Can a couple pursue careers in pharmacy and stay together?

[crayons]

I've browsed and searched the forums and found that most of the relationship problems discussed regard medical students and doctors. However, I have questions regarding the life of current and aspiring pharmacists. Although not all these questions may apply to you, any insights, comments or suggestions are appreciated.

How hard is it for 2 undergraduates from the same college to get accepted in the same pharmacy school in the same year?

Does pharmacy school and the career itself put strains on relationships, especially if it’s like a double pharmacist relationship? My SO and I both dislike the idea of having limited time for one another and emails, letters, and phone calls alone just won’t cut it.

And finally..

What other career alternatives in the medical field that allows the both of us to stay together?



Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Phlame217]

its all in how strong you are. No one can tell you what can and cant keep you together. I have two customers at the pharmacy I am at who are twin sisters, both single, both pharmacists, and they both work for hospitals, seperate ones though; they also live together.

Another experience, my uncle is a night-shift pharmacist at a hospital pharmacy and his wife(my aunt) is a high level attourney who is constantly travelling and only home about every other week during days.

my point? decide what you can handle for yourself.

 

[ZpackSux]

Longevity of your relationship has very little to do with pharmacy school.

But I do know many nurses are divorced.

 

[sdn1977]

I've browsed and searched the forums and found that most of the relationship problems discussed regard medical students and doctors. However, I have questions regarding the life of current and aspiring pharmacists. Although not all these questions may apply to you, any insights, comments or suggestions are appreciated.

How hard is it for 2 undergraduates from the same college to get accepted in the same pharmacy school in the same year?

Does pharmacy school and the career itself put strains on relationships, especially if it’s like a double pharmacist relationship? My SO and I both dislike the idea of having limited time for one another and emails, letters, and phone calls alone just won’t cut it.

And finally..

What other career alternatives in the medical field that allows the both of us to stay together?



Thanks.

I dunno about both of you getting accepted to the same school - I guess that can happen & would depend on how good each of you are as students. I wouldn't mention it in any application or interview process because it has no bearing whatsoever & would actually act as a "negative" factor.

This would be different when applying for a residency together AND you were married.

As for careers & stresses on family life. Yes - its there. I married a dentist & for years before we had kids & it was easy. He had his professional life & I had mine. If our CE was in a "fun" location, we'd just arrange to have time off to go together.

But...when kids come along, everything changes. But - its no harder for a medical combo couple than it is for a teacher married to an electrician or any other combination you can think of. There are times when it works & times when it doesn't.

For my own family life, we had to decide early when our kids were little, what "basket" our eggs were going to be in - in other words, whose career would have to take a step back if & when necessary, for the other one. No all couples have that flexibility. I'm very grateful we did.

For us - it was my job. My husband is a solo practioner & owns several hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment & employs several people. It requires a level of income to keep paying that off....and, most people want to see their dentist at the end of the day. So - that meant he couldn't pick the kids up from daycare, take them to this or that practice. I couldn't do all that either, so many times, they didn't do soccer or t ball unless it hapened on a Sat or Sun when he was off. He would always drop the kids off since I was at work at 6AM, but I picked them up.

Can it work - yes! Is it stressful - absolutely yes! Do you have to make compromises - yep.

I guess you gotta decide how mature your relationship is or will be down the road. There will be many times when you won't be together since work will force you apart just by scheduling.

The time you spend in school & the compromises you must make there are miniscule to the compromises you'll have to make the rest of your lives.

Good luck!

 

[sdn1977]

I think tussionex is married to a pharmacist - you can pm her.

 

[ForcedEntry]

My GF is pre-med and I start pharm school in a week. We know the possibility of her leaving is real. Will we stay together? Who the heck knows. We both like to think we will, but we are both pragmatic and know we can't predict the future.

But I do know many nurses are divorced.

coughbitchcough

 

[PharmDstudent]

My GF is pre-med and I start pharm school in a week. We know the possibility of her leaving is real. Will we stay together? Who the heck knows. We both like to think we will, but we are both pragmatic and know we can't predict the future.




coughbitchcough

yeah Z, what's with the nurse comment? I thought I was the only one who liked to bash nurses for their relationships.
It serves those divorced golddiggers right.

 

[ZpackSux]

yeah Z, what's with the nurse comment? I thought I was the only one who liked to bash nurses for their relationships.
It serves those divorced golddiggers right.

c'mon now... I love my nurses..

 

[PharmDstudent]

c'mon now... I love my nurses..

All roses have thorns.

You'll love them even more when they play Pick 3 the night you're in the hospital. Here's how the game goes, they pick any three random drugs out of the Pyxis drawer for their specialty cocktails. Once they serve up the cocktails, they get to "see what happens". Oh, and since you're a pharmacist, they'll probably throw in an injection for good measure.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

 

[WVUPharm2007]

We do well. If we ever fight, the fact that we are both in pharmacy school or work in pharmacies is never the issue or cause. It's usually because I forgot to take the trash out or do the dishes....

 

[Jitaka]

My SO and I both dislike the idea of having limited time for one another and emails, letters, and phone calls alone just won’t cut it.

What other career alternatives in the medical field that allows the both of us to stay together?

The ending of a relationship seems to be the trend for those going into the medical profession.

My boyfriend is chasing after a career in law and I (obviously) intend to pursue pharmacy. He and I both recently graduated from undergrad. He'll be starting law school at Penn State come next August and I will (hopefully) be starting pharmacy school (somewhere) next August.

I honestly thought that he and I would end it when we graduated; however, we decided to see if we could make this relationship work. It is most likely that I will be attending pharmacy school somewhere in Florida while he'll be in Pennsylvania - long distance relationship (fun).

crayons, be honest with yourself, if the two you dislike the idea of "of having limited time for one another" then your relationship won't last. It takes work to make something last.....

 

[janeno]

I think it is possible for both people to get into the same pharmacy school in the same year, but as someone said before it depends what kind of students you are and what that pharmacy school is looking for.

However, you also need to decide what is more important for you in life. Is it more important for you to stay together or to be in a pharmacy school? If staying together plays a bigger role in your life, there might be a chance that one of you might have to sacrifice a pharmacy career if both of you are not accepted to the same pharm school. If having a career in pharmacy is a priority and both of you get accepted into different schools, then you might have to go for a long distance relationship or break it off .

It all comes down to what your priorities are in life .

 

[pharmboy30]

We do well. If we ever fight, the fact that we are both in pharmacy school or work in pharmacies is never the issue or cause. It's usually because I forgot to take the trash out or do the dishes....

^^
my girlfriend and I are both working pharmacists. we're doing fine.

 

[tussionex]

tuss is married to a pharmacist. we worked the IV room together today, as he doesn't usually make TPN's at my hospital and wanted to learn how to use our machine.
one of the techs asked if it was weird working together. well, we met in a pharmacy and have always done, pre and post marriage. i guess it works b/c we dont really know any different. and, we're pretty mellow people.

the best part is that we can ask each other to do stuff..ie make something, enter orders, fix something for the other and we both know it's going to be done right.

 

[twester]

If the Soviet Council of People's Commisars says that two pharmacists will get married, then you'd better believe they'll stay together. Otherwise, it's off to the gulag.

Um... What were we talking about?

 

[crayons]

Thanks for your replies everyone. After reading them, I've given this some thought.

If my SO and I can't get into the same pharmacy school, would it be wise if I put my pharmacy career on hold? Meaning.. that I move with him to whatever pharmacy school he's accepted into and try applying that that school again the next year?

If that's a considerable option, what can I do during the time when he's in school?

Note that I'm working on getting a BS degree in either chem or biochem, but I don't know many jobs that are offered for these majors or how easily obtainable they are.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Thanks for your replies everyone. After reading them, I've given this some thought.

If my SO and I can't get into the same pharmacy school, would it be wise if I put my pharmacy career on hold? Meaning.. that I move with him to whatever pharmacy school he's accepted into and try applying that that school again the next year?
If that's a considerable option, what can I do during the time when he's in school?
Note that I'm working on getting a BS degree in either chem or biochem, but I don't know many jobs that are offered for these majors or how easily obtainable they are.

After you would graduate in chem or biochem, get your MBA or MHA! You could use both of those masters degrees with a PharmD. In fact, I'm thinking about getting a MBA/MHA after I graduate.

 

[sdn1977]

Thanks for your replies everyone. After reading them, I've given this some thought.

If my SO and I can't get into the same pharmacy school, would it be wise if I put my pharmacy career on hold? Meaning.. that I move with him to whatever pharmacy school he's accepted into and try applying that that school again the next year?

If that's a considerable option, what can I do during the time when he's in school?

Note that I'm working on getting a BS degree in either chem or biochem, but I don't know many jobs that are offered for these majors or how easily obtainable they are.

No!!! You go seek your career & he seeks his. You invest in a good cell phone plan & budget in plane tickets.


MSIII has done this for going on 3 years now (she's building up FF miles for residency applications). It can work - but, you can't make him keep loving you - or vice versa.

Nothing is ever perfect & certainly not relationships. There's always a bump in the road - as WVU says - trash, dishes.....heck sometimes even kids & homework make you crazy - who knows - even a job (oh yeah - thats me right now).

I've been working 23 days straight - my husband isn't even sure he's married, but he's been out of the "game" so long, he doesn't know what to do (oh & the wedding ring won't come off).

Talk about it, work on it (relationships take work!). Women talk & men don't want to. Also...don't worry so much. If he loves you, he'll stick by, if not - well then, you were building a fortress on sand (or whatever the saying is).

Good luck - but don't give up who you are for an SO. He should want you to be the best you want of yourself - whever that might take you for a few years.

Ask yourself - if he were going to Iraq for 4 years.....would you give up???

 

[drho2009]

there's a couple in my class that have made it through two years of pharmacy school together already. I have a feeling they are going to last. It pretty much depends on you and your relationship.

 

[PharmDstudent]

If he loves you, he'll stick by, if not - well then, you were building a fortress on sand (or whatever the saying is).

That's the best one yet!

Oh... and I was trying to address the concern about wait time. If she can't get into the pharmacy school, then I think she should get her masters. The best thing would be to get her masters at the same university as the pharmacy school if she wants to be close to him.

I just remembered, it's "building a fortress out of sand".

 

[twester]

Thanks for your replies everyone. After reading them, I've given this some thought.

If my SO and I can't get into the same pharmacy school, would it be wise if I put my pharmacy career on hold? Meaning.. that I move with him to whatever pharmacy school he's accepted into and try applying that that school again the next year?

If that's a considerable option, what can I do during the time when he's in school?

Note that I'm working on getting a BS degree in either chem or biochem, but I don't know many jobs that are offered for these majors or how easily obtainable they are.

I'd advise that you take a look at what you want and decide how badly you want it.

Edit: I'm sorry, but why would you put your dreams on hold if he gets into pharm school first? Would he do that for you if you got in first? No, he wouldn't - few men would. He'd keep working towards getting in. Why would you do any different?

(I'm assuming that you're female. Sorry if I'm mistaken, but what I said still holds.)

 

[PharmDstudent]

I'd advise that you take a look at what you want and decide how badly you want it.

Edit: I'm sorry, but why would you put your dreams on hold if he gets into pharm school first? Would he do that for you if you got in first? No, he wouldn't - few men would. He'd keep working towards getting in. Why would you do any different?

(I'm assuming that you're female. Sorry if I'm mistaken, but what I said still holds.)

Pharmacy may not be her "end all". Obviously she's interested in other disciplines, because she took more than just the pre-reqs. I agree that she should work harder towards getting in if she doesn't get accepted. In my opinion though, getting an advanced degree would fulfill that.
I think it's a waste of time for people to sit around and retake pre-reqs that they got a "B" in. I know people who have done that, and they failed to get accepted again.
If she doesn't have pharmacy experience, she should definitely look into gaining some before she reapplies.

 

[Jitaka]

...If my SO and I can't get into the same pharmacy school, would it be wise if I put my pharmacy career on hold? ....

Don't put your life on hold for anyone!

 

[mustang sally]

If you really want to go to pharmacy school, then go to pharmacy school (assuming you get accepted). I would not recommend putting your career on hold for any man, unless possibly you were married. Men come and go, and even marriage is no guarantee. I've done the long distance thing several times before while we were away at different schools. One of my LDRs turned into my now fantabulous marriage. So I guess if its meant to work, it will work. But don't throw your career away for a man, no matter how wonderful he seems!

 

[Quiksilver]

interesting question. Time will only tell my friend. i was in a similar situation that you are in. My gf is in medical school and i am in pharmacy. We both tried to go to the same school. Ironically, i got accepted into the college she didn't and visa versa. Her classes started just recently and its been a tough adjustment since we have been together since we first started undergrad. I am used to her being in all my classes, even working with her at the same job. So it is an adjustment

But with that being said, I think we are doing a fine job adjusting. We are both committed to each other and things are going smoothly. Its still tough adjusting but to be honest, we both will be very very busy with school that i don't think we will want to argue over petty garbage. We are each other's support system. I know i help her get by and she does the same. Its a nice thing to have. But we are both committed to developing our own careers in our respective careers, that takes preference.

 

[Hels2007]

In the class before mine there was a couple. They were married before applying to pharmacy school, they went through pharmacy school, and they are still married and now floating for the same Walgreen's district. I don't think it matters...

 

[crayons]

Thanks for your input everyone.

Does anyone else have any other options for us to stay together?


And.. I know this depends on each student's academic profile, but what if my SO and I both have similar profiles from the same undergraduate school. How often in the past did students from the same undergrad school with similar academic profiles get accepted into the same pharmacy school (Preferably for UOP or UCSD in California)

 

[crayons]

bump

 

[njac]

there's an engaged couple in my class who came together from out of state. I heard rumor but I doubt it's true that one was accepted and said they would only come if the other was accepted as well.

I think that's kind of a ballsy move but whatever.

my bf is applying to pharm school this fall/spring. so he would be a 1st year during my 4th. And assuming I do a specialty residency, I'll be finally working when he gets to his 4th year. So we'll see.

 

[Quiksilver]

school just started and there is a couple that has been together for a long time in my class. There are others like in my shoes too, people who have significant others in other graduate institutions. It is possible. It is doable.

 

[gaba101]

Can a couple pursue careers in pharmacy and stay together?

I don't understand the reasoning behind your concern:
what makes you think a couple cannot pursue careers in pharmacy and stay together?

during the school years, if you're one of those clingity mushy girlfriends who needs their boyfriends 24/7, then you're not going to make it. these girls are mushy, holds hands everywhere in public, expects big gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, etc basically the type of girlfriend who needs the boyfriend there 24/7. if this is indeed you and your boyfriend goes to pharmacy school across the country, i can tell the relationship won't last. i know plenty of couples pursuing all sorts of health careers long-distance!

during actual working years in your actual career, why can't a couple pursue careers in pharmacy and stay together? I know plenty.

again, what are you worrying about? there's plenty to worry about in life so don't add stress to your life! if it works it works! if it doesn't, it doesn't. there's plenty to worry about when you get to pharmacy school.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

Several of the pharmacists I work or have worked with are married to pharmacists. Most of them met in pharmacy school and got married either towards the end or after school. All but one of them have children now. Two of the female pharmacists (who have children) work part time while their husbands work full time. Most of them have been married for I'm guessing around 10 years.

I certainly think it's doable. Pharmacy is not really any more demanding than a whole host of other careers out there.

 

[JerryPharmD]

Here's an interesting little tidbit...

There was a male/female couple that was interviewing on the same day last year (I don't know what program it was for). They had a child that couldn't have been older than 3 months. They were both dressed up in suits and had a stroller. One would care for the child while the other was being interviewed.

As for married parents/students, my wife and I decided for me to go to grad/professional school. I ask her and even encourage her that if she wants to go to graduate psychology school, I'd be more than happy to take on more responsibilities. She's happy with being a stay-at-home mom for our daughter and future progeny.

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

Dont know if your question has already been answered but...IMHO its easier. My wife and I got accepted to the same pharm school and just started our 2nd year and so far we're kicking a$$. As far as being easy to get accepted to the same school; that'll depend on your GPA, PCAT scores etc, but we only applied to a very limited # of schools --a personal decision for us and (thank God) we got in 1st try...but we Definitely paid our dues to get in!! As far as a relationship; for us, Its easy in the sense that you have each other thru' a very stressful time. Not to mention, Same school schedules, similar work schedules, We get vacation @ the same time...Great for last minute escapes on Cheaptickets!! From what I see, other couples have it much harder because they have to deal w/ the stress of school + the stress of either the other person feeling neglected or the stress of dating. But hey, its not for everyone. I can only speak for myself and my relationship. If you dont mind being w/ your s.o. basically 24/7 (Honestly It doesnt bother us! For some odd reason we really LIKE being around each other...go figure) then go for it...Bottom line. it'll work if both of you WANT it to work. {PS we dont have any kids so that might help in reducing any stress in our situation}

I've browsed and searched the forums and found that most of the relationship problems discussed regard medical students and doctors. However, I have questions regarding the life of current and aspiring pharmacists. Although not all these questions may apply to you, any insights, comments or suggestions are appreciated.

How hard is it for 2 undergraduates from the same college to get accepted in the same pharmacy school in the same year?

Does pharmacy school and the career itself put strains on relationships, especially if it’s like a double pharmacist relationship? My SO and I both dislike the idea of having limited time for one another and emails, letters, and phone calls alone just won’t cut it.

And finally..

What other career alternatives in the medical field that allows the both of us to stay together?



Thanks.

 

[DrZion]

D*** you could not have said it better. Was so impressed and touched reading this.

No!!! You go seek your career & he seeks his. You invest in a good cell phone plan & budget in plane tickets.


MSIII has done this for going on 3 years now (she's building up FF miles for residency applications). It can work - but, you can't make him keep loving you - or vice versa.

Nothing is ever perfect & certainly not relationships. There's always a bump in the road - as WVU says - trash, dishes.....heck sometimes even kids & homework make you crazy - who knows - even a job (oh yeah - thats me right now).

I've been working 23 days straight - my husband isn't even sure he's married, but he's been out of the "game" so long, he doesn't know what to do (oh & the wedding ring won't come off).

Talk about it, work on it (relationships take work!). Women talk & men don't want to. Also...don't worry so much. If he loves you, he'll stick by, if not - well then, you were building a fortress on sand (or whatever the saying is).

Good luck - but don't give up who you are for an SO. He should want you to be the best you want of yourself - whever that might take you for a few years.

Ask yourself - if he were going to Iraq for 4 years.....would you give up???