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Hi guys, this message is for pharmacy students switching into medicine.
I wanted to know why some pharmacy students are switching to medicine. What are the differences between the 2 professions. When the ADCOM asks "why medicine and why are you switching out of pharmacy", what do you reply?
BTW, I'm a first yr pharmacy student with a medicine interview this year. I'm sure this question will be asked..the reason I chose pharmacy was because things with med didn't work out last year. I obviously can't say that in the interview...what would you say?
Thanks a lot!
I wouldn't call pharmacy a "lesser" profession. "Lesser" than what? Less amount of time in school? Less long hours put in at work? With all due respect, I don't see how one profession is "better" than another. Maybe medicine is better for you, just like pharmacy is better for me. Could I have gone to med school? Yeah. I had the experience, grades, and damn good LORs from my work at Mayo Clinic, but pharmacy is my true passion.
Hey, you'll be thanking us (future) pharmacists when you're a resident and an attending. Remember that we are in this together as a team. We each have our specialized knowledge. Don't forget that we've got your back. Remember that when you think pharmacists are "lesser" than you....
Hi guys, this message is for pharmacy students switching into medicine.
I wanted to know why some pharmacy students are switching to medicine. What are the differences between the 2 professions. When the ADCOM asks "why medicine and why are you switching out of pharmacy", what do you reply?
BTW, I'm a first yr pharmacy student with a medicine interview this year. I'm sure this question will be asked..the reason I chose pharmacy was because things with med didn't work out last year. I obviously can't say that in the interview...what would you say?
Thanks a lot!
Premed advisors are the last group of people you wanna talk to about anything related to medical school admission. LOL Plus, why should he spend thousands of dollars to complete the PharmD when he has already decided that medical school is what he wants? It makes absolutely no sense. You need to get a new advisor. I have a friend who quit after completing the first semester of pharmacy school. He applied to medical schools the following year and got in. It wasn't an issue at all.
Hi guys, this message is for pharmacy students switching into medicine.
I wanted to know why some pharmacy students are switching to medicine. What are the differences between the 2 professions. When the ADCOM asks "why medicine and why are you switching out of pharmacy", what do you reply?
BTW, I'm a first yr pharmacy student with a medicine interview this year. I'm sure this question will be asked..the reason I chose pharmacy was because things with med didn't work out last year. I obviously can't say that in the interview...what would you say?
Thanks a lot!
You now realize that instead of dealing only in drugs, you want to provide the whole spectrum of care for patients: from prevention, to counseling, and of course drugs.
Hi guys, this message is for pharmacy students switching into medicine.
I wanted to know why some pharmacy students are switching to medicine. What are the differences between the 2 professions. When the ADCOM asks "why medicine and why are you switching out of pharmacy", what do you reply?
BTW, I'm a first yr pharmacy student with a medicine interview this year. I'm sure this question will be asked..the reason I chose pharmacy was because things with med didn't work out last year. I obviously can't say that in the interview...what would you say?
Thanks a lot!
What makes you think pharmacists don't do counseling, or prevention?
Three difference between a doctor and pharmacist is that doctors diagnose, something a pharmacist can't do. rph may learn about a lot of common conditions and recommend an otc product but it always comes with the disclaimer to see doc if it doesn't improve in X days.
Also, rph is on a lower rung than MD. You see stupid script from doctor, but you can't do anything about it cause you're just an rph. You get lectures on how to deal with docs, to not make them feel like they made an error and you are correcting them.
Exactly, how many more years would one have to attend Med School after acquiring a Pharm.D??
I believe some of the classes in med school would be similar to the ones taught in pharm school. This could save some time off those years!
Not even a little
I currently work with several pharmacists and you don't have to be a drug "expert" to do what they do all day. I would literally pull my hair out if I had to do that for the rest of my life. Therefore, I can see why some pharm students would want to make the switch. I think they are way overpaid for what they do. I have a friend who has a graduate degree in applied computational mathematics and she has a really complex job but does not make any where near what a pharmacist does. It is mind boggling that they get paid six figures just to check, initial and release drugs.
wow... just googled it.
IMO that seems high. although my view is tainted somewhat. I used to date someone who schmoozed her way into pharm school and she may be clinically ******ed... I don't have high opinions of abilities if she is representative of what it takes to get into pharm school
this is why i raise an eyebrow when i hear things like the previously posted "doc writes an idiotic script".
my first impulse is "who the F are you to correct it?"... ive overheard the pharm students studying in our common area at my school.....
*puts on hipster glasses* I was balancing chem equations before it was considered doctorate material
I love asking them science and clinical questions. Only to watch them scramble.
Hi guys,
I am also finding myself in this situation. I am a pharmacy student in my first year. I love pharmacy but Ive been feeling the call to medicine. I just want that more clinical/direct patient care and so after thinking about it for a couple of months Ive decided I am going to make the switch.
Im just wondering what you guys think my chances are. My undergrad GPA was only around 3.2 but everything else was up there (killed the pcat). But how do you think Ill stand now applying for med school? I feel like I should look more qualified than I would have before because I will apply as a non-traditional applicant and will have completed my whole first year of pharmacy (which as of now is going great). Do you think that will make up for my lower undergrad GPA?
And my other big question is about fulfilling letters of recommendation. I dont even know how to approach this because most med schools require letters from professors (as you all know), but I cant imagine starting to ask my pharm professors to write them for me (just because Im switching) and plus if Im not accepted I will just stay in school. So any advice? Being a non-traditional applicant do you think there is a way around this?
Hi guys,
I am also finding myself in this situation. I am a pharmacy student in my first year. I love pharmacy but Ive been feeling the call to medicine. I just want that more clinical/direct patient care and so after thinking about it for a couple of months Ive decided I am going to make the switch.
Im just wondering what you guys think my chances are. My undergrad GPA was only around 3.2 but everything else was up there (killed the pcat). But how do you think Ill stand now applying for med school? I feel like I should look more qualified than I would have before because I will apply as a non-traditional applicant and will have completed my whole first year of pharmacy (which as of now is going great). Do you think that will make up for my lower undergrad GPA?
And my other big question is about fulfilling letters of recommendation. I dont even know how to approach this because most med schools require letters from professors (as you all know), but I cant imagine starting to ask my pharm professors to write them for me (just because Im switching) and plus if Im not accepted I will just stay in school. So any advice? Being a non-traditional applicant do you think there is a way around this?
Did the switch after P2. PCAT doesn't really reflect well on to what the MCAT will be like. 3.2 GPA is not impressive for MD admissions, so depending on how you did in pharm you may be slightly better or worse off than before. You'll have to fulfill all the requirements for the medical schools (including a bachelor's if you don't already have one). Letters of recommendation will have to come from your undergrad and pharm school most likely. If you have a faculty advisor ask him/her. It won't be the best rec, but it will be one. There's no way around the requirements other than sleeping with the dean of admissions as far as I know.
Completing 1 year of pharm school isn't going to have all the schools drooling over you. Most pharm classes won't even count in Math/Science GPA. It will make you slightly different, but all you've really completed is a year of basic science and some intro to pharmacy stuff. Sorry to break it to you.
As to those of you criticizing practicing pharmacists. They do a tough job. They reconcile all the drugs a pt may be on that the prescribers don't know about and determine the appropriate course of action. Docs do make drug mistakes, and the RPh is tasked with catching those before they reach the patient. Then they check and release.
PCAT doesn't really reflect well on to what the MCAT will be like.
Second this, I "killed" the PCAT and then managed an above average score on the MCAT, but there was no slaying going on. Totally different beast. Kick the good PCAT score out of your head b/c it really doesn't mean anything and could only give you false confidence on the MCAT.
You need to start studying for the MCAT now if you plan on taking it this summer. I didn't worry about burning bridges because I had stats that led me to believe I'd be accepted somewhere so I wouldn't be returning to the school, but I was still polite to everyone. You should really get that MCAT score before deciding to ask for letters. If you get everything together and don't do well, you'll have to start over again next year. Applied the cycle that began my P1/P2 summer and started med school when I should be a P3.
As far as offending people, I explained my decision in a completely open manner (even to the dean) and they understood. As long as you don't get up in the middle of class, pull down your pants, and moon everyone while proclaiming pharmacy sucks, you won't offend anyone. I got most of my recs from undergrad profs I knew better, as well.
You will be asked in every interview why you want to switch. You better have a damn good answer or you'll look like a fool. No I won't give you my answer to that question.
Did the switch after P2. PCAT doesn't really reflect well on to what the MCAT will be like. 3.2 GPA is not impressive for MD admissions, so depending on how you did in pharm you may be slightly better or worse off than before. You'll have to fulfill all the requirements for the medical schools (including a bachelor's if you don't already have one). Letters of recommendation will have to come from your undergrad and pharm school most likely. If you have a faculty advisor ask him/her. It won't be the best rec, but it will be one. There's no way around the requirements other than sleeping with the dean of admissions as far as I know.
Completing 1 year of pharm school isn't going to have all the schools drooling over you. Most pharm classes won't even count in Math/Science GPA. It will make you slightly different, but all you've really completed is a year of basic science and some intro to pharmacy stuff. Sorry to break it to you.
As to those of you criticizing practicing pharmacists. They do a tough job. They reconcile all the drugs a pt may be on that the prescribers don't know about and determine the appropriate course of action. Docs do make drug mistakes, and the RPh is tasked with catching those before they reach the patient. Then they check and release.
Ive really been thinking about the whole GPA issue and I realize that my 3.2 is very low. My question is since I dont have an undergrad degree (dont laugh, around 120 hours toward BioChem), when I apply though AMCAS will it count my pharm classes toward my cGPA and sGPA? Or would this not be the case because the classes themselves are not considered undergrad classes? Any idea?
Pharmacy classes do not count for sGPA but they will count for cGPA. However there are some pharmacy classes that can be 'argued' to be science. For example some would say that pharmacology should be considered a science class. Also during my third year of pharmacy school (in a six year program - so it would be your first year) I took pathophysiology and biochemistry, which would both count towards sGPA. But classes such as Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Management definitely do not count towards science.
Ya, I know not all class but like the ones you listed or others (biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics...). So even though they are professional level classes, they will still count toward by AMCAS overall GPA's? Because that would be great, especially since things are going so well.
AMCAS isn't entirely clear about pharmacy specifically.
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If you have enrolled in a professional degree program (Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, etc.) leading to a Bachelors degree:
FR, SO, JR, and SR statuses should be assigned.
If you have enrolled in a professional degree program (Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, etc.) leading to a doctorate degree prior to receiving a bachelors degree: Refer to your transcript or contact the school to confirm course level. In many cases, GR status may be assigned to professional-level course work leading to a doctorate degree, even if an undergraduate degree has not been earned.
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Pharmacy should probably be grouped in with the "professional degree program leading to a doctorate", but is specifically mentioned in "professional degree program leading to a Bachelor's degree"
I'm guessing they still haven't updated their instructions since the B.S.-->PharmD change. The way they word it leaves a little flexibility and it's ultimately up to you in how these classes are classified as far as graduate/undergraduate.
I'm really scared about this and am going to call or something to verify. I'm also in a 0-6 year, with NO BACHELORS and this is a huge problem as I only took 3 semesters of chemistry and 1 of biology, so I have 3 things against me. I'm not really sure what to do here besides split up the first 3 years as undergrad, and rest as graduate.
I dont have an undergrad degree
I'm really scared about this and am going to call or something to verify. I'm also in a 0-6 year, with NO BACHELORS and this is a huge problem as I only took 3 semesters of chemistry and 1 of biology, so I have 3 things against me. I'm not really sure what to do here besides split up the first 3 years as undergrad, and rest as graduate.
eagles22, that's the growing trend among pharmacy schools. A majority of us don't have bachelor's degrees. We go straight from HS -> PharmD. It's frustrating as hell to think that medical schools reject us because we don't have a bachelor's.
I will have my PharmD by the time I would matriculate to med school. The thing is, I took a semester of "medicinal chemistry" and my advisor said our A&P2 counts as Bio2. As long as they let me take courses before matriculation and they specify which courses I will take them in the summer while studying for my board exams if necessary. Have you heard of this?