying what they want me to do. :rolleyes: I am very good at math and science, but do I enjoy pharmacy? It's okay. LOL...

If I brought home a black guy I would be shot. :eek:
 
I was the same way. They kept pushing for pharmacy and while I acted like I wasn't listening to them, I did. It's hard when they keep hammering it in your head at a young age. The people around you do shape who you are.

I did try other things in college and found that I wasn't GREAT at any of them. I could be good if I worked at it, but I didn't have that passion, that drive. Some people just know exactly what they want to do and do whatever it takes to get there. As for the majority of us, we do whatever gives us that financial stability.

So while my parents didn't give me a penny for my education and I've been on my own for years, they still had some say in it. The final decision is always mine, but their opinions always weigh heavily. They guided me in a direction that they thought was best for me. If I didn't do pharmacy, what else would I be doing now? Maybe business? Sure, I could be good at it too, but the grass is not always greener on the other side.

As for pharmacy, it's a part of who I am, but it doesn't define who I am as a person. I feel very fortunate that I am able to make good money. Paying off $100K student loans on a $100K salary is a lot easier than to pay off $20K on a $20K salary.
 
I never wanted to do Pharmacy. In fact, I didn't want to have anything to do with the medical line. But I was forced into Pharmacy by my Dad. Now I that I've been working for four years, I feel that I love Medicine so much that I want to practice it. I've just taken BCPS as a backup. But I'm determined to go back to school to do Medicine next year.

I think this scene in fight club is very poignant for this thread. The question is, "What did you want to be?".

4:36 - 5:12

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ8imPmQ0js[/YOUTUBE]
 
Last edited:
I have no idea why anyone would want to start from scratch after finishing a 4 year professional degree. Why would you want to be a scrub for another 7+ years?


Ugh. Don't do it.
 
I was brought up with very strict parents. They told me if you want a good life, if you want to be successful then you better get perfect grades. So I grew up getting perfect grades. It wasn't so bad it was just kinda tiring at times. Then when I was in college, I had NO idea what I wanted to do...my parents told me MEDICAL FIELD is the way to go. You must do any profession in the MEDICAL field. I didn't know what I want to do and I still don't know! :laugh: So I will like...Okay, I guess I'll try it. If I had a real passion, I would do my real PASSION, but I don't. So I am trying what they want me to do. :rolleyes: I am very good at math and science, but do I enjoy pharmacy? It's okay. LOL...

If I brought home a black guy I would be shot. :eek:

:eek::confused:
 
I have no idea why anyone would want to start from scratch after finishing a 4 year professional degree. Why would you want to be a scrub for another 7+ years?


Ugh. Don't do it.

why would anyone get a PhD with an MD? one is not necessary correct?

You are a scrub as a pharmacist these days too. Why be a PharmD/JD or a MD/JD?
 
What type of racist ideologies are you guys practicing on this post?


If I brought home a black guy I would be shot. :eek:

She's saying her parents are very traditional and only want her to date within her ethnicity. Older asians (not all but many) can be a bit . . . discriminatory. SCH would receive a lambasting if she brought home a black dude.
 
She's saying her parents are very traditional and only want her to date within her ethnicity. Older asians (not all but many) can be a bit . . . discriminatory. SCH would receive a lambasting if she brought home a black dude.

It's the sort of thing that should really embarrass you enough to not share with the public.
 
Sounds like poor parenting to me.

First and foremost, I don't believe you have any right to judge my parent's parenting. Here in Asia, paying for your kid's College/University fees is known as RESPONSIBLE parenting. And allowing your 16 year old daughter hang out till late is frowned upon. Doing pharmacy was against my will but I still appreciate what my parents did for me. I now own my own car and condominium without debt. Would I call your parents irresponsible? No! I'm not a kid. Let's just say that we have a difference in culture and let this subject drop.

I think this scene in fight club is very poignant for this thread. The question is, "What did you want to be?".

4:36 - 5:12

Thanks, but I want to show you this instead

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

When I was forced to do Pharmacy, I really wanted to do Chemical Engineering. It was and easy choice bcoz I'm good in Chemistry. However, if my dad never forced me into Pharmacy, I would have never discovered my love in caring for patients. I love working in a Hospital clinical setting doing direct patient care. But the setting in my country, clinical pharmacy is not encouraging at all. Which is why I'm determined to do Medicine so as to play a greater role in patient care.

When I saw the speech by Steve Jobs, I realised that everything was connected, call it God's plan or kharma, but it is the route I'm taking now.
 
Last edited:
just curious, why is everyone saying they want to have a bigger role in patient care and help others?

those same people saying this wouldn't do the smallest things in life for a random person or someone asking for help.

isn't that ironic to anyone else? sounds like its more to fulfill themselves and not actually help anyone. maybe an ego stroke?
 
Well, being in the Medical field, be it nursing, pharmacy or medicine, involves helping patients, because patients are, essentially, our clients.

From another point of view, these positions are also Jobs as well. And I feel that having and ego stroke isn't all that bad because humans do need satisfactions from their jobs.

In my current practice, advise from clinical pharmacists aren't all that respected. There are times when I make reccomendations that are not accepted even though it is a relevant and IMHO the best choice of drugs for the patient.

Hence I find that it is a win-win situation. The patient gets better care from my pharmacological knowledge as I get to decide the drugs for them, and my ego gets stroked or I get job satisfaction when I see that my patients are well managed and thank me in the end.
 
Have to echo what other asians have pointed out. Asian parenting method is kind of like training in boot camp, or maybe smelting. It takes lots of heat and pressure, but usually what comes out is stronger than what went in. :D

Also, I think trying to simplify decision making to "follow your heart" is very naive. Ask the street artists how that feels compared to hunger. There are no crystal balls, but some basic risk-benefit analysis is very much possible at cross roads in life.
 
What type of racist ideologies are you guys practicing on this post?




If I brought home a black guy I would be shot. :eek:
[/QUOTE]


It's racist for wanting to date within your own race? It's conservative yes, but not racist.
 
SHC1984: The older generations prefer dating within the ethnic group, but barring that they are more willing to tolerate us dating whites, but not blacks. My Indian friends tell me they even separate their own race into castes, and marry within each caste. There is some racism or maybe it's more social class-ism mixed in there, not just all conservatism.
 
If you were Asian, you would know. Asian parents will tell you what they want you to do EXACTLY and you do it.

Since you brought it up first, Indian parents are that way too. I've often wondered what happens to these children if they are not capable of being an engineer (Asian) or physician (Indian) like their parents demand.

When I was in pre-pharmacy, I had an Asian classmate whose parents demanded that he go into engineering, and he'd failed chemistry several times. Folks, let him be a truck driver, elementary schoolteacher, accountant, etc. - what he wants to do! That's what you came to America for in the first place, if you think about it.

A man at my new job had a classmate who was a burned-out OB/GYN. He'd been pushed into that because it was a family tradition, and decided after a few years that he'd rather be a pharmacist.

ETA: There's a book out now called "Tiger Mom" or something like that, written by an Asian woman who's a college professor, and she bragged about things like not allowing her 7-year-old daughter to eat until she perfected a violin concerto. Interestingly, this author has a sibling with Down Syndrome.

ETA II: I can think of several physicians whose first degree was a B.Sc.Pharm. One of them took a LOA from his residency (he still had his pharmacist license) when his father, a pharmacist who owned his own store, died unexpectedly. :( This was in the 1970s.
 
Doctors also never administer shots, that's what the nurses are for.

Doctors do occasionally give shots, the kind that nurses are not qualified to do: intrathecal, local anesthesia, that kind of thing.
 
When I was in pre-pharmacy, I had an Asian classmate whose parents demanded that he go into engineering, and he'd failed chemistry several times. Folks, let him be a truck driver, elementary schoolteacher, accountant, etc. - what he wants to do! That's what you came to America for in the first place, if you think about it.

Actually not exactly. The goal of Asians coming here is usually to succeed, not for freedom of doing whatever. And there is the concept of "face". To let your kid become an non-intellectual is consider a disgrace. It's seen as a failure of both the kid and the parents, and brings shame to the family name. So failure is not an option. Kids are pretty much given the choice of succeed or die trying. Hard to understand and very harsh, I know, but compared to kids in Asia, the amount of education/drilling we got is already getting off easy. ;)
 
Actually not exactly. The goal of Asians coming here is usually to succeed, not for freedom of doing whatever. And there is the concept of "face". To let your kid become an non-intellectual is consider a disgrace. It's seen as a failure of both the kid and the parents, and brings shame to the family name. So failure is not an option. Kids are pretty much given the choice of succeed or die trying. Hard to understand and very harsh, I know, but compared to kids in Asia, the amount of education/drilling we got is already getting off easy. ;)

they have it easier in asia, you go to your field right after high school, that cuts off an extra 4 years doing undergrad work. And to be honest I absolutely didn't learn anything during my undergrad, it was such a waste of time. It's not just me, most people I talk to also didn't learn anything during their undergrad time, they might not think like me "aka a waste of time", but the reality is that those times weren't efficiently spent.
 
they have it easier in asia, you go to your field right after high school, that cuts off an extra 4 years doing undergrad work. And to be honest I absolutely didn't learn anything during my undergrad, it was such a waste of time. It's not just me, most people I talk to also didn't learn anything during their undergrad time, they might not think like me "aka a waste of time", but the reality is that those times weren't efficiently spent.

It's like that in the rest of the world too. The only countries I think that don't have a high school to what you plan to do in the end mentality is the U.S. and Canada. It is totally a waste of time, and even a bigger loss, a huge waste of money. 4 years in undergrad is not cheap at all. That is the main reason why healthcare professionals and other professionals in general get paid so much higher here than in the rest of the world, because of the extra amount of money and time needed to get to that profession, but sadly that is changing, along with a lot of other things, that is making the US a 3rd world country.

I just read an article today about how statistics have reversed and there are more people here with a lack of access to basic food than in China...I just hope you Asian immigrants didn't throw away your passports when everyone starts going back, when things get really bad...
 
Well, farmers in China are flooding into the cities like Shanghai looking for work and educations. Unfortunately, the new found wealth are all in the coastal cities and not enough to go around. Too many people has always been possibly the biggest reasons why Asians come abroad, there are just not enough opportunities to go around. Some asians are going back with the new economic boom. They are called "sea turtles".

But I agree, education up through undergrad in the US is almost a bad joke. It was so elementary and spread out it was useless for any real job (with few exceptions such as engineering).
 
Last edited:
, that is making the US a 3rd world country.
QUOTE]

The US is becoming a third world country? LMFAO :laugh: I can never take anything else you say remotely serious. You have obviously never been to a 3rd world country, not even 2nd world or heck even 1.5. LOL
 
Top