Any RNs applying to pharmacy school? I am so glad to find these forum.

[RNtoPharmD]

Hi! you all.

I am so glad to find this forum. I currently feel as if I was struggling alone with the process of applying to Pharm School and PCAT preparation b/c most of my co-workers either look into CRNA or Nurse practitioner program. No one at my job know that I'm applying to pharmacy school. Any RN out there who are applying to Pharm Schools or studying in Pharmacy school?

My educational background is BS in nursing and BA.
I am currently 26 year-old RN with almost 2 years in nursing (one year in Med-surg, Almost 1 year in ICU). I originally wanted to go pharm school and take pre-pharm when I started college. I changed to nursing basically because I want greencard at that time. I thought It would be difficult going to school on student VISA not being to work and paying out-of-state Tuition.

Now, since I got greencard last year, it's time to go back to school and pursue what I originally want to do!!!

My GPA is 3.57 (many Bs in nursing courses).
My Prerequisite including Anatomy and Physiology I&II = 3.68
Planned PCAT this June and August.

Here are some questions..

1. Will my hospital experience a nurse give me a plus in admission consideration?
Should I find experience in Pharmacy like finding a job as pharmacy tech now? it's kind of too late now. I find this difficult to do because I still don't want to quit my current nursing job and earn much less working as entry-level pharmacy tech. Moreover, while I work as nurse, I can save some money to pay for pharmacy school next year? Moreover, I still can learn about drugs/pathophysiology in nursing settings.

2. I am currently studying some music major courses part-time fo fun at local university. It's my hobbie. Will admission committes take it as the lack of motivation for being a pharmacist? Hopefully, they don't think I want to become a musician

3. For RNs who are applying for PharmD program? How will you include nursing backgroud into the position statement? I have trouble writing it because I cannot claim that I like the field of Pharmacy based on the actual pharmacy experience (such as working as a pharm tech). However, I think I know what pharmacists do in hospital setting based on my nursing experience. What I plan to do is to compare nursing and pharmacy. For example, explaining how nursing expereince will help me as a pharmacist. And how nursing experience helps me realize that I would fit more in the field of pharmacy. Do you think this is a good idea?

4. I am in Atlanta, Georgia. But I am willing to move out-of-state. I am still single. haha..no problem moving.. I have some of my relatives in Seattle. Do you know any pharmacy schools there? I am searching for out-of-state pharm schools ..

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[omnione]

1. Yes, but you'll likely have to bring it up during your interview if you get one to show why you are interested in a career change. If you can apply some of the stuff you learned about drugs, then that would be great!

2. Those music course won't hurt. How old is that GPA?

3. Essentially, tell your story about your journey to pharmacy and why nursing was part of the preparation. You can do a search in this forum because there have been RNs who applied to pharmacy school.

4. Seattle has a nice school, The University of Washington. The problem is, you need a LOR from someone in the pharmacy field, which is a problem since you don't have direct experience yet. Is it possible to shadow a pharmacist in your area? Otherwise, you could look into Washington State, Oregon State, and Pacific. I don't know about their requirements however.

 

[ZpackSux]

I hope you get in....

You'll be entering pharmacy school knowing how to titrate sedative such as propofol, midazolam...and ativan drips..

You probably know more about IVs than most pharmacists.. you know how to titrate Heparin, dobutamine...dopamine...

You know about vents...

You've worked with all the antibiotics...

You're a critical care nurse. You'll make a great pharmacist.

Good Luck.

 

[xshooshix]

I have a cousin who went from being a nurse to applying to pharmacy school. I guess his previous job worked out for him because he's currently in school in Nevada.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

2. Those music course won't hurt. How old is that GPA?

Omnione, Thanks so much for your advice and all supports from all of you.

Humm... My GPA is about 2 years old. I was actively in school from 2002-2005.

I took my pre-pharm courses during 2002-2003 and took Ochem II and Physic II in 2004. Are they too old for the admission? Should I take more classes like Biochem or more Advanced Chem.

The last few semesteres are just about part-time music classes (like music theory and applied piano etc).

I was just back from PCAT today.. I did not feel good about it... I has been quite long time since took Calculus, Chem, and Bio... I have to probably prepare to do it better in August. The easiest part is Bio.

I still have problem with hand-writing essay. Is PCAT paper-based test?Are there any test center out there that provide computerized test? So that I can type in the essay sections.

 

[gapeach427]

Hi! I'm applying to pharm school, and I'm a nurse (RN working in Neonatal ICU).

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Hi! I'm applying to pharm school, and I'm a nurse (RN working in Neonatal ICU).

Hey GApeach..! I read some of your posts. It was great to know that there are people with similar situation . It really boosts my morale..

Did you take PCAT today (June 23)?

It was hard..haha... Since my last organic chem and calculas class was since 2003-2004! I really have to take it again.. A bunch of organic chem and calculas questions!


Are you in Georgia? Seem like you are applied for several schools last year... I am searching school out-of-state now.. so I would have other options beside Mercer and UGA.

I think I have to start preparing for August test now... before my music school started again in August....

Now just work and study PCAT thru August....

 

[Stillwater]

Hi RNtoPharmd! I was reading your posts and I find myself in a similar situation.. I've been trying to research at allnurses.com about rns going to pharmd but its not a popular career track for rns, most goes to advanced nursing practice.. really not a lot of rns take that route.. So i've been hanging around in this website to have an inside look about this profession..

Anyways I was wondering what made you decide to go pharmd instead of crna? I can imagine myself working as a retail pharmacist, I like interacting with patients/customers, and I like the business side of it.. While at the same time, I can also imagine myself working as a crna in an outpatient or plastic surgery ORs, dealing with more stable patients than the busy and stressful icu that I work at..

I think for us RNs who decide to advance in our nursing practice or switch to lets say pharmd, it's a big decision because we are already making decent salary and then we have to stop for 3-4 yrs to do this switch.. Its harder when like for me, I already have a house so Im not sure how I am going to manage going back to school as full time student.. I'm also in my mid 20s and single, so I like being financially independent right now and not acumulating loans.. but of course the reason why I want to make the switch is aside from the ladder climb is I also realized that I can't imagine myself being 45 yrs old and still working as an rn, enough with the nursing mental and physical stress.. Im sure all professions have stress, but I think rns deal with the most bs's..

Anyways here are some factors I'm considering right now( pls correct me if there's some that are not accurate)

crna = 2 to 2 1/2 yrs full time school,
pharmd = like 1 yr part time school for pre reqs and 3-4 yrs full time school

crna and pharmd almost the same cost of school (if im not mistaken, around $120k) but crna will make more and will finish school sooner (pharmd 90k to 120 k average, crna 120 to 150 k average, they say you what you make is almost the same with a family medicine doctor)

Pharmd is more in demand because not all states have crna

Pharmd will wear a nice looking white coat (I think I'll look good on that one ) in a clean environment (like cvs or walgreens)

Respect factor, I think both has their due respects... although pharmd will deal less with the "no, im not a doctor (anesthesiologist), im a nurse anesthetist" type of situation.. I think crna will be called doc more because of the work setting thus more explanations to do.. I think it'll be easier to say "Hi, Im stillwater, im the pharmacist" than "Hi, Im stillwater, Im the nurse anesthetist and I will be delivering the anesthesia for your surgery" Because they will ask and you will have to explain to them that you are not a nurse and at the same time not a doctor(anesthesiologist)..

Crna I think is more stressful, anything can happen when you're giving anesthesia.. It's actually not just giving anesthesia.. eg, you might need to start pressors or give boluses.. its also kinda scary(for lack of a better word to describe it) knowing that its always a life and death situation everytime you are behind that or table... plus you might have to deal with egoistic and very demanding surgeons.. Ive heard stories of anesthesia providers and surgeons yelling at each other during surgery..

If you go crna, you will directly put to use your icu experience and good icu rns usually make good crnas.. a lot also wants to become crna and most of them are just even in the process of applying to nursing school.. which means 4 yrs bachelors, 6 months preparing and taking the nclex, 1 yr imc or med tele (new grads does not usually go icu) and another yr in icu.. plus 2yrs crna.. which means at least 8yrs altogether..
we're lucky we already have the one yr icu experience required.. I actually went to a busy cardiac icu unit to prepare me for crna and make my resume look better.. We directly recover open heart patients in our unit straight from OR..
Versed, diprivan, fentanyl, ativan, whether gtts or pushes,.. Experience with it will definitely help..



I think I've written so long already, I'm taking my time to make the decision.. Yeah I know some might say it'll be up to me and what I really want to do..
Of course, but I'm also considering the financial factors, plus the self actualization (Maslow's hierarchy) factor in my decision..

Any feedbacks will be appreciated...

 

[TheDrugMan]

crna and pharmd almost the same cost of school (if im not mistaken, around $120k) but crna will make more and will finish school sooner (pharmd 90k to 120 k average, crna 120 to 150 k average, they say you what you make is almost the same with a family medicine doctor)

Pharmd is more in demand because not all states have crna

Pharmd will wear a nice looking white coat (I think I'll look good on that one ) in a clean environment (like cvs or walgreens)

Keep in mind that a PharmD can make that salary on 40 hours a week (average) and can get paid by the hour. My neighbor works at Walgreens like 26 weeks (7 days on, 7 days off) out of the year and still rakes in over 105K to do some very easy work. He works the graveyard shift at our local Walgreens and said it is pretty slow at night. He uses all his free time to speculate in real estate investments I really dont know the hours involved for a CRNA but I assume it would be alot more.

 

[PRINCESS_IJ]

......

 

[honeykrown]

I will also be applying for Pharmacy school next year. I just finished my RN degress last month and I went for the Associate cos i know i wanted to bea pharmacist. But i want to use the RN degree as a stepping stone. U know most of the stuff already going on and u''d have some cash stash without getting all the loans that will be available to you.

My Fiance just got into pharmacy school for this fall and i'm sure he'd be able to help me out (like advise and what to do) during my application and other stuff.

 

[GeorgiaRN]

Hey, what school are you applying to? I work as an RN in med ICU and am applying to pharmacy school, too.

 

[TyK]

I'm depressed that I didn't go into pharmacy like I originally wanted. Now I'll be 28 instead of 24 when I graduate.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Hey, what school are you applying to? I work as an RN in med ICU and am applying to pharmacy school, too.

Hi! GeorgiaRN...sorry I think I answered your question instead of Gapeach I think I am thinking about applying UGA and Mercer, of course, since my mom and I are living in Georgia. I am looking to apply out-of -state also to increase my chance of getting in. I am looking in to Creighton in California because they have web-based program, which may allow me to work while in school.
http://pharmacy.creighton.edu/newpharmacyVer2/pharmacy/pharmacyindex.asp

South University at Savannah is also cool.. It has 3 year accelerated program. But I still have problem thinking about who to ask for my third reference....

I am kind of upset when I see that many school required or strongly prefered LOR from pharmacist, which decrease my chance of getting into those school.. Coz right now I can't find one. I am thinking about driving to to some local hospitals and ask them if I can shadow a pharmacist... I will also ask the hospital where my aunts work too... yeah.. but doing those hours right now would add more stress, considering I'm still working full time and preparing for PCAT... I don't know if you can get LOR from shadowing but I'll try....


It would be ridiculous that would start working as a pharm tech now... First, I can't quit my job ... second, it will decrease my studying time the upcoming PCAT in August.

Does anyone at your job know you are going to pharm school? Who did you ask LOR from? I didn't ask LOR from my boss or looked for pharm experience at my hospital because I don't want my co-worker to know. My boss was kind of mad when on of my co-workers went back to school... which could add to my stress...haha..

Nice to see you..GeorgiaRN... How can you arrange your time to study for PCAT? My chem and math are 3-4 year olds. This means I need tremendous preparation in this two months..

I am working full time, which decrease my study time tremendously.... Seem like for the next two months until August, I will try to cut off my social life as much as possible... just work and study I would rather study at home rather than going back to work tommorrow 3 days in a rows...

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Hi RNtoPharmd! I was reading your posts and I find myself in a similar situation.. I've been trying to research at allnurses.com about rns going to pharmd but its not a popular career track for rns, most goes to advanced nursing practice.. really not a lot of rns take that route.. So i've been hanging around in this website to have an inside look about this profession..

Anyways I was wondering what made you decide to go pharmd instead of crna? I can imagine myself working as a retail pharmacist, I like interacting with patients/customers, and I like the business side of it.. While at the same time, I can also imagine myself working as a crna in an outpatient or plastic surgery ORs, dealing with more stable patients than the busy and stressful icu that I work at..

I think for us RNs who decide to advance in our nursing practice or switch to lets say pharmd, it's a big decision because we are already making decent salary and then we have to stop for 3-4 yrs to do this switch.. Its harder when like for me, I already have a house so Im not sure how I am going to manage going back to school as full time student.. I'm also in my mid 20s and single, so I like being financially independent right now and not acumulating loans.. but of course the reason why I want to make the switch is aside from the ladder climb is I also realized that I can't imagine myself being 45 yrs old and still working as an rn, enough with the nursing mental and physical stress.. Im sure all professions have stress, but I think rns deal with the most bs's..

Anyways here are some factors I'm considering right now( pls correct me if there's some that are not accurate)

crna = 2 to 2 1/2 yrs full time school,
pharmd = like 1 yr part time school for pre reqs and 3-4 yrs full time school

crna and pharmd almost the same cost of school (if im not mistaken, around $120k) but crna will make more and will finish school sooner (pharmd 90k to 120 k average, crna 120 to 150 k average, they say you what you make is almost the same with a family medicine doctor)

Pharmd is more in demand because not all states have crna

Pharmd will wear a nice looking white coat (I think I'll look good on that one ) in a clean environment (like cvs or walgreens)

Respect factor, I think both has their due respects... although pharmd will deal less with the "no, im not a doctor (anesthesiologist), im a nurse anesthetist" type of situation.. I think crna will be called doc more because of the work setting thus more explanations to do.. I think it'll be easier to say "Hi, Im stillwater, im the pharmacist" than "Hi, Im stillwater, Im the nurse anesthetist and I will be delivering the anesthesia for your surgery" Because they will ask and you will have to explain to them that you are not a nurse and at the same time not a doctor(anesthesiologist)..

Crna I think is more stressful, anything can happen when you're giving anesthesia.. It's actually not just giving anesthesia.. eg, you might need to start pressors or give boluses.. its also kinda scary(for lack of a better word to describe it) knowing that its always a life and death situation everytime you are behind that or table... plus you might have to deal with egoistic and very demanding surgeons.. Ive heard stories of anesthesia providers and surgeons yelling at each other during surgery..

If you go crna, you will directly put to use your icu experience and good icu rns usually make good crnas.. a lot also wants to become crna and most of them are just even in the process of applying to nursing school.. which means 4 yrs bachelors, 6 months preparing and taking the nclex, 1 yr imc or med tele (new grads does not usually go icu) and another yr in icu.. plus 2yrs crna.. which means at least 8yrs altogether..
we're lucky we already have the one yr icu experience required.. I actually went to a busy cardiac icu unit to prepare me for crna and make my resume look better.. We directly recover open heart patients in our unit straight from OR..
Versed, diprivan, fentanyl, ativan, whether gtts or pushes,.. Experience with it will definitely help..



I think I've written so long already, I'm taking my time to make the decision.. Yeah I know some might say it'll be up to me and what I really want to do..
Of course, but I'm also considering the financial factors, plus the self actualization (Maslow's hierarchy) factor in my decision..

Any feedbacks will be appreciated...

Anyway, I think pharmacist who was RNs before would give you better insight

In my opinion
I chose PharmD over CRNA... because I think would fit my personality more... I would like to learn more about drugs rather doing bedside pt care.
One of the reasons that keep me in nursing is to learn more about the medication I administered and keep hoping that I would use these knowledge in pharmacy one day. From my nursing experiece, I don't like being at "bedside" period not even for stable patient during surgery.. I don't like bedside scence...

I imagine I would be better being busy mixing/preparing drug behind the scence. I don't like unpredictibility of unstable patient at bedside or in OR.... Even almost a year, in ICU, my mind is still not at ease at work.

 

[boost]

edit oops

 

[nmontana]

I'm in a similar boat. I've been an LPN for 5 years in service and was one year away from a BSN when I got accepted into pharm school (U Montana, WSU, and UNM). I think the big push for me was that the nursing profession is limiting itself due to shortages in the field. Think about it this way. While most of the health care professions are going to a doctorate degree as a minimum, the nursing profession is flooding the workplace with many ADN's and BSN. I have absolutly nothing against ADN's (I've worked with many on ICU and CICU floors). All I'm saying is that nursing as a profession does not seems to be in control of itself as much as the goverment and hospital regulators are.
Another concideration is that while there are many avenues of advanced practice master degree options for nursing, they are pretty difficult to get into. Many CRNA programs only take up to 10 students a year. There are not as many people applying as there are for pharmacy, but that is still pretty difficult to enter.
The idea that conviced me to enter pharmacy is that pharmacist are not just working in the pharmacy. There are many clinical routes for pharmacy, so there is still floor pharmacy to concider. Personaly, I like the nuclear medicine route with chemotherapy patient's. Oh yeah, someone was worried about graduating at 28y/o. Not to worry, I'll be 32 when I graduate. A career isn't about getting there fast, it's about being happy with what you do! Good luck on your decisions! RN to PharmD where neither is a bad situation!

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

I'm in a similar boat. I've been an LPN for 5 years in service and was one year away from a BSN when I got accepted into pharm school (U Montana, WSU, and UNM). I think the big push for me was that the nursing profession is limiting itself due to shortages in the field. Think about it this way. While most of the health care professions are going to a doctorate degree as a minimum, the nursing profession is flooding the workplace with many ADN's and BSN. I have absolutly nothing against ADN's (I've worked with many on ICU and CICU floors). All I'm saying is that nursing as a profession does not seems to be in control of itself as much as the goverment and hospital regulators are.
Another concideration is that while there are many avenues of advanced practice master degree options for nursing, they are pretty difficult to get into. Many CRNA programs only take up to 10 students a year. There are not as many people applying as there are for pharmacy, but that is still pretty difficult to enter.
The idea that conviced me to enter pharmacy is that pharmacist are not just working in the pharmacy. There are many clinical routes for pharmacy, so there is still floor pharmacy to concider. Personaly, I like the nuclear medicine route with chemotherapy patient's. Oh yeah, someone was worried about graduating at 28y/o. Not to worry, I'll be 32 when I graduate. A career isn't about getting there fast, it's about being happy with what you do! Good luck on your decisions! RN to PharmD where neither is a bad situation!

My sister is looking into crna, it seems like most programs are very competitive, few spots and they want around 2-5 years in a variety of ICU settings.

 

[StringTheorist]

1. yes, of course. in your personal statement for the schools just discuss how you learned about drugs as an RN and how it intrigued you and made you realize you liked pharmacy, you know, something like that. That way, pharmacy can be incorporated with your current job. (of course it is, i mean, my mom is an RN as well as all my aunts, and they know more about drugs than anyone else in the hospital besides the pharmacist and the Dr.)

2.oh no, i would think it would show you are well rounded. especially with the MA in chinese. impressive!

and damn, im late for physics, ill hopefully remember to come back later and comment.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Do you guys RNs who are pharm students work as a nurse during school at all or just use saving or loans? (at least per diem PRN or part time) Is it possible with the rigorous study in pharm school?

 

[honeykrown]

My sister is looking into crna, it seems like most programs are very competitive, few spots and they want around 2-5 years in a variety of ICU settings.

Apart from the competitive nature, most schools have a low retention rate. UMB graduated like approx 2 or 3 out of the 20 students they had initially. And they have like 500 applicant per year

 

[wyandotterph]

Do not go to pharmacy school. I am speaking from experience. I am a pharmacist who is almost done with nursing school. I am going to be a CRNA. If you want to work long hours with no respect and weekends holidays, nights, then by all means go to pharmacy school. Do not get me wrong, I love the knowledge. The sad thing is that there is noone willing to listen to you. Also Pharmacists pay tops out at about 115,000 CRNA tops out at over 200,000.

 

[RDlv]

I'll be graduating with my BSN in 3 weeks, and going for my PharmD has been my plan throughout (applied to one school before nursing and was rejected).

Funny to see I'm not alone in my thoughts re: PharmD vs CRNA. CRNA certainly seems like a fascinating career, but I realized it wasn't for me when I kept thinking, "hmm, maybe I'll do CRNA, lots of pharm in that field." Well, duh, if I love pharm so much, only one logical route...

I'm going to take a year or two to brush up my prereqs (I'm pretty close to a BS Biochem, might just finish that up) then start applying for pharm schools.

 

[Stillwater]

Do not go to pharmacy school. I am speaking from experience. I am a pharmacist who is almost done with nursing school. I am going to be a CRNA. If you want to work long hours with no respect and weekends holidays, nights, then by all means go to pharmacy school. Do not get me wrong, I love the knowledge. The sad thing is that there is noone willing to listen to you. Also Pharmacists pay tops out at about 115,000 CRNA tops out at over 200,000.

To all pre-pharms and pharmacists. How true/accurate is this? I know the salary numbers are accurate... but the respect factor?.. and I know a pharmacist who works in retail, he said he doesn't do weekends and he's off every official holidays..

And to wyandotterph, what area do you work at? I can imagine it must be that stressful that you're going to pursue crna (approx 6 yrs total of school and icu experience needed)...

 

[RNtoPharmD]

To all pre-pharms and pharmacists. How true/accurate is this? I know the salary numbers are accurate... but the respect factor?.. and I know a pharmacist who works in retail, he said he doesn't do weekends and he's off every official holidays..

And to wyandotterph, what area do you work at? I can imagine it must be that stressful that you're going to pursue crna (approx 6 yrs total of school and icu experience needed)...

There are accelerated nursing program that you can completed in 12-16 months so it's less than 6 years.

 

[Stillwater]

There are accelerated nursing program that you can completed in 12-16 months so it's less than 6 years.

Oh ok.. Thanks for the correction.. I based that 6 yrs total on 2 yr nursing degree.. So if nursing program is 1 yr, + 1 yr experience in stepdown unit (There are not a lot of hospitals who hire new grads in icu) + 1 yr icu + 2 yrs crna program (some are actually 2 and 1/2 or 3 yrs).. total is actually still 5 to 6 yrs...

And although crna schools post on their website the minimum requirement of 1 yr icu, they actually would like you to have at least 2 yrs or more of icu experience..


Anyway the point here is that how bad could it be that someone is going to make this big switch? I was wondering what type of pharmacy setting is this stressful?

 

[Stillwater]

sorry. double post

 

[wyandotterph]

Oh ok.. Thanks for the correction.. I based that 6 yrs total on 2 yr nursing degree.. So if nursing program is 1 yr, + 1 yr experience in stepdown unit (There are not a lot of hospitals who hire new grads in icu) + 1 yr icu + 2 yrs crna program (some are actually 2 and 1/2 or 3 yrs).. total is actually still 5 to 6 yrs...

And although crna schools post on their website the minimum requirement of 1 yr icu, they actually would like you to have at least 2 yrs or more of icu experience..


Anyway the point here is that how bad could it be that someone is going to make this big switch? I was wondering what type of pharmacy setting is this stressful?

The job is not stressful, but simply unfulfilling. I want everyone to know that there may be a retail pharmacy where you do not have to work weekends, but this is not the norm. Also, these fairytale clinical positions do not come simply with your Pharm-D. Remember every new grad has a Pharm-D now. So, you have to do 4 years of pharmacy school plus 1 year general residencey and a year specialty. So, now you are at 6 years to hopefully get a monday-friday no weekend or holiday job. Trust me the Knowledge is good, but the field has a long way to go. I have my Pharm-D as well as an MPH, but I prefer the hands on work where you get to use your pharm knowledge.

 

[wyandotterph]

By the way,

Most ICU's will take you right after nursing school if you were an ICU pharmacy specialist

 

[boost]

To original poster and all the rest, good luck! I'm also RN (well new grad RN) going for pharmD!

 

[Dare2dream22]

Hi everyone! I"m so glad that I'm not the only one who is shifting their career from RN to pharmD. I'm a new grad RN and have always been interested in pharmacy. Good luck to everybody! If this is what you all truly want, just go for it.

 

[Sgiles223]

RNtoPharmD did you get in to pharmacy school? I know this is over a year old thread. But I am going to graduate from nursing school with my BSN in December, however I feel that pharmacy is where I should be. If you got in did you find that being a RN helped or hindered your chances? Thanks for the info.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

RNtoPharmD did you get in to pharmacy school? I know this is over a year old thread. But I am going to graduate from nursing school with my BSN in December, however I feel that pharmacy is where I should be. If you got in did you find that being a RN helped or hindered your chances? Thanks for the info.

yeah.. I got in but I haven't started yet.
.. No it didn't hinder my chance at all. I "felt" that some interviewers "seemed" to be impressed when I mentioned about my view of hospital pharmacists as RN, and I was able to boast about my nursing expereince in the personal statement/essays. Besides these, I don't think being a nurse gave me any other advantages.

But believe me, the TWO major things are PCAT and GPA!! I didn't get interviews/acceptance at some schools until I boosted up my PCAT score.
If your GPA is great, then go ahead and apply to non-PCAT school.

The only thing about nursing that hinder my chance was that I do felt unmotivated to study for PCAT when working full-time as nurse. I was tired and lacked energy to study on my dayoff. I would recommend that you start studying for PCAT now while you're still in school. Once you start working, you might be busy with training as a new grad and you might not be able to concentrate on the test..

 

[RN13]

Hi everyone! I am so glad to have found you all! I am an RN and have been a nurse for 2 years now working in the neonatal ICU. I have always been interested in pharmacy, but at the time i was choosing my major and debating between pharmacy vs. nursing, I opted for the quicker and "easier" route, which I greatly regret! I felt much pressure at that time to decide on a major quickly, and regret not having taken more time to think things through.

Throughout nursing school I had butterflies in my stomach thinking that I had made a mistake in choosing nursing as a career. However, after all that i had went through in applying and getting into a good nursing program, i stuck with it hoping and thinking things will be different once i graduate and that i might end up liking it.. and that i'd also have the option of continuing my education to become a nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist if i get tired of bedside nursing (which now i realize neither of those options is something i want to pursue).

Pharmacy school is constantly on the back of my mind now and has been for the longest time. I still have some pharmacy prereq's that i have to take...(physics, communications, gen chem2, and orgo..plus, PCATs) I work three 12 hour night shifts a week and wondering how i'll ever be able to finish my prereq's and study for pcats with my work schedule... I want to get all these prereq classes out of the way as soon as possible, so that I can possibly start pharmacy school in 2010 at the latest...I am 25 and my clock is ticking...

I feel overhwhelmed as fall classes will be starting soon and wondering how i can go about fitting these pre-req's into my work schedule...if i should go part-time(may still be hard since i am working nights..and day shift is not an option for me on this particular unit)/per diem(work twice a month)/ or quit my job and find another one?(may be difficult as jobs are limited in a neonatal unit and that is my only experience)... Also, my year-end review with my manager is this week, and she will be away on maternity leave real soon, so i would like to let her know at that time about any changes i want to make to my schedule... but not sure how i can do so without letting her know my reason for doing so...Wondering what you all think? And if your managers know that you are pursuing pharmacy? any suggestions/advice is very much appreciated!

 

[RNtoPharmD]

RN13,

I would suggest you to be straightforward with manager about going to school. If she is not supportive about your decision, you can quit the job and find other jobs that are more flexible. There're weekend options jobs that will allow you to take any classes at anytime you want during weekdays. It's better to know her attitude about it now so that you'll know if you should change jobs later on.

I think nursing is a profession that is relatively supportive about advancing your education. Where I used to work, there were 2-3 nurses that was going to school (for BSN, Interior design, and taking college courses pre-CRNA). The manager was able to arrange the schedule that accommodate them.
If she is not supportive about your decision, I am sure you can find a new job with that 2 year of neonatal experience! In my area, there's agency ICU nursing job that pay >$40. I am not sure about neonatal. Would you want a less desirable but flexible job that allow you to go back to school??
I don't really like my current job either (cardiac tele) but it allow me to go back to school during weekdays. Do you have enough saving now to just work PRN and go to school FULL time for a few months? It's a trade off but it depends on your financial situation and priority.

I think you can go back to neonatal ICU later after finishing up the pre-req because you already have "2" years of experience on it.

Good luck!!

 

[ruth265]

$40 an hour is good. How much do DNP make? If I was a nurse I would do DNP (doctor of nursing practice) i think it's much easier to get in and you are like physician

RN13,

I would suggest you to be straightforward with manager about going to school. If she is not supportive about your decision, you can quit the job and find other jobs that are more flexible. There're weekend options jobs that will allow you to take any classes at anytime you want during weekdays. It's better to know her attitude about it now so that you'll know if you should change jobs later on.

I think nursing is a profession that is relatively supportive about advancing your education. Where I used to work, there were 2-3 nurses that was going to school (for BSN, Interior design, and taking college courses pre-CRNA). The manager was able to arrange the schedule that accommodate them.
If she is not supportive about your decision, I am sure you can find a new job with that 2 year of neonatal experience! In my area, there's agency ICU nursing job that pay >$40. I am not sure about neonatal. Would you want a less desirable but flexible job that allow you to go back to school??
I don't really like my current job either (cardiac tele) but it allow me to go back to school during weekdays. Do you have enough saving now to just work PRN and go to school FULL time for a few months? It's a trade off but it depends on your financial situation and priority.

I think you can go back to neonatal ICU later after finishing up the pre-req because you already have "2" years of experience on it.

Good luck!!

 

[RNtoPharmD]

$40 an hour is good. How much do DNP make? If I was a nurse I would do DNP (doctor of nursing practice) i think it's much easier to get in and you are like physician

yeah.. but that $40/hr is unusual in my area, and it is per-diem job for "specialty ICU area" with agency. Pharmacist makes much more than that for agency, I think.
New-grad nurses only make around $22/hr here. but if you work night/weekend, you can expect $4-5 dollar more for shift differential.

I don't know about the salary of DNP, sorry. I am not interested. I am tired of nursing theory/model of care in BSN. I would like to study something much more technical and scientific. I just don't want to give you a wrong impression here. It may not be what I think, so if you want to pursue it, go for it!

I know that sometime bedside nurses in certain specialty (eg ICU) with experience get paid more than nurse practioners (master level) but they certainly work much harder.

Even if I make $100/hr, I still won't stay in bedside nursing.

 

[Sgiles223]

I agree with you about the nursing theory/model of care stuff. I am 74 days and counting towards graduation and can't wait!! That stuff sounds good on book but in real life you barely have time to chart I&Os before the end of your shift! I took your advice and got a PCAT review book to look at now and as soon as I pass that pesky NCLEX I will focus on getting to Pharm school ASAP. It doesn't make since to go to school for the same amount of time to get you DSN and your PharmD but the pay, respect, autonomy is so different. Don't be a NP, become a Pharmacist, your pay check will be bigger. Np's will be paid the same with a doctorates as a masters.

 

[Tx Gal]

Hey fellow RN's.... I am Nurse who also got tired of Nursing and I am now in Pharmacy School in the North East. Like someone said make time for those pre requisites and do what you have to do.Its one life! oh and I'm 26 turning 27 this Dec so 25 is not a biggie. I started this fall.

 

[OX82]

I am also a nurse with a BSN x 2 yrs. I knew I wanted to be a pharmacist since my 1st yr of college. I am FINALLY ready to go take the few prereqs that expired, and hopefully be accepted for fall 2011 admission. At that time, i will be 28. Life is too short to be in a career that makes you miserable. Follow your dreams!!

 

[OX82]

Hey fellow RN's.... I am Nurse who also got tired of Nursing and I am now in Pharmacy School in the North East. Like someone said make time for those pre requisites and do what you have to do.Its one life! oh and I'm 26 turning 27 this Dec so 25 is not a biggie. I started this fall.

hi, what school did you get into?

 

[will7678]

Its nice to see that other RNs have made it into pharmacy school. I just finished my pharmcas application and hope to start in 2010. I got my associates degree 2 years ago and have been working as an RN in an ICU ever since. I originally was going to go the CRNA route as well and immediately started taking bachelor's level nursing classes. It only took me one semester of that to realize that I hated all of my classes that I was going to have to take and switched to a chemistry major. So for any of the nurses in pharmacy school right now have you been able to keep working at all while in school to make extra money?

 

[Tx Gal]

hi, what school did you get into?

Sorry Never come to this site! I went to Mass College of Pharmacy for convenience..can be quite a kicker since its accelerated...Oh and I still work every other weekend or so. Not bad.

 

[jessica77]

hii
I am in nursing school right now. I will be graduating this fall. I always wanted to do PharmD, but I dont know how I ended up in nusring school. I did not like it though. I have some pre-req to complete to apply to a pharmacy school. I was thinking that I should drop my last sem i.e. fall, 2010 and work on my pre-req to apply to a pharmacy school for fall 2010. I was thinking to complete my last sem for nursing in spring 2011. With lots of things gng on in my mind, I dont know whether it is a good decision to drop one sem and then restart. Will it affect my pharm admission in a positive or negative way? I already have another bachelors in science and nursing is my second bachelors. One thing I wanna mention is that I have about $ 50,000 loan, so I dont knw going to pharmacy school with so mush debt is ok or not?
Can anyone help with this? I would really aprreciate your suggestions/

 

[rxlea]

First of all, why did you pursue nursing in the first place? 50K is a LOT of debt. Nurses make pretty good money so why not stick with that? You have to consider your opportunity cost. 4 years of pharm school is 4 years of salary lost as a nurse unless you plan to work part-time. Then, even if you did go to a state school, your debt would be around 100K for just pharmacy school depending on your lifestyle. That's if you ever get in. Plus, if you don't have any pre-reqs done, that is another 2 years...so 6 years without a good nursing salary, plus the 100K for pharmacy school, the 50K from undergrad accruing interest.

Why PharmD?

Not trying to be doom and gloom or anything but PharmD has really gotta be your passion to totally jump ship on your nursing degree when you're almost done.

 

[Tx Gal]

@Jessica- Pharmacy school can be quite engaging mentally. ..but its all but a mental adjustment! I am not sure how your last semester of Nursing school-( if in 2011) will work when you have to meet last semester requirements(for nursing) and attend interviews(pharmacy).

If really determined, you can do that but upfront it might be stressful...if time is an important factor, buckle up and just do what you have to. Downside- you will be one stressed girl! Graduating nursing school is one thing, trying to adjust to a new work environment as a nurse is even more stressful-unbelievable. So by all means that break would be well worth it, even though you pushed going to pharm an year later.....upside- you will not be in school forever ...

If by any chance you decide to go to pharm school, don't waste your time with a crazy hard stressful floor..I know all the hogwash people will say oh start in a good place and that will help in pharmacy school...honestly its a different world...its all about guidelines that change every so often....I am not sure what you like but start narrowing down on what areas you can work eg post partum, tele etc...

Also the 50k debt is quite an amount---I agree with rxlea- think of the cost benefit too whenever you have to decide. Pharm school will run you into serious debt too so be very wise about that!

Good luck!

 

[jessica77]

@Jessica- Pharmacy school can be quite engaging mentally. ..but its all but a mental adjustment! I am not sure how your last semester of Nursing school-( if in 2011) will work when you have to meet last semester requirements(for nursing) and attend interviews(pharmacy).

If really determined, you can do that but upfront it might be stressful...if time is an important factor, buckle up and just do what you have to. Downside- you will be one stressed girl! Graduating nursing school is one thing, trying to adjust to a new work environment as a nurse is even more stressful-unbelievable. So by all means that break would be well worth it, even though you pushed going to pharm an year later.....upside- you will not be in school forever ...

If by any chance you decide to go to pharm school, don't waste your time with a crazy hard stressful floor..I know all the hogwash people will say oh start in a good place and that will help in pharmacy school...honestly its a different world...its all about guidelines that change every so often....I am not sure what you like but start narrowing down on what areas you can work eg post partum, tele etc...

Also the 50k debt is quite an amount---I agree with rxlea- think of the cost benefit too whenever you have to decide. Pharm school will run you into serious debt too so be very wise about that!

Good luck!

thanx a lot..
one thing I wanna mention is that my first degree is in pharmacy from a foreign country. When I moved to U.S, everyone bursted on me with their suggestions of going to nursing school, but now I am really stuck up doing it and I want to do pharmD. When I started nursing I thought of doing Advanced degree, but now I dont see myself there. if I go to pharmacy school it will be far way more than 100k, but in the long run will it not be better over advanced degree in nursing.
May be you suggestions can be some more help to me .

 

[jessica77]

First of all, why did you pursue nursing in the first place? 50K is a LOT of debt. Nurses make pretty good money so why not stick with that? You have to consider your opportunity cost. 4 years of pharm school is 4 years of salary lost as a nurse unless you plan to work part-time. Then, even if you did go to a state school, your debt would be around 100K for just pharmacy school depending on your lifestyle. That's if you ever get in. Plus, if you don't have any pre-reqs done, that is another 2 years...so 6 years without a good nursing salary, plus the 100K for pharmacy school, the 50K from undergrad accruing interest.

Why PharmD?

Not trying to be doom and gloom or anything but PharmD has really gotta be your passion to totally jump ship on your nursing degree when you're almost done.

thanx a lot..
one thing I wanna mention is that my first degree is in pharmacy from a foreign country. When I moved to U.S. I changed my career to nursing cuz pharmD was way too long and I was thinking of doing advanced degree in nursing, but now this is what I dont wanna do...for the pre-req I have many pre-req done, I need about 1-2 sem, so in the long run what will be better pharmd or advanced degree in nursing (I am not much interested in nursing).
My main concern is 50k loan, and for the pharmacy school loan will be way higher than 100k.

 

[pharmdout]

wow its like this thread was a message from God...I'm a nurse that is gonna start pharm school this Fall and I had a hard time deciding between pharm, PA/NP or crna school but I think I would really excel in a more scientific environment that emphasizes teaching and knowledge and which is why I chose pharm esp since my first degree was Molec Bio...

crna just seemed like a stressful situation even if it just for a short amount of time each week and I am not that good with procedures so I'm not sure how proficient I would be in intubating, putting lines or epidurals etc...

np/pa always seem like you have to be cowtowing to the physician, or you have to be an fnp and deal with colds and women's issues most of your career or be an acute care np and see all these residents and doctors pass you by as you know you work way harder and know more than them as the years go by making half of what they earn...and just constantly reexplaining myself and imagining myself when I'm 60 and having to state that no I'm not a doctor but I can prescribe for you etc to no end just kinda turned me off and yeah having to finish a BSN with all that nursing theory was not appealing so...

Pharm, I know for sure will at least be interesting the next 3 years of study, even though it will be way expensive the goal of doing clinical pharmacy is gonna be an interesting journey ...You may not be an equal to an MD but I consider Pharm D's consultants coz you would know more about meds than doctors do so in that aspect you are the expert...and at least I have nursing to fall back on...hoping to hear from more RN's going into pharm to reaffirm ourselves despite the bleak job outlook for pharms right now

 

[jessica77]

wow its like this thread was a message from God...I'm a nurse that is gonna start pharm school this Fall and I had a hard time deciding between pharm, PA/NP or crna school but I think I would really excel in a more scientific environment that emphasizes teaching and knowledge and which is why I chose pharm esp since my first degree was Molec Bio...

crna just seemed like a stressful situation even if it just for a short amount of time each week and I am not that good with procedures so I'm not sure how proficient I would be in intubating, putting lines or epidurals etc...

np/pa always seem like you have to be cowtowing to the physician, or you have to be an fnp and deal with colds and women's issues most of your career or be an acute care np and see all these residents and doctors pass you by as you know you work way harder and know more than them as the years go by making half of what they earn...and just constantly reexplaining myself and imagining myself when I'm 60 and having to state that no I'm not a doctor but I can prescribe for you etc to no end just kinda turned me off and yeah having to finish a BSN with all that nursing theory was not appealing so...

Pharm, I know for sure will at least be interesting the next 3 years of study, even though it will be way expensive the goal of doing clinical pharmacy is gonna be an interesting journey ...You may not be an equal to an MD but I consider Pharm D's consultants coz you would know more about meds than doctors do so in that aspect you are the expert...and at least I have nursing to fall back on...hoping to hear from more RN's going into pharm to reaffirm ourselves despite the bleak job outlook for pharms right now

hey!!!!!!!!
Good luck with your school.
I want to know which school are you going to attend. How did you prepare for it? I am kinda confused about taking so much loan for pharmacy school so...but i really wanna do it. I am currently doing bachelor in nursing, which is my second degree. I am kinda confused with my career at this point cuz although I am doing nursing but I wanna do pharmacy and thats what my major was with first degree.
How much loan are planning to take?