Until pharmacists start respecting themselves we wont get respect from society. There are new drugs coming out onto the market every day, and regardless of how "godly" physicians think they are, they can't keep up. They get their drug updates from pharm sales reps who are likely marketing/buis majors who know about as much about their product as is described on the TV ad.
Next, its all about specialization: Physicians diagnose the problem, thats their job. Just because a pharmacist isnt rude to you and is willing to talk to you doesnt mean his/her time or know-how isnt as valuable as a physician's. Physicians are paid by the # of patients they see, they need to rush through everyone because they deal with the same illnesses every day, its mundane, and i dont blame them, if pharms were paid by the # of Rx they dispense rather than by the hour we probably wouldnt have conversations with our customers. But because physicians are working so fast, they get careless. I'm not hating on MDs but seeing some of the prescriptions we get, they forget strengths, quantities, and sometimes even spell the drug name wrong, in the event that its legible that is... So there has to be someone down the chain who can compensate for that, thats the pharmacist. Verifications are part of what we do, and regardless of how arrogant the doctor on the other end is, often times, they do mess up.
A pharmacist is a drug expert, thats his/her job. When a MD rxs insulin to a 70 yr old woman, WE are the ones who explain how to use it. WE are the ones who know what is on the market and whats obsolete, WE are the link between patients and managed care. MDs just hand out the little 4x6 pieces of paper, we have to translate that into something real.
It has nothing to do with not being smart enough to go to medical school, people applying for pharm school have pretty high GPAs too. Maybe 10 yrs ago you could say a pharm is the easy way out, but our admissions process and the amount of competition is crazy too!!
Sorry about the rant, but i just got off work (im just a tech right now) and got yelled at by an MD for not being a pharmacist...because i told her to hold to give a new RX to the pharm...unbelieveable but whatever.
**So in conclusion, don't do MD because you think pharm isnt 'cool enough' and dont do pharm because u think MD is "too hard". Work at a hospital or store and see how u like it, do some shadowing, weigh out your long term goals and then make the decision. Either way you'll have to work your tail off, nothing is easy!!! Good luck!
