Bachelor's Degree Before PharmD

Started by Ns96
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Ns96

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Hello! Does the absence of a Bachelor's Degree affect a PharmD's job opportunities or make them any less of a pharmacist? I find it strange when people say that people might not hire pharmacists without a Bachelor's degree... It's like saying a person with a Master's can't work without having an associates. What are your opinions on this? Has this affected anyone you in know in this situation?
 
My pharmacy program was 6 years, 2 years of pre-pharmacy then 4 year of pharmacy. I have heard of a BS in science helping to get untraditional student into pharmacy school. But once you get a PharmD, it doesn't matter what you had before. A BS and a PharmD typically wouldn't give someone an edge over a PharmD. But with the way the job market is going you basically have to kill someone to get in.
 
Depends on what you want to do after you get a PharmD. In the not uncommon chance you decide you want to switch gears and apply to medical school after completing pharmacy school, practically all medical schools require you have a bachelor's degree, and only some will waive that requirement for someone who has a PharmD only. I have yet to hear of a graduate program (not medical school) that won't waive the bachelor's degree requirement for someone with a PharmD only, but I have heard that graduate programs that do not have experience with applicants who have a PharmD only usually need some convincing / don't have an administrative process built-in to their system, and need to create one. This is usually a non-issue, but can be an additional hurdle.

Some pharmacy schools recognize this problem, and have a BS program built into their PharmD program. The usual set up is students who don't have a BS degree can petition to get one after they complete the first couple of years of the PharmD curriculum. It might be worth inquiring if your pharmacy school has such a program, and consider taking advantage of it if you want to make it easier to jump ship from the pharmacy profession down the road. In terms of pharmacist-specific jobs (i.e. jobs that require a pharmacist license), having a bachelor's in addition to a PharmD doesn't give you any edge. Maybe if you majored in something unique or eccentric it can serve as a conversation starter and might make you stand out a bit from the crowd, but that's a pretty insignificant advantage overall.

In short, getting a bachelor's will make it easier to get into medical school or other graduate programs, and it provides a bit of a safety net if you end up deciding not to finish pharmacy school.
 
If you're going to finish the PharmD, I wouldn't worry about this at all. You have enough things to worry about.