Why pharmacy instead of med school?

[VDB00]

1. MD's can do that. In fact I am sure most of them would sat that they do that...

2. I have not witnessed a scenario in which the pharmacist would spend more time with a patient than their doctor does, but I would be happy to be proved wrong. I love pharmacy, don't get me wrong, but I haven't witnessed what you are describing. Connecting with other providers, specialized services, etc are all things MD's can do. What about pharmacy drew you to it specifically?

For me, the pharmacist's biggest strengths now include empowering the patient and giving them a little ownership of the healthcare process. For me and many others I know, the doctor tends to assume full authority when he sees the patient. I know not all doctors are this way, but on a larger scale, I feel that patients are less likely to fully open up to the doctor. When they have problems after they leave the physician's office, the easiest provider to turn to is the pharmacist. They are found everywhere and are easier to access. Pharmacists are people that patients trust with their health, but they also feel more involved when doing so. For example, a pharmacist can't just dispense medication; they have to educate the patient on how to use it, why they should even bother keep up with their regimens, and at the same time, they support the patient's opinion. The pharmacist's job is to get to know the patient's lifestyle, preferences and goals for treatment, and to try and blend these together with effective medication therapy and the doctor's orders. Because the physician has the ultimate say in how the patient should be treated, I feel like the patient feels disconnected with the whole treatment process. Again, I know that not all physicians strip patient's of their involvement, but that is my experience. What separates the doctor's duties from that of a pharmacist is the education and encouragement a pharmacist provides. The doctor may not have time to sit down with a patient to tell him every aspect of the therapy, but they assume full responsibility of the patient's well-being during it. The pharmacist can assist in the clinical setting or they can meet the patient at the end where medications are involved and help clear things up. This post-physician part of the treatment is where patients have a chance to speak, ask questions, and even provide feedback. Without this participation, patients might not continue taking the medications prescribed; they may not be happy with the doctor's orders; they may feel like they only have to see another healthcare provider when they are sick. Healthcare should be about proactively seeking good health, taking measures to prevent sickness. And the pharmacist can change that skewed view of healthcare; they not only respect the patient and their opinions/concerns, but they value them as individuals and show this. Without the pharmacist, people would only see healthcare providers when they are sick or dying. Many people are reluctant to go to a physician when they have small concerns, but the see the pharmacist as someone wiling to help no matter what. People trust pharmacists because they are open, and I hope to see the patient population become more responsible in healing themselves. I see pharmacy as a profession that will let me educate and empower these people, as well as colleagues on the healthcare team. I can't imagine effective healthcare without the pharmacist!

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[owlegrad]

For me, the pharmacist's biggest strengths now include empowering the patient and giving them a little ownership of the healthcare process. For me and many others I know, the doctor tends to assume full authority when he sees the patient. I know not all doctors are this way, but on a larger scale, I feel that patients are less likely to fully open up to the doctor. When they have problems after they leave the physician's office, the easiest provider to turn to is the pharmacist. They are found everywhere and are easier to access. Pharmacists are people that patients trust with their health, but they also feel more involved when doing so. For example, a pharmacist can't just dispense medication; they have to educate the patient on how to use it, why they should even bother keep up with their regimens, and at the same time, they support the patient's opinion. The pharmacist's job is to get to know the patient's lifestyle, preferences and goals for treatment, and to try and blend these together with effective medication therapy and the doctor's orders. Because the physician has the ultimate say in how the patient should be treated, I feel like the patient feels disconnected with the whole treatment process. Again, I know that not all physicians strip patient's of their involvement, but that is my experience. What separates the doctor's duties from that of a pharmacist is the education and encouragement a pharmacist provides. The doctor may not have time to sit down with a patient to tell him every aspect of the therapy, but they assume full responsibility of the patient's well-being during it. The pharmacist can assist in the clinical setting or they can meet the patient at the end where medications are involved and help clear things up. This post-physician part of the treatment is where patients have a chance to speak, ask questions, and even provide feedback. Without this participation, patients might not continue taking the medications prescribed; they may not be happy with the doctor's orders; they may feel like they only have to see another healthcare provider when they are sick. Healthcare should be about proactively seeking good health, taking measures to prevent sickness. And the pharmacist can change that skewed view of healthcare; they not only respect the patient and their opinions/concerns, but they value them as individuals and show this. Without the pharmacist, people would only see healthcare providers when they are sick or dying. Many people are reluctant to go to a physician when they have small concerns, but the see the pharmacist as someone wiling to help no matter what. People trust pharmacists because they are open, and I hope to see the patient population become more responsible in healing themselves. I see pharmacy as a profession that will let me educate and empower these people, as well as colleagues on the healthcare team. I can't imagine effective healthcare without the pharmacist!

Just a tip; break up your posts into smaller sections by adding empty lines every so often. Reading a wall of text is not fun.

Good post. I hope you find pharmacy as reward as you describe it. I really believe that the educating patients thing happens more in retail than in hospital, but I guess it doesn't have to be that way, and maybe in some settings it already does happen more than in retail.

Anyway Good Luck to you!

 

[VDB00]

Just a tip; break up your posts into smaller sections by adding empty lines every so often. Reading a wall of text is not fun.

Good post. I hope you find pharmacy as reward as you describe it. I really believe that the educating patients thing happens more in retail than in hospital, but I guess it doesn't have to be that way, and maybe in some settings it already does happen more than in retail.

Anyway Good Luck to you!

Yea.. I just realized also. I am new to this, so the tips are much appreciated. And I do believe that retail gives the best opportunity to educate; but it doesn't happen that way! Store operations and business will eventually take over and turn people into numbers. It is very hard to not think efficiency while being supervised by management that does.

I understand that providers sometimes have to yield to business models, but I really hope to increase the healthcare aspect of retail pharmacy someday. It is an integral part of the profession. MTM services are one of those first steps to extending pharmacy services to the community, right? I love this idea because it offers so much more time with the patient. But I don't see it being implemented. How can we add the same value to patients in the retail pharmacy as they have in a clinical setting? What are your thoughts on this owlegrad?

 

[owlegrad]

Yea.. I just realized also. I am new to this, so the tips are much appreciated. And I do believe that retail gives the best opportunity to educate; but it doesn't happen that way! Store operations and business will eventually take over and turn people into numbers. It is very hard to not think efficiency while being supervised by management that does.

I understand that providers sometimes have to yield to business models, but I really hope to increase the healthcare aspect of retail pharmacy someday. It is an integral part of the profession. MTM services are one of those first steps to extending pharmacy services to the community, right? I love this idea because it offers so much more time with the patient. But I don't see it being implemented. How can we add the same value to patients in the retail pharmacy as they have in a clinical setting? What are your thoughts on this owlegrad?

I think you are pretty much right on track. If educating patients is a priority you will make it happen. It is up to the pharmacist to make it happen. One problem is if you work for a chain, patient education is not a metric you will be graded on and you have so much other work that it quickly falls by the wayside, except for when it is so important that to ignore that duty would be considered negligent. Thankfully the computer will tell you when this is the case.

A second problem is that many people see talking to the pharmacist as an annoyance in the medication getting process. I don't want to exaggerate this (some people do want to be educated on their medication), but I can assure you nothing takes the wind out of my sails faster than trying to explain something to someone only to have them ignore me, look at their watch, etc. I can see me very quickly giving up on trying to educate people, except when they request it. Less than optimal I agree, but have you ever tried to force someone to learn something? It was a real eye opener to me how little some (most?) people care about their medication. Again I don't want to exaggerate but yikes!

I do hope that I never get to the point where I consider answering a question or other interaction with a patient to be an annoyance.

MTM...I have only heard about this on SDN. I have not heard about it in school, in the pharmacies I have worked at, or from any of the pharmacists I have worked with. If it is the future of pharmacy services, we still have a long way to go. I would love to see a successful model for this service and I would love to see it in practise. I can't really comment on something I have no experience with.

 

[VDB00]

I think you are pretty much right on track. If educating patients is a priority you will make it happen. It is up to the pharmacist to make it happen. One problem is if you work for a chain, patient education is not a metric you will be graded on and you have so much other work that it quickly falls by the wayside, except for when it is so important that to ignore that duty would be considered negligent. Thankfully the computer will tell you when this is the case.

A second problem is that many people see talking to the pharmacist as an annoyance in the medication getting process. I don't want to exaggerate this (some people do want to be educated on their medication), but I can assure you nothing takes the wind out of my sails faster than trying to explain something to someone only to have them ignore me, look at their watch, etc. I can see me very quickly giving up on trying to educate people, except when they request it. Less than optimal I agree, but have you ever tried to force someone to learn something? It was a real eye opener to me how little some (most?) people care about their medication. Again I don't want to exaggerate but yikes!

I do hope that I never get to the point where I consider answering a question or other interaction with a patient to be an annoyance.

MTM...I have only heard about this on SDN. I have not heard about it in school, in the pharmacies I have worked at, or from any of the pharmacists I have worked with. If it is the future of pharmacy services, we still have a long way to go. I would love to see a successful model for this service and I would love to see it in practise. I can't really comment on something I have no experience with.

How right you are, and that's where I see flaws in the profession. Especially now in this economy, businesses need to reanalyze their mission statements. Many companies have changed from driving profits to being excellent, building trust with their customers, and taking accountability for those that aren't. I think that chains would benefit so much if they were graded on how well patients are taken care of in the sense that they felt educated, involved, and cared for.

Then again, I totally see people focusing on efficiency when they visit a provider. They lead busy lives as well, but that just means we can't force them to help themselves. We can only provide the environment for them to take that responsibility and initiative. In doing this, we essentially are doing all we can. Motivation doesn't come from the healthcare provider, it comes from inside the patient (only after becoming educated and involved). I would probably become disillusioned as well, but that means we need more successfull pharmacy managers to remind us of our values and mission to serve and care for others.

I read in an article somewhere, some time ago that MTM is in the working stages in reaching the community. Some of the criteria that I remember:

1. There needs to be a group of MTM-proficient, mobile pharmacists that can provide consultation services in all sorts of different settings.

2. They need an action plan that coordinates with the business model, which I'm assuming means makes some kind of profit (*sigh).

3. There has to be higher emphasis on promoting these services and educating the public about the importance and availability.

4. There's more, but can't remember.

I think that's what it was, but I read the article a while back, so don't quote me. But, I do think that accomplishing the above would be the first step in revolutionizing pharmacy and would set a great example for other healthcare professions to evolve just the same. I'm almost certain that our generation will see the most changes in healthcare, and hopefully for the better.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you going to school owlegrad?

 

[owlegrad]

I'm almost certain that our generation will see the most changes in healthcare, and hopefully for the better.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you going to school owlegrad?

Univ. of Florida. I am optomistic about the future of healthcare as well.

 

[owlegrad]

Then again, I totally see people focusing on efficiency when they visit a provider.

When I first started as an intern I was afraid that patients would ask allot of questions that I wouldn't know the answer to. I might as well have been afraid of meeting Martians. The most clinical question I was ever asked was "Is this my water pill?". I knew that one, so yippee!

There were some OTC questions that I wasn't sure about, but nothing about prescriptions.

 

[PharmOl]

Because this is how the coin fell.

 

[ChemistWiz]

When did you first decide Pharm school everyone?

 

[owlegrad]

Because this is how the coin fell.

I love it!

 

[PharmGirl000]

delete.

 

[Shadii]

Coming out of high school, like some people, having no idea what I was going to do. After getting my stuff together and actually thinking of what was in my potential, I came to the realization that I would do very well in any health care school. I think I would have been able to get into medical school just fine but a few things of pharmacy just attracted to me more.

I loved the fact that only a month after turning 25 I would be graduating with my PharmD. I want to enjoy my life because I've seen how miserable a person can be after decades of not doing much except work (of course, that varies per person). Less requirements, less pay but enough to live very comfortable, better hours than MD's, less residency, if any, and less patient interaction (well in clinical there is barely any but in retail there is quite a lot, I like to think less than doctors though. Regardless of how much less, any less interaction with stupidity helps my heart stay withing normal pressure) are all pluses for me.

The main thing I do not like is the whether people here like to admit it or not, pharmacy is viewed as less respectable than any career at medical school. And it shouldn't, because it does have less requirements. But as long as my parents are very proud of me becoming a pharmacist, I shouldn't care about any other person's opinion.

 

[pharmschooler]

Pharmacists are just more fun to be around! Seriously though, I've met some very interesting pharmacists, and there seem to be fewer pharmacists than medical doctors with a chip on their shoulder.

But why pharmacy over medicine? I don't really ever want to have to feel somebody's colon with my fingers. That, and diagnosis doesn't really interest me.

 

[gtpederson]

Well, can't be a physician, prostate exams are a dealbreaker.
Can't be a dentist, for the same reason, I don't like hurting people.
Can't be a chiropractor, I needed too many cereal box tops.
I liked taking pills, so pharmacy seemed the way to go.

Also, Duh, Winning. As an MD you would diagnose things, that struck me as neat, in a Sherlock Holmes sort of way. I wanted to WIN, so Infectious Disease pharmacy, where your goal is the COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF A SPECIES (of pathogenic bacteria in the infected patient). That sounded way cooler.