Pharmacy Professionals, please come in...

[npahlavan]

I have been accepted to pharmacy school recently for class of 2013. Last summer I started graduate school, going for a Master's of Science degree in Biology.

Will the Pharm. D degree supercede the Master's degree? In the workforce, does anyone see any major advantages to having a Master's degree and Pharm. D? I do not plan on working in research. I'm trying to figure out if I should pursue the Master's or drop it if it is not necessary.

The summer before pharmacy school starts will be filled with finishing my experiments, thesis preparations, and defense. It would be nice to have a break before I enter a vigorous curriculum. Plus I could use the time to move to Florida, find living, and settle in before the madness begins. This is my reason for asking if it is worth getting my Master's, or if the Pharm. D alone will get me to all the same places in the workforce.

Thanks

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[Vitamin K]

I don't think it'll matter from a "workplace" perspective, but it *might* give you a slight edge in the classroom and possibly in your future job-hunting. When it comes to being in the pharmacy, I don't even know which pharmacists have their PharmD vs. Bachelor of Pharmacy...let alone any other degrees they hold. If you're getting your Master's for your own self-fufillment, by all means finish it. If you're getting it to be a better pharmacist, it's probably not worth the extra time and money.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

npahlavan, I'm a sixth year graduate student who decided to apply for pharmacy school starting in Fall 2009. I'm hoping to finish my PhD in June. I wrestled with finishing it, but I had already put so much time into it, and I also felt I made a commitment to my PI when I joined her lab (in part because I get a stipend from her grants). Hopefully my committee agrees that I can finish in June...

In your situation, it doesn't seem quite as definite. Do you have to pay for school? Do you think you definitely can finish? I know you say you don't want to stay in research, but do you think the Master's would ever be an advantage in any clinical research you might do as a pharmacist? I don't want to stay in molecular research, but I may miss research in general when I'm a pharmacist. I figure the PhD might help me bridge a gap between researchers and practitioners if I ever get involved in clinical research.

Time to get settled is important, too. It's hard to get used to a new community. You might want to check with current out-of-state first-year students at your school to see how they dealt with settling in. If any regretted moving right before school started, that may factor in your decision as well.

Good luck deciding, and congrats in getting in.

 

[DrJosephKim]

If you ever venture into non-clinical careers, that master's degree could be quite handy.

 

[goldennemesis]

I don't have too much to contribute on the front of the master's, though I agree with Vitamin K that you should complete it only if it is more of an issue of self-fulfillment as opposed to career advantage.

What I will say is that I moved half-way across the country for pharmacy school, to a place where I didn't know a soul, Heck, didn't even know where I was going to live. I spend my first week in an economy hotel. And I moved here a week before orientation started. I don't think I would have wanted to move earlier. It would have been rather on the lonely side. Even though I was busy hunting for a place to live that first week, I still found time to wish I had friends or at least new acquaintances to hang out with. Things improved quickly after I met my classmates, though. So a settling in period, if much longer than a week, would not have been useful or productive for me.

But, each person is different, so you have to judge for yourself! Good luck, and congratulations!

 

[jonniii]

it depends what settings you plan to work at after graduation, retail-wise only your license matters; MBA, MS pharmacoeconomics, MPH are helpful in retail/ hospital settings.

MS bio would be helpful if you are interested in research.

 

[npahlavan]

I know that I would like to work in the hospital. Not sure exactly what I'll be doing, and as I go through pharmacy school I know that I'll will most likely show interest in several different areas.

I know for a fact that I do not want to work in research whatsoever. I entered the MS graduate program only to buy time and be a better candidate to get accepted to pharmacy school. Now that I did get accepted, without any contingecies, I posed that question.

So is it safe to assume that not getting my MS in Bio won't hinder me in the future (since I'll have my pharm D)?

Again, I plan to work in a hospital setting. Right now I'm thinking inpatient pharmacist or maybe even nuclear pharmacy. Everyone's insights and advice will be considered. Thank you to those that have already responded.

 

[npahlavan]

If you ever venture into non-clinical careers, that master's degree could be quite handy.

Do you mean research? If so, then no I won't venture that way.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

Wait, you only did grad school in biology to get into pharmacy school?? Seriously? Didn't you think about working in a pharmacy as either a pharmacy tech or assistant instead? Sounds a lot more fun to me.

 

[bigpharmD]

Do you mean research? If so, then no I won't venture that way.

This may change. I hated research. Then I realized that clinical/translational research exhists. It can bring changes to the way thousands of patients are cared for. Needless to say research now interests me. Would I want to do bench research with test tubes, etc NO. But what mdjkim might be getting at is there are many opportunities for pharmacists with research experience as I described above. Many become directors of research programs at hospitals or school of pharmacy/medicine or work for bigpharma in outcomes research. Another thing is that once you become a good researcher you hire nurses and students to collect your data and you just analyze and write it up.

 

[npahlavan]

Wait, you only did grad school in biology to get into pharmacy school?? Seriously? Didn't you think about working in a pharmacy as either a pharmacy tech or assistant instead? Sounds a lot more fun to me.

No, I didn't. It's a long story and it's not within the scope of this thread.

 

[npahlavan]

This may change. I hated research. Then I realized that clinical/translational research exhists. It can bring changes to the way thousands of patients are cared for. Needless to say research now interests me. Would I want to do bench research with test tubes, etc NO. But what mdjkim might be getting at is there are many opportunities for pharmacists with research experience as I described above. Many become directors of research programs at hospitals or school of pharmacy/medicine or work for bigpharma in outcomes research. Another thing is that once you become a good researcher you hire nurses and students to collect your data and you just analyze and write it up.

That makes sense, but with my major professor I may be spending my whole summer knocking out my thesis and even then still may not graduate. I can use this time to prepare for pharm school and take care of relocating as well. A break would be nice too before entering a vigorous program. It will take a lot of work on my half to get the masters before pharm school starts, and after to speaking to many others (outside of this forum) I found that there is no benefit of having it. Especially since research is not my cup of tea.

 

[ffpickle]

If you complete the Master's, it's highly unlikely that you will regret it in 20 years.

If you don't complete it, you *may* regret it in 20 years.

Better now then never- just work uber-hard and complete it! Will it help you in career development? Not if you want to work in retail until you drop dead, but it may put you over the top if you're tied with another candidate for a hospital job.

But I would not do it if your primary hope is that it will enhance your career. Do it because you will feel a strong sense of accomplishment in finishing something you started.

 

[iphetamine]

Exactly! Finish what you have started, so you won't regret it in the future. You're almost done with it, right? Just go for it.

No pain no gain.

 

[meister]

Just a warning but I know that at my (medical) school they require any accepted students complete their current degree program. I.e. if you're applying as a senior in college you can't drop out after getting accepted. You might check with the admissions office of your school to make sure this isn't the case there.

 

[npahlavan]

Just a warning but I know that at my (medical) school they require any accepted students complete their current degree program. I.e. if you're applying as a senior in college you can't drop out after getting accepted. You might check with the admissions office of your school to make sure this isn't the case there.

That was the first thing I did. They said my acceptance was not contingent on anything.

If you complete the Master's, it's highly unlikely that you will regret it in 20 years.

If you don't complete it, you *may* regret it in 20 years.

Better now then never- just work uber-hard and complete it! Will it help you in career development? Not if you want to work in retail until you drop dead, but it may put you over the top if you're tied with another candidate for a hospital job.

But I would not do it if your primary hope is that it will enhance your career. Do it because you will feel a strong sense of accomplishment in finishing something you started.

That is what my parents were saying. However, I didn't get in the first time I applied to pharmacy school and it was at that time where I completed my undergrad. I knew I was going to reapply for the next cycle, so I entered graduate school not for a degree, but to boost my GPA and increase my chances of making it - and it worked.

So it's nothing about self-fulfillment or finishing something I started, because I didn't really care for the degree anyway. It was more about looking as a better candidate; so I don't think I'll feel that regret later. Especially since having my masters in bio will only give me a slight advantage in research-type careers, which I don't care for. Besides, I can always do research or fellowships in pharm school if I ever decided to go down that road. My logic doesn't seem flawed does it?

 

[ffpickle]

That was the first thing I did. They said my acceptance was not contingent on anything.



That is what my parents were saying. However, I didn't get in the first time I applied to pharmacy school and it was at that time where I completed my undergrad. I knew I was going to reapply for the next cycle, so I entered graduate school not for a degree, but to boost my GPA and increase my chances of making it - and it worked.

So it's nothing about self-fulfillment or finishing something I started, because I didn't really care for the degree anyway. It was more about looking as a better candidate; so I don't think I'll feel that regret later. Especially since having my masters in bio will only give me a slight advantage in research-type careers, which I don't care for. Besides, I can always do research or fellowships in pharm school if I ever decided to go down that road. My logic doesn't seem flawed does it?

You're reasoning is sound. In fact, the "right answer," is the one you are most comfortable with. It sounds like you have already made up your mind.

If a friend asked me what to do, I would tell them that it would be nice to have something to show for your additional work & time. But if that is completely unimportant to you, than forgo completing the Master's. I would say to think hard about what you will do with your time off and maximize it. If you want to chill, then chill out to the max. If you want to travel, do this without holding back, etc.

 

[farmist]

I think you are close enough that it would be worth finishing. It probably will not make much difference with most RPh positions. However, it would make you a prime candidate for a part time position teaching a college class. Access to university resources, FOOTBALL TICKETS, and a little extra $$$ may make it worthwhile.

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

MBA or MHA will be a lot more worthwhile than MS in Biology. Then again if your goal of getting into the Bio program was to buy time to get into pharmacy school, and you want nothing to do with Bio once you're a pharmacist...I say take the time off and go pursue life for a while.

Still, no extra education will hurt you.

 

[iphetamine]

Or MS in pharmacoeconomics?

 

[npahlavan]

I can't change my MS degree to anything other than Biology as of now. If I did it would set me back and I would not graduate in time. I've decided to complete my degree btw.