Accepted into PharmD program Should I change to pursue PA

Started by htownzsos
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htownzsos

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I don't want any trolls and want serious advice from people that are in the field currently or know what their talking about. I was accepted into University of The Incarnate Program in San Antonio Texas a private school, Lived just outside city of Houston my whole life graduated with a BS in kinesiology exercise science. Accepted for the fall 2014 and and committed to attend, but I have worked as a tech for 4 years and have a good grasp at retail and know If i become a pharmacist I know I don't want to work for walgreens or cvs as I have heard many pharmacist from nearby stores have been burned out cuz of retail poor management and not enough help due to constant hours being cut so often and not coming back as fast in these companies if i do retail I prefer HEB, Kroger or Costco the businesses that don't rely so heavily on pharmacy income. Ive been with walgreens that does an average 300 to 400 rxs average per day. I am aiming for hospital in a more clinical role and thus planning to do a residency or working for mail order or pharmacy benefit manager company. However the reality/problem I'm concerned with is that the pharmacy saturation keeps coming up on this forum, a lot of other forums place that pharmacy is saturated with no jobs out there and even heard it from a floating pharmacist that Houston is saturated. I dont want to go to pharmacy school spend 200k (even it being in loans when my parents are barely making by) and not being able to find a stable job 90 to 100k job within 6 months or so. Honestly I want a decent pay 80k+, family time and feel like my skills and education was put to good use without being burned out like doctors are often said to be. My other option is become a physician assistant, a profession I did shadowing back in high school and was appealing as well, only problem is I'll have to wait till the next cycle ultimately wasting a year while I take the GRE, start the application process etc in HOPES of getting into a PA program which my mom has also suggested to me to do as well. Also with a number of classmates from high school and people I met in college moving on with new jobs, taking up family businesses I kinda feel behind even though I'm only 23 years old. My ultimate job if I become a pharmacist is to work with government in a investigative role such as with the FBI or DEA, or Texas board of pharmacy. Any suggestions or recommendations?
 
If you know you absolutely do not want to work for CVS for the next 30 years then I don't recommend pharmacy. While there are other jobs out there, the majority of jobs are still in retail. Just keep that in mind.
 
since you already know the loan amount and market saturation for pharmacy, and you're not happy with a retail chain where all the jobs are, i wont recommend pursuing pharmacy. use this time to increase your chance of getting into PA program. also find a backup plan if that fails. keep your eyes open for more possibilities other than the healthcare sector. pharmacy isn't for everyone. getting hire is difficult enough, keeping that job long enough to pay off your tuition loan is another level of difficulty.
 
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htownzsos said:
I don't want any trolls and want serious advice from people that are in the field currently or know what their talking about. I was accepted into University of The Incarnate Program in San Antonio Texas a private school, Lived just outside city of Houston my whole life graduated with a BS in kinesiology exercise science. Accepted for the fall 2014 and and committed to attend, but I have worked as a tech for 4 years and have a good grasp at retail and know If i become a pharmacist I know I don't want to work for walgreens or cvs as I have heard many pharmacist from nearby stores have been burned out cuz of retail poor management and not enough help due to constant hours being cut so often and not coming back as fast in these companies if i do retail I prefer HEB, Kroger or Costco the businesses that don't rely so heavily on pharmacy income. Ive been with walgreens that does an average 300 to 400 rxs average per day. I am aiming for hospital in a more clinical role and thus planning to do a residency or working for mail order or pharmacy benefit manager company. However the reality/problem I'm concerned with is that the pharmacy saturation keeps coming up on this forum, a lot of other forums place that pharmacy is saturated with no jobs out there and even heard it from a floating pharmacist that Houston is saturated. I dont want to go to pharmacy school spend 200k (even it being in loans when my parents are barely making by) and not being able to find a stable job 90 to 100k job within 6 months or so. Honestly I want a decent pay 80k+, family time and feel like my skills and education was put to good use without being burned out like doctors are often said to be. My other option is become a physician assistant, a profession I did shadowing back in high school and was appealing as well, only problem is I'll have to wait till the next cycle ultimately wasting a year while I take the GRE, start the application process etc in HOPES of getting into a PA program which my mom has also suggested to me to do as well. Also with a number of classmates from high school and people I met in college moving on with new jobs, taking up family businesses I kinda feel behind even though I'm only 23 years old. My ultimate job if I become a pharmacist is to work with government in a investigative role such as with the FBI or DEA, or Texas board of pharmacy. Any suggestions or recommendations?
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Considering the future of pharmacy, there's no way to justify spending 150-200k for a degree in pharmacy. The cost of a P.A. degree and its prospects down the road make it a much more appealing choice.
 
Just don't overpay for your PharmD by going to Incarnate, their tuition is ridiculous.
There are much cheaper alternatives in Texas.
 
htownzsos said:
My other option is become a physician assistant, a profession I did shadowing back in high school and was appealing as well, only problem is I'll have to wait till the next cycle ultimately wasting a year while I take the GRE, start the application process etc in HOPES of getting into a PA program which my mom has also suggested to me to do as well.
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Hmm, 1 year wasted while working and studying or 4 years and $200,000 wasted. It really is an easy choice when you put it that way. Also, if you want to go to pharmacy school next year you'll get in again. There are people with 2.5 gpa getting into pharmacy school now.
 
Don't go to Incarnate Word, go to SWOSU. Tiny ass town but tuition is lower than any school in the south and the NAPLEX pass rate is up at the top. Don't waste your time thinking about clinical pharmacy or a residency, it's all a sham.
 
I just got out of retail after a short stint and into a quite good job... and I would not recommend pharmacy.
 
THE MTL said:
Clinical Pharmacy have made equally as much gains as PA/NP too..........just to let you know.
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uhhhh...? I would say that is far from the truth. Gains, maybe, but not nearly like a PA/NP. And the % of Rphs that might be able to do what a PA/NP can do has got to be insanely low.
 
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incarnate word, high tuition and low quality education. coupled with the fact that you're probably a low quality student also.
 
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THE MTL said:
Clinical Pharmacy have made equally as much gains as PA/NP too..........just to let you know.
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Hahahahahaha keep dreaming, bud. Independent practice rights, expanded prescribing authority, and increase demand have been following midlevels for the past couple of years. We can't even get provider status.
 
Go make ur own breads, why even stress abt slaving for some big retail stores and get treated like **** just so u can pay back the student loan. America is a pile of ****

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
Misaenator said:
Go make ur own breads, why even stress abt slaving for some big retail stores and get treated like **** just so u can pay back the student loan. America is a pile of ****

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
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Go to hell troll!!!
 
If you can't see yourself in a pharmacist's role then don't even bother. Also, don't go to a private institution, the price is ridiculous. Stay in state, get in state tuition.

PA/NP will both feel oversaturated soon enough. NP will probably feel it sooner than the PA. If you feel particularly driven I recommend either field.

Also, pharmacy is oversaturated, walls have ears, doom, doom, gloom, don't do it.
 
DruggieDoRight said:
If you can't see yourself in a pharmacist's role then don't even bother. Also, don't go to a private institution, the price is ridiculous. Stay in state, get in state tuition.

PA/NP will both feel oversaturated soon enough. NP will probably feel it sooner than the PA. If you feel particularly driven I recommend either field.

Also, pharmacy is oversaturated, walls have ears, doom, doom, gloom, don't do it.
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Dude I really like your username.
 
THE MTL said:
Clinical Pharmacy have made equally as much gains as PA/NP too..........just to let you know.
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LMAO. You are a student and have no idea of what you speak. Keep eating up the stuff they spit out at your pharmacy school. They're laughing all the way to the bank.
 
Lnsean said:
LMAO. You are a student and have no idea of what you speak. Keep eating up the stuff they spit out at your pharmacy school. They're laughing all the way to the bank.
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I knew it, I knew you were right. What have I done?! I ASK YOU WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

I SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED MY DREAM AND BECAME A PALM READER!!!

Seriously, OP nobody can tell you what you want to do besides you. The kind of job you're describing sounds like it may not exist within the scope of pharmacy, and I might add that I am by no means completely privy to the scope of pharmacy so it might actually exist. The kind of work you describe sounds like forensic and toxicology work done in various criminal labs.

Management can be poor anywhere you end up working, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, there's a topic I think in one of the dental forums where they say dental is saturated go pharmacy, pharmacy is saturated go nursing, nursing is saturated go dental. The point is healthcare is changing, and it's definitely changing in pharmacy, and we'll see what happens. I know I'm starting up this journey because I'll probably, hopefully, end up doing something I love rather than yelling at old people all night.
 
Are you currently working in a pharmacy? If so and you are asking this question I have serious doubts about your intelligence. Pharmacy pays well now, the pay will go down period unless a major breakthrough happens in our role as a pharmacist (highly unlikely) or reimbursement rates somehow go the opposite direction they are going, this is still doubtful as there will be way too many of us in 5-10 years.

I just graduated with 80k in debt after all the interest the bastards made while in school pretending to give me aid at double the interest rate I just bought a house for. I went to a public school. IT IS NOT WORTH GOING INTO OVER 100k of debt for certaintly not with the future job prospects. I make good money, the govt makes good money off me in forms of taxes and loans. I live a comfortable life, and I sure as hell don't want to do this for 30 years, please lord let my investments do amazing.
 
Do not go to pharmacy school. It just isn't worth the pain anymore.

Also, I don't see the PA/NP route becoming saturated anytime soon.
 
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CardinalGirl210 said:
I go to Incarnate Word and it's an excellent program - if you worked this hard to get into pharmacy school and your still second guessing your decision,maybe it's really not for you.
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LOL wait until you go on rotations then let me know if it's an excellent program or not. good luck
 
Jibby321 said:
How's your loan?
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120K - just as much as my friend that graduated from A&M last year and my pharmacist that graduated from U of H. A lot of people that go to public schools end up having the debt anyway because they need loan money to live for those 4 years of pharm school. It really doesn't matter where you go - the degree is the same. To me, there's no sense in bashing a school just because their tuition is higher than another schools - I think about 90% of my class has a job as of right now, so it was worth it to me.
 
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CardinalGirl210 said:
120K - just as much as my friend that graduated from A&M last year and my pharmacist that graduated from U of H. A lot of people that go to public schools end up having the debt anyway because they need loan money to live for those 4 years of pharm school. It really doesn't matter where you go - the degree is the same. To me, there's no sense in bashing a school just because their tuition is higher than another schools - I think about 90% of my class has a job as of right now, so it was worth it to me.
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Did you have financial support besides loans? Does that include intrest?

Starting 2014 their tuition is listed 33,500 annually. Which is a lot.

TAMU is listed as 7,600 something. So annually just over 15k?

That's a huge difference. How did your friend accumulate that much in loans? Even taking out a little extra for housing.
 
No, I lived at home and worked part-time.

My friend went to UT for 3 years, then went to A&M for pharmacy school - had to live off campus in an apartment, money for travel since they don't have a lot of sites for rotation, and money to live off. It also matters how comfortable you want to live while in school. Of course you can get by living meagerly and working a lot to avoid taking out loans - that's personal preference.

Honestly, it's all personal preference - at the end of the day the only thing that matters is if you have a job to pay back what you owe. Not having a job at the end of all of this would've made this investment pointless.

The tuition for my class was lower than 33K - unfortunately they have been raising tuition to support the growth of the university (med school, physical therapy, optometry), but when you start you are locked into your starting rate for 4 years.
 
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Jibby321 said:
Did you have financial support besides loans? Does that include intrest?

Starting 2014 their tuition is listed 33,500 annually. Which is a lot.

TAMU is listed as 7,600 something. So annually just over 15k?

That's a huge difference. How did your friend accumulate that much in loans? Even taking out a little extra for housing.
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I don't know if it's completely true, but I hear a lot of students at public schools take out just as much on loans as we do and are just able to live better while in school because they have more loan money available since tuition is lower. Tuition price matters, but if someone is going to take out the money anyway and use it on personal expenses, why brag on how they saved so much?

Do you really think those students are only taking out 15K a year if they have much more available to them?! I doubt it! I'm sure it's probably another 7K or so every semester for personal expenses - now your at 21K per year IF your living meagerly.
 
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~$69,000 is what I took out and now I'm debt free. Who the hell would go to a university that's double mine yet gets the same job as me? That's not smart.
 
While I congratulate you on acceptance into RX school, your career goals may not be in line with the degree you've chosen. The job security and diversity historically associated within health care, is gone. Saturation has occurred in most of the medical disciplines. Competition and miserable work environments, for those struggling to find employment, are the spoils of your expensive education. Good luck.
 
Lnsean said:
LMAO. You are a student and have no idea of what you speak. Keep eating up the stuff they spit out at your pharmacy school. They're laughing all the way to the bank.
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I'm assuming you're a pharmacist? Why do you do pharmacy? Are you in it for the money? All your posts are against the profession and very closed minded.

Pharmacy has progressed rapidly over the past several years. Immunizations, MTM, blood testing, childhood vaccinations, hospitals adding residency programs, more hospitals recognizing the need for clinical pharmacists, discharge counseling, and I have witnessed all of these during rotations.

I have preceptors where doctors ask the pharmacist which medication they should use on patients.

Did you get a pharmD? Cause anyone with a pharmD knows that our schooling is just intense and even harder than what PA/NP. Which is why we been gaining over the past years

It's people like yourself who are the reason why pharmacy historically hasn't progressed as much as nursing. How can you be a pharmacist and tell someone to do NP/PA because it's the future! Pharmacy has a bright future my friend. I love this profession and will defend any day of the week
 
BenJammin said:
Hahahahahaha keep dreaming, bud. Independent practice rights, expanded prescribing authority, and increase demand have been following midlevels for the past couple of years. We can't even get provider status.
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But we are fighting for it. The poster said pharmacy had no future when we clearly made gains.

We just got childhood Immunizations passed in my state when pharmacists couldn't immunize at all in 2008. Who knows what we might be able to do in the future.

I just hate how all these "pharmacists" are killing the progression of the profession.
 
THE MTL said:
But we are fighting for it. The poster said pharmacy had no future when we clearly made gains.

We just got childhood Immunizations passed in my state when pharmacists couldn't immunize at all in 2008. Who knows what we might be able to do in the future.

I just hate how all these "pharmacists" are killing the progression of the profession.
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Pharmacy is making huge gains if you look at specialty pharmacy, managed care, health-system clinical, amb care, and mtm. Maybe people just dont want to do more than lick and stick?
 
SELDANE said:
Considering the future of pharmacy, there's no way to justify spending 150-200k for a degree in pharmacy. The cost of a P.A. degree and its prospects down the road make it a much more appealing choice.
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What? You realize a pharmacist will make 2x that of a PA... the salary alone justifies the cost of the degree.

PA = the MDs bitch, in reality. That's what you will be at a PA.
 
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I think PAs make less than pharmacists... median PA is $92k, median pharmacist is $120k according to salary dot com. but of course no one picked a profession just for the money 😉
 
The idea that established pharmacists are against the profession is ridiculous. We were pre-pharmacy and pharmacy students once. We all had that pie in the sky belief in the profession. Then, we started working (something pre-pharm and pharm students haven't) and we became painfully aware of pharmacy's shortcomings. So mind your respect and listen to what established pharmacists are telling you. The ivory tower of academia is supported by your tuition. Working pharmacists, have no financial bias to give out erroneous information about the profession. Saturation is already established. No one is worried about further pressures on the job market posed by students.
The pressures of tuition and market saturation are weighing heavy on your decision to enter the profession. Don't fight against the sage advice presented to you.
I'm guessing many of you couldn't get into med. school, so your shooting as high as possible on the health care hierarchy scale. The old scale of #1 Doctor, #2 Pharmacist, #3 Nurse, is gone. Pharmacists now linger somewhere south of #5. Prescription writing power is where it's at. Pharmacists don't have that authority and NEVER will. Insurance reimbursement for pharmacist knowledge is shrinking. People can look up drug info just as fast as a pharmacist. So when a NP or PA call in prescriptions, you will learn more about the authority afforded the pharmacist. NONE.
 
opinionfree said:
The idea that established pharmacists are against the profession is ridiculous. We were pre-pharmacy and pharmacy students once. We all had that pie in the sky belief in the profession. Then, we started working (something pre-pharm and pharm students haven't) and we became painfully aware of pharmacy's shortcomings. So mind your respect and listen to what established pharmacists are telling you. The ivory tower of academia is supported by your tuition. Working pharmacists, have no financial bias to give out erroneous information about the profession. Saturation is already established. No one is worried about further pressures on the job market posed by students.
The pressures of tuition and market saturation are weighing heavy on your decision to enter the profession. Don't fight against the sage advice presented to you.
I'm guessing many of you couldn't get into med. school, so your shooting as high as possible on the health care hierarchy scale. The old scale of #1 Doctor, #2 Pharmacist, #3 Nurse, is gone. Pharmacists now linger somewhere south of #5. Prescription writing power is where it's at. Pharmacists don't have that authority and NEVER will. Insurance reimbursement for pharmacist knowledge is shrinking. People can look up drug info just as fast as a pharmacist. So when a NP or PA call in prescriptions, you will learn more about the authority afforded the pharmacist. NONE.
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as a working pharmacist I concur with all the above and especially the bolded
 
opinionfree said:
The idea that established pharmacists are against the profession is ridiculous. We were pre-pharmacy and pharmacy students once. We all had that pie in the sky belief in the profession. Then, we started working (something pre-pharm and pharm students haven't) and we became painfully aware of pharmacy's shortcomings. So mind your respect and listen to what established pharmacists are telling you. The ivory tower of academia is supported by your tuition. Working pharmacists, have no financial bias to give out erroneous information about the profession. Saturation is already established. No one is worried about further pressures on the job market posed by students.
The pressures of tuition and market saturation are weighing heavy on your decision to enter the profession. Don't fight against the sage advice presented to you.
I'm guessing many of you couldn't get into med. school, so your shooting as high as possible on the health care hierarchy scale. The old scale of #1 Doctor, #2 Pharmacist, #3 Nurse, is gone. Pharmacists now linger somewhere south of #5. Prescription writing power is where it's at. Pharmacists don't have that authority and NEVER will. Insurance reimbursement for pharmacist knowledge is shrinking. People can look up drug info just as fast as a pharmacist. So when a NP or PA call in prescriptions, you will learn more about the authority afforded the pharmacist. NONE.
Click to expand...

If youre really opinion free and want to present a true picture of pharmacy to a prospective student, why does your post not include any of the benefits or satisfaction involved in the career?

The reason some people paint it as all roses is probably because people on the other side of things are being equally extreme.
 
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