Pharm. School or Med. School?

[BubTheZombie]

So, I've been thinking a lot about which path I'd like to take later in life, and I was hoping to get feedback from some of ya'll (preferably the ones who are currently enrolled in pharm/med school). Honestly, I'd like to one day be a psychiatrist (psychology and the mind/brain fascinate me), but obviously that would require going to med school. And, as much as psychiatry interests me, I feel that the long (very, very, very long) path to get there is just too much. I apologize if I sound "whiney", but running around the city volunteering and shadowing and talking to people WHILE having to maintain perfect grades so I can get into a school where I'll have to touch cadavers and help deliver babies is just too damn much. I have absurdly high levels of anxiety, I am SO socially fearful that it's difficult to even make eye contact with people, and I have Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism). On top of all that, the amount of debt I'd have by the time I graduate med school would be ridiculous. So, I decided to look into Pharmacy after my father recommended that I consider it, and it looks like a decent career. Yes, volunteer hours are still required for admission, and yes, there would still be a considerable amount of debt after Pharm School, but both the admission process and actual classes just seem like they would be easier and far less frightening than med school. AND, there isn't really a residency program afterwards, so I'd be able to just go out and starting earning income. But I feel like if I go for pharmacy, I'll one day be handing someone their prescription thinking "darn, I should've gone to med school" (no offense to actual pharmacists who are reading this). Again, I'm sorry I'm a big whiner, thanks for reading, and any feedback would help.

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[bengirlxD]

I think since because of your anxiety issue that you might want to commit to pharmacy because as you've mentioned medicine can be very hectic and stressful. I know you are into how the mind works but I am sure there there are research endeavors you can pursue to satisfy that interest such as psycho-pharmacology while pursuing pharmacy. Overall you seem like you are favoring pharm over medicine so why not go all the way. It's better to do something you are content with rather that something you are forcing yourself to be in.

 

[MasterStroke]

Pharm school and med school are very similar in material. I can take their boards and they can take our boards with just minimal additional studying. They work your ass off in pharm school just as they do in med school. In fact in med school I've studied with pharm students as much as I did with fellow med students. So you can be sure that pharm school will not be cakewalk.

The problem is, the job market in pharmacy sucks. You may not have a job after you finish school.

I would do neither pharmacy nor med school if I were you. Doctors need to be go getters, hands on, with good verbal skills (or communicate with good body language to compensate). No amount of medical knowledge makes up for lack of people skills.

So unfortunately neither are good options for you. I would look into computer programming.

 

[JustintheDoctor]

I'd say wait until you start college, take a few of the common science pre-reqs for both choices and see how you do. As you said, both require the shadowing/volunteer work if you're new to the fields, so you aren't losing anything. If you can maintain good grades throughout your college career, before entering pharm school take the MCAT(practice one) and see how you would do, and if you score too low and don't think you can improve nor do you want to try and improve than med school obviously isnt for you!

 

[Jared.mock]

Always keep your eyes towards medicine, settle for pharmacy. Just my two cents.

 

[URHere]

Why not look at psychology? It's probably the closest to your interest in psychiatry and if you decide that patient interaction is too much for you, you can stay on the research side of things.

 

[AlteredScale]

So, I've been thinking a lot about which path I'd like to take later in life, and I was hoping to get feedback from some of ya'll (preferably the ones who are currently enrolled in pharm/med school). Honestly, I'd like to one day be a psychiatrist (psychology and the mind/brain fascinate me), but obviously that would require going to med school. And, as much as psychiatry interests me, I feel that the long (very, very, very long) path to get there is just too much. I apologize if I sound "whiney", but running around the city volunteering and shadowing and talking to people WHILE having to maintain perfect grades so I can get into a school where I'll have to touch cadavers and help deliver babies is just too damn much. I have absurdly high levels of anxiety, I am SO socially fearful that it's difficult to even make eye contact with people, and I have Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism). On top of all that, the amount of debt I'd have by the time I graduate med school would be ridiculous. So, I decided to look into Pharmacy after my father recommended that I consider it, and it looks like a decent career. Yes, volunteer hours are still required for admission, and yes, there would still be a considerable amount of debt after Pharm School, but both the admission process and actual classes just seem like they would be easier and far less frightening than med school. AND, there isn't really a residency program afterwards, so I'd be able to just go out and starting earning income. But I feel like if I go for pharmacy, I'll one day be handing someone their prescription thinking "darn, I should've gone to med school" (no offense to actual pharmacists who are reading this). Again, I'm sorry I'm a big whiner, thanks for reading, and any feedback would help.

Look into pathologist assistant. Make a good amount of money without having to deal with the social interactions or stressful environment of a busy hospital (you'll spend time in a clinical laboratory assisting the work of a pathologist).

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Have you considered nursing and PA?

 

[Law2Doc]

Pharm school and med school are very similar in material. I can take their boards and they can take our boards with just minimal additional studying. They work your ass off in pharm school just as they do in med school...

Lol. You go right on believing that... I have nothing but respect for the pharm grads I work with, but they certainly don't live this fantasy. Fwiw, I thought I worked my ass off in law school until I got to medicine-- there an exponential difference there.

Anyway, OP, there's a lot of stress and intensity in medicine, a lot more than being a premed, and worrying that someday you'll say to yourself "I should have become a doctor" isn't enough motivation. You have to be excited about the job function, not just an interest in how the mind works. And yes in medicine you will touch cadavers and deliver babies and handle far worse things, get bodily fluids on your scrubs, and the like -- it's a messy, hands-on job at times. What you've written doesn't make it sound like a great fit, but if you volunteer at your local hospital you'll probably get a better idea.

 

[BubTheZombie]

Thanks for all your responses. They were very helpful. I think what's going to happen is I'll go through undergrad. school volunteering/shadowing at hospitals and/or pharmacies, and then take both the MCAT and the PCAT. After that, I'll see which path suits me better (who knows, maybe by then I'll be pursuing something completely different). Again, thanks for reading my post and responding.

 

[da8s0859q]

and then take both the MCAT and the PCAT

This seems very inefficient to me. Unnecessary expense, unnecessary prep. May be easier to decide what you want and do well on the respective exam as opposed to taking entrance exams for multiple things.

 

[drdamon]

I did some research and came to the conclusion that my time would be better spent using it on medical school. You can obviously shadow at hospitals and pharmacies, get a feel for the environment. However I heard with the job growth and satisfaction, being a pharmacist may be really tricky in the future. Ultimately though, it comes down to you and how you feel. Good luck with the search and I hope for the best.

 

[ewax]

Pharm school and med school are very similar in material. I can take their boards and they can take our boards with just minimal additional studying. They work your ass off in pharm school just as they do in med school. In fact in med school I've studied with pharm students as much as I did with fellow med students. So you can be sure that pharm school will not be cakewalk.

The problem is, the job market in pharmacy sucks. You may not have a job after you finish school.

I would do neither pharmacy nor med school if I were you. Doctors need to be go getters, hands on, with good verbal skills (or communicate with good body language to compensate). No amount of medical knowledge makes up for lack of people skills.

So unfortunately neither are good options for you. I would look into computer programming.

The first part of your statement is absolutely not true. As a former pharmacist (and current 3rd year med student), the amount of material learned in medical school is leaps and bounds greater than what you learn in rx school. If you really believe that a 2nd year pharmacy student can take a test like step 1 and pass "with minimal amounts of studying," you're delusional.

I agree with the rest of what you said.