All these options, and no idea what I want to be

[Fai]

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Hey guys, remember me? The one who thought she wanted to be a Psychiatrist, then it became E.R doctor and a multitude of others. Now, I admit that I have no idea what I want to be. However, I do know that I can weed out some parts of medicine (Such as I have no interest in Nursing, Dental and Vet) However, I feel I have a strong interest in Optometry and Pharmacy as well.

Right now, I started setting my eyes on Pharmacy. Thankfully I am now a senior in HS and not a freshman in college, and I do want to take medical pre-reqs so say I don't want to do pre-pharm anymore and I can switch to pre-opt or pre-med with at least some pre-reqs under my belt.

I am planning to do undergrad in Canada, for I do have my reasons. I know I know "Who wants to be a doctor in Canada!? Don't Canadian doctors move to US to practice?" I've heard it many times, but I'll probably go back to America for graduate if I can't apply in Canada (Being a non-canadian citizen, it'd be insanely hard)

Anywho, I'm in China right now under a volunteer-research program on Pandas and I've met two Med students in England. We have been conversing about the path of becoming a physician in the States and U.K. Apparently in the UK, there is no "Pre-med" but instead Med and then they do two years of residency and take an exam to become a doctor. To me, that sounds SO much simpler than the structure we have in North America! If anyone knows anything about the UK structure please inform me (but I feel that this is a bit off-topic anyway.)

Now getting back to the point, I have a few questions about Pharmacy. What is the outlook for the future of the job? Is it in demand? What is the lifestyle like? (I.e 9-5 job with weekend shifts, etc) What other Pharmacists are there? (I only know Retail and Clinical, which I'm still doing research on)

If anyone would like to add any other information/advice pertaining to the UK system or Pharmacy that would be stellar.

Thanks in advance!

 

[iforget2]

Hmm I feel like if you posted this in the Pharmacy section you could get more answers. Just try not to state that you're a high schooler lol

 

[davidbm95]

Hey guys, remember me? The one who thought she wanted to be a Psychiatrist, then it became E.R doctor and a multitude of others. Now, I admit that I have no idea what I want to be. However, I do know that I can weed out some parts of medicine (Such as I have no interest in Nursing, Dental and Vet) However, I feel I have a strong interest in Optometry and Pharmacy as well.

Right now, I started setting my eyes on Pharmacy. Thankfully I am now a senior in HS and not a freshman in college, and I do want to take medical pre-reqs so say I don't want to do pre-pharm anymore and I can switch to pre-opt or pre-med with at least some pre-reqs under my belt.

I am planning to do undergrad in Canada, for I do have my reasons. I know I know "Who wants to be a doctor in Canada!? Don't Canadian doctors move to US to practice?" I've heard it many times, but I'll probably go back to America for graduate if I can't apply in Canada (Being a non-canadian citizen, it'd be insanely hard)

Anywho, I'm in China right now under a volunteer-research program on Pandas and I've met two Med students in England. We have been conversing about the path of becoming a physician in the States and U.K. Apparently in the UK, there is no "Pre-med" but instead Med and then they do two years of residency and take an exam to become a doctor. To me, that sounds SO much simpler than the structure we have in North America! If anyone knows anything about the UK structure please inform me (but I feel that this is a bit off-topic anyway.)

Now getting back to the point, I have a few questions about Pharmacy. What is the outlook for the future of the job? Is it in demand? What is the lifestyle like? (I.e 9-5 job with weekend shifts, etc) What other Pharmacists are there? (I only know Retail and Clinical, which I'm still doing research on)

If anyone would like to add any other information/advice pertaining to the UK system or Pharmacy that would be stellar.

Thanks in advance!

First off, it seems you have been bouncing around a lot with what you want to do. I think the best way for you to find out what you want to do is volunteering and shadowing. It's really not hard. Go to a hospital's volunteer services. Once you are in ask for dept's such as pharmacy, optometry, and anything that you might seem interested in.

Secondly, to get accurate pharmacy answers, post those questions in pre-pharm. I don't know why iforget2 said not to say you are a high school student. If you explain that in the thread they should be even more glad to help someone like you.

 

[Fai]

@ iforget2
Heh! I'll just see what happens 😛

@Davidbm
I've tried, unfortunately there is a waiting list of 2 years (South Nassau). I also tried Franklin Square hospital and there was an error or something and I have to reapply which I will do once I come back from China.

Thank you though! I'll move the Pharm questions to the Pre-Pharm forum, although I am still curious about the whole U.K thing.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

K, so basically you're bouncing around ideas similarly to what I did when I was in college.
I personally wanted to go to med then decided that it takes too long and then to pharm and then to optometry and then back to medicine.

I mostly decided that Pharm was boring and not fitting to my personality. Not to mention that it also is incredibly saturated now.
I decided that optometry was actually an amazing fit. I loved what the job entails and how it was an easy 9-5 job. However, I realized that even if I liked this job I would never be able to make it as the market is heavily saturated and the pay was very low.

Then I came back to medicine and realized that in all honesty it was for my effort and time a better investment. The job allowed me the ability to specialize freely based on interest and at the same time get sufficient compensation.

The point is you'll do some research, think about it, and conclude which you want more.

Now regarding attending a Canadian University, there's nothing wrong with that as long as you retain your US citizenship and state residence. As longs as you do it doesn't matter as US medical schools will accept Canadian credits.

 

[BB8730]

The only advice I have is: if you plan on eventually practicing medicine in the US, going to a US medical school will be, by far, the most practical route. The UK medical school structure might be more convenient, but there will be nothing convenient about trying to land a US residency spot with a foreign degree. Less than 40% of residency applicants with a foreign degree are accepted into US residencies, and that number might drop even more due to a projected 30% increase in US medical school graduates in the next decade. Source

If you want to practice in the US, go to med school in the US. 🙂

 

[SitraAchra]

Your freshman year of college will have all the same pre-reqs for pharmacy, medicine, or any health related field. It's just general chemistry and biology. Maybe by that time you will have narrowed it down, but just knowing you want to do healthcare is enough to start college and not waste time in the wrong classes.

 

[Fai]

@ Serenade
I suppose the whole saturation depends on location. In the tri-state area, yes it is completely saturated but I heard in places such as Alaska that it is high in demand. As for boring, I guess so if all you do is count pills, advise patients and talk to doctors (but when I return I'll be trying to intern at a pharmacy, they must do more than that!) Thank you for your input though, I know no one can tell me what to do or be but what I'm looking for is an interesting job where it is something new everyday.

@Brakk
Thank you! I figured that with an American citizenship that is what determines it, not foreign degree. But I do have a question, what if I finish residency in the UK and become licensed as a doctor then come back to the States for exams? There must be something hard about that.

@SitraAchra
Phew! That's a relief. My biggest fear is investing in the wrong classes and then change my mind later. I'm glad that general Health paths require the same or somewhat the same pre-reqs.

 

[SitraAchra]

@Brakk
Thank you! I figured that with an American citizenship that is what determines it, not foreign degree. But I do have a question, what if I finish residency in the UK and become licensed as a doctor then come back to the States for exams? There must be something hard about that.

There is something hard about completing your training as a physician in a foreign country and then coming to the US to practice. You must re-do residency entirely. It sounds ridiculous but I personally worked with a German surgeon who had completed his training in CV Surgery only to come to the US because of his wife and is still a resident finishing up his general surgery residency.

Thus, that is why everyone is saying if you want to practice medicine in the US then go to a US med school and a US residency, otherwise it's a colossal waste of time.

 

[Fai]

I honestly had to re-read that a few times. I don't even have words to describe my shock because that is a giant waste of time.

Should I go to med school, US it is then. For fewer years it doesn't pay off.

 

[Badger MD]

Just a plug because you mentioned how much shorter the training is to become a doctor in the UK than it is in the US:

Medical education is shorter in almost every country that I can think of in comparison to America. For instance, in Germany, "medical school" is actually an undergraduate school curriculum as opposed to a graduate one. If memory serves correctly, they go for six years (and take two major examinations that most kids fail) after their equivalent high school education. At the end of that journey, they don't receive a title. From there forward, they must complete a dissertation/thesis to receive the "Dr." title in any medical field. Only around 70% of physicians there go on to do this. I believe this is the case in most European countries.

And as others have mentioned, if you are looking to practice in the US someday, your main goal should be attending a medical school here. From my time in Germany, I can remember quite clearly that even their brightest and most promising students, coming from prestigious schools in Tübingen and Berlin, had problems matching into US programs. This isn't because their education is poor, but simply because American programs favor American students. The same can be said for Germany. Is it possible for someone from the US to go there? Sure. Will it be easy? Heck no. Will they be treated as academic equals? Another resounding no. Will students, attendings, and even patients respond well to them? Again, no.

So tl;dr: Go to school in the country that you intend to practice in.

Edit: I'm really never able to type well after midnight...

 

[Crimson2016]

If you have predominately been interested in the medical field, which seems so, just major in a science, complete the necessary course work, and decide your specialty in medical school.

 

[nysegop]

Job outlook is good. High demand. In fact, the pharmd program is relatively new as more drugs are being created and pharmacies are requiring more and more docs to be on staff. Salary is good.