Decision between medicine and pharmacy

[Oscurece]

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Hi all,
I’m a pre-med student, accepted to med school for next fall, but I’m thinking about switching to pre-pharmacy. I’m interested in hospital/clinical pharmacy. I’m thinking of switching for two reasons:
1) I feel like the workload in pharmacy school and as a pharmacist, while still considerable, will be less than medicine. I’m hoping to have a 40-50 hour workweek and to be able to go home and get away from my job, and I’m afraid that won’t be possible with medicine.
2) While not adverse to it, I’m not a huge fan of patient interaction, and I feel like as a hospital/clinical pharmacist I will have less patient interaction than as a physician in most specialities.
That sums up the gist of the two reasons. I’d like feedback from you guys on whether my thinking is accurate in these areas. I realize the job market for pharmacy isn’t great but that doesn’t concern me too much. I appreciate any input you guys have.
Thanks so much.

 

[Finches]

Hi all,
I'm a pre-med student, accepted to med school for next fall, but I'm thinking about switching to pre-pharmacy. I'm interested in hospital/clinical pharmacy. I'm thinking of switching for two reasons:
1) I feel like the workload in pharmacy school and as a pharmacist, while still considerable, will be less than medicine. I'm hoping to have a 40-50 hour workweek and to be able to go home and get away from my job, and I'm afraid that won't be possible with medicine.

While there may be a difference between pharmacy school and medical school, there are branches of medical professions that allow for lower work hours as well.


2) While not adverse to it, I'm not a huge fan of patient interaction, and I feel like as a hospital/clinical pharmacist I will have less patient interaction than as a physician in most specialities.

Again, there are a few specialities that seldom engage patients. Plus, there are other venues (research, consulting, etc.) that you could explore with an MD; the degree doesn't obligate you to seeing patients.

That sums up the gist of the two reasons. I'd like feedback from you guys on whether my thinking is accurate in these areas. I realize the job market for pharmacy isn't great but that doesn't concern me too much. I appreciate any input you guys have.
Thanks so much.

To be honest, I'm really surprised that you filled out your application, wrote essays describing your passion for medicine, interviewed at a med school to verbalize this passion, got in, but then now realized that medicine/patient-contact is not your thing.

 

[searun]

Hi all,
I’m a pre-med student, accepted to med school for next fall, but I’m thinking about switching to pre-pharmacy. I’m interested in hospital/clinical pharmacy. I’m thinking of switching for two reasons:
1) I feel like the workload in pharmacy school and as a pharmacist, while still considerable, will be less than medicine. I’m hoping to have a 40-50 hour workweek and to be able to go home and get away from my job, and I’m afraid that won’t be possible with medicine.
2) While not adverse to it, I’m not a huge fan of patient interaction, and I feel like as a hospital/clinical pharmacist I will have less patient interaction than as a physician in most specialities.
That sums up the gist of the two reasons. I’d like feedback from you guys on whether my thinking is accurate in these areas. I realize the job market for pharmacy isn’t great but that doesn’t concern me too much. I appreciate any input you guys have.
Thanks so much.

Yes, the workload as a pharmacy student and pharmacist would be substantially less than the workload of a med student and physician and surgeon, especially a surgeon. And patient interaction would also be much less.

So you are correct. Your income will also be significantly less and personally, I would find being a pharmacist boring. But this is a personal decision. Actually it appears that you might be well suited to a career as a pharmacist. It pays reasonably well, the hours are good, and you will not be overwhelmed by patient interaction that you wish to avoid.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Hi all,
I’m a pre-med student, accepted to med school for next fall, but I’m thinking about switching to pre-pharmacy. I’m interested in hospital/clinical pharmacy. I’m thinking of switching for two reasons:
1) I feel like the workload in pharmacy school and as a pharmacist, while still considerable, will be less than medicine. I’m hoping to have a 40-50 hour workweek and to be able to go home and get away from my job, and I’m afraid that won’t be possible with medicine.

While there may be a difference between pharmacy school and medical school, there are branches of medical professions that allow for lower work hours as well.


2) While not adverse to it, I’m not a huge fan of patient interaction, and I feel like as a hospital/clinical pharmacist I will have less patient interaction than as a physician in most specialities.

Again, there are a few specialities that seldom engage patients. Plus, there are other venues (research, consulting, etc.) that you could explore with an MD; the degree doesn't obligate you to seeing patients.

That sums up the gist of the two reasons. I’d like feedback from you guys on whether my thinking is accurate in these areas. I realize the job market for pharmacy isn’t great but that doesn’t concern me too much. I appreciate any input you guys have.
Thanks so much.

To be honest, I'm really surprised that you filled out your application, wrote essays describing your passion for medicine, interviewed at a med school to verbalize this passion, got in, but then now realized that medicine/patient-contact is not your thing.

Yes, the workload as a pharmacy student and pharmacist would be substantially less than the workload of a med student and physician and surgeon, especially a surgeon. And patient interaction would also be much less.

So you are correct. Your income will also be significantly less and personally, I would find being a pharmacist boring. But this is a personal decision. Actually it appears that you might be well suited to a career as a pharmacist. It pays reasonably well, the hours are good, and you will not be overwhelmed by patient interaction that you wish to avoid.

You are already accepted. I would seriously think this over, before you screw your future up.

 

[flatearth22]

Do you want to spend the rest of your life counting pills or bills?

 

[searun]

You are already accepted. I would seriously think this over, before you screw your future up.

Yes, the OP should definitely think it over carefully - if you turn down your acceptance the bridge will probably be burned forever. But avoid taking on med school debt if you conclude that you probably are not suited to a career as physician.

 

[druggeek]

OP.... you seem to have ZERO knowledge about hospital pharmacy and even more so... zero knowledge about the job market!

Pharmacy is extremely saturated.. do not expect to find a job anywhere if you go and graduate. You can head to the pharmacy forum and read a little bit there...you wont find a job. Period. And it's getting much much worse.

Describe to me what a pharmacist even does in the hospital (clinical) and then think about heading that path.

With that said, I dont think you're serious about being accepted to med school.

 

[DOCTAfoHIRE]

As a pharmacy student about to finish and apply to medical school let me clear up a few misconceptions on this thread:

OP.... you seem to have ZERO knowledge about hospital pharmacy and even more so... zero knowledge about the job market!

Pharmacy is extremely saturated.. do not expect to find a job anywhere if you go and graduate. You can head to the pharmacy forum and read a little bit there...you wont find a job. Period. And it's getting much much worse.

Describe to me what a pharmacist even does in the hospital (clinical) and then think about heading that path.

While the OP probably does not have much knowledge of hospital pharmacy you dont seem to have much knowledge of the area either. Yes pharmacy is getting saturated. But to say that you will not find is a job is a ridiculous exaggeration. I dont know if you are accounting for the time OP will spend in school but the job market is NOT that horrible right now. As a pharmacy student in a saturated state most if not all of my classmates will find jobs pretty quickly. They might not be idea 120k 8am-4pm shifts but there are plenty of jobs out there. For example I know of a hospital in NYC (mega saturated) that is having a ton of problems getting floater pharmacists.

Also there are such people as clinical pharmacists. And their role is far different (incredibly clinical) than the typical hospital pharmacist you are probably thinking of. Not to mention I know pharmacists who staff critical care units and emergency rooms (not clinical pharmacists) who do a lot of clinical work in terms of following patients and examining labs and deciding on appropriate pharmacotherapy for the patient. You wont be at the bedside but there is plenty of clinical knowledge to be learned and used.

Yes, the workload as a pharmacy student and pharmacist would be substantially less than the workload of a med student and physician and surgeon, especially a surgeon. And patient interaction would also be much less.

This type of mentality shows up very frequently on this forum. And trust me, I completely understand where its coming from. However its often not based on too much evidence. Compare medicine to a bio major and say how much more work med students do - thats fine. But please refrain from comparing med school to other professional schools and talking about how 'substantial' their workload is. Have you completed both schools? Do you know pharmacists who have gone to medical school? 'Knowing' a pharmacy student or having 'a friend' isnt enough. I plan on having more work in medical school than I do now. But substantially more? I dont think so. I know many people in my class who study 5-10 hours every single day. And while I will admit that getting an 80 on a med school exam and an 80 on a pharmacy exam are different things, to say that the difference is 'substantial' is ridiculous. Not to mention that most med schools have block scheduling which means that you are only studying for one or two classes at a time. I have seven classes right now, with an exam in a different class every 2-3 days. Im not saying all of those classes are very difficult, but how can you possibly compare such two different workloads?

Also it depends on what you consider patient interaction. Some would say that interacting with customers in a retail pharmacy is patient interaction. You see a patient in the emergency room and they go to the pharmacy and suddenly they arent a patient anymore? Many pharmacists find counseling patients on medications and making recommendations on OTC products to be very rewarding. Also pharmacists working in ambulatory clinics are becoming much more commonplace so thats definitely an area where one would get a good amount of patient interaction.

Ok sorry that was a useless rant.

Oh and OP if you got into med school, stay in med school. You will find a specialty that you enjoy.

 

[druggeek]

As a pharmacy student about to finish and apply to medical school let me clear up a few misconceptions on this thread:



While the OP probably does not have much knowledge of hospital pharmacy you dont seem to have much knowledge of the area either. Yes pharmacy is getting saturated. But to say that you will not find is a job is a ridiculous exaggeration. I dont know if you are accounting for the time OP will spend in school but the job market is NOT that horrible right now. As a pharmacy student in a saturated state most if not all of my classmates will find jobs pretty quickly. They might not be idea 120k 8am-4pm shifts but there are plenty of jobs out there. For example I know of a hospital in NYC (mega saturated) that is having a ton of problems getting floater pharmacists.

Also there are such people as clinical pharmacists. And their role is far different (incredibly clinical) than the typical hospital pharmacist you are probably thinking of. Not to mention I know pharmacists who staff critical care units and emergency rooms (not clinical pharmacists) who do a lot of clinical work in terms of following patients and examining labs and deciding on appropriate pharmacotherapy for the patient. You wont be at the bedside but there is plenty of clinical knowledge to be learned and used.



This type of mentality shows up very frequently on this forum. And trust me, I completely understand where its coming from. However its often not based on too much evidence. Compare medicine to a bio major and say how much more work med students do - thats fine. But please refrain from comparing med school to other professional schools and talking about how 'substantial' their workload is. Have you completed both schools? Do you know pharmacists who have gone to medical school? 'Knowing' a pharmacy student or having 'a friend' isnt enough. I plan on having more work in medical school than I do now. But substantially more? I dont think so. I know many people in my class who study 5-10 hours every single day. And while I will admit that getting an 80 on a med school exam and an 80 on a pharmacy exam are different things, to say that the difference is 'substantial' is ridiculous. Not to mention that most med schools have block scheduling which means that you are only studying for one or two classes at a time. I have seven classes right now, with an exam in a different class every 2-3 days. Im not saying all of those classes are very difficult, but how can you possibly compare such two different workloads?

Also it depends on what you consider patient interaction. Some would say that interacting with customers in a retail pharmacy is patient interaction. You see a patient in the emergency room and they go to the pharmacy and suddenly they arent a patient anymore? Many pharmacists find counseling patients on medications and making recommendations on OTC products to be very rewarding. Also pharmacists working in ambulatory clinics are becoming much more commonplace so thats definitely an area where one would get a good amount of patient interaction.

Ok sorry that was a useless rant.

Oh and OP if you got into med school, stay in med school. You will find a specialty that you enjoy.

sounds like the whole pharmacy forum is lying then lol.

 

[370096]

I'm a pharmacist going to medical school this fall. To be frank pharmacy is boring AF. I think you are nuts for leaving a medical school acceptance to be a pharmacist. The profession ( and I mean retail specifically) is going down the tubes. It is pill counting and coupon scanning for 14 hours a day. You are exploited by the big chains for your ability to verify a prescription for sale. No breaks no help no respect. These are the premiere reasons why I'm switching careers.

Real Talk.

 

[HoltMD]

Hi all,
I’m a pre-med student, accepted to med school for next fall, but I’m thinking about switching to pre-pharmacy. I’m interested in hospital/clinical pharmacy.

😱

 

[pfaction]

I'm a pharmacist going to medical school this fall. To be frank pharmacy is boring AF. I think you are nuts for leaving a medical school acceptance to be a pharmacist. The profession ( and I mean retail specifically) is going down the tubes. It is pill counting and coupon scanning for 14 hours a day. You are exploited by the big chains for your ability to verify a prescription for sale. No breaks no help no respect. These are the premiere reasons why I'm switching careers.

Real Talk.

As a person who has spoke to fizzjazz, he gives really awesome advice. Flat, honest, and as he says, "real talk". I, like DoctaFoHire, am switching from Pharmacy to medicine.

I will kill the OP if he rejects MD to go into Pharmacy.

 

[Calif85]

Do you want to spend the rest of your life counting pills or bills?

As a soon to be professional student, you can point out the pros/cons of each profession without resorting to condescending comments as "counting pills/bills". Practicing pharmacists make 6 figures and every other profession contributes in a healthcare setting. You're just a premed; perhaps an attitude adjustment before you hit the hospital floors in 2yrs

 

[Calif85]

.

 

[Calif85]

I'm a pharmacist going to medical school this fall. To be frank pharmacy is boring AF. I think you are nuts for leaving a medical school acceptance to be a pharmacist. The profession ( and I mean retail specifically) is going down the tubes. It is pill counting and coupon scanning for 14 hours a day. You are exploited by the big chains for your ability to verify a prescription for sale. No breaks no help no respect. These are the premiere reasons why I'm switching careers.

Real Talk.

They need more staffing (which won't happen any day soon). It takes a while to call in a rx. Retail is bad but hospital/regulatory pharmacy is better?

Congrats on med school acceptance. 🙂

 

[littlealex]

I always pity the pharmacists. They are very well educated and know so much about the medications only to watch physicians bumble around like idiots and screw it up. Friend of all drugs but the master of none.
I'd rather be the bumbling idiot being corrected than the guy correcting other people but can't prescribe drugs. "Hi are you aware that these two drugs have fatal interactions?" "uh.... no my mistake. What should I switch it to?"

 

[CeeEstee0]

The job market for Pharms right now speaks for itself. Go into a slower specialty (Pathology, FP, etc.) if you are worried about post-med school workload.

 

[Kimchii]

Im in pharm school right now and I was accepted to med school. I dont have direct knowledge of how the workload in med school will be but in terms of curriculum the pharmacy route is much lighter. I had a lot of free time in pharmacy school and while I expect to have less free time in med school I dont think it'll get to a point where my entire life is consumed, I just wouldn't be able to do that to myself.

In terms of finding a job, the field of pharmacy is heavily saturated in many parts of the country right now although there are places where you can still find work. There is less patient contact overall with pharmacists compared to doctors but some specialties in medicine are low on the patient contact side too. So it all comes down to where you think you will be happiest. If you go the route of pharmacy you'll definitely have more free time to do what you'd like and less patient contact and if you go the route of medicine you'll have less free time and more patient contact although nothing is set in stone.

 

[Knocked Up]

Do you want to spend the rest of your life counting pills or bills?

I thought it was all about the PRESTIGE. Com'on now, you're better than that. Step your game up man.

 

[Morsetlis]

Pills, definitely.

Bills are filthy.

 

[Oscurece]

To be honest, I'm really surprised that you filled out your application, wrote essays describing your passion for medicine, interviewed at a med school to verbalize this passion, got in, but then now realized that medicine/patient-contact is not your thing.

Ha yeah, it is sorta weird. I sorta realized it might not be my thing about a year ago, but went ahead with the application. I had good enough grades/MCAT to get me accepted, I suppose, even if my other stuff/displayed motivation was just meh.

Im in pharm school right now and I was accepted to med school. I dont have direct knowledge of how the workload in med school will be but in terms of curriculum the pharmacy route is much lighter. I had a lot of free time in pharmacy school and while I expect to have less free time in med school I dont think it'll get to a point where my entire life is consumed, I just wouldn't be able to do that to myself.

So it all comes down to where you think you will be happiest. If you go the route of pharmacy you'll definitely have more free time to do what you'd like and less patient contact and if you go the route of medicine you'll have less free time and more patient contact although nothing is set in stone.

Yeah, the last thing you said is definitely my analysis of the situation, and from that perspective pharmacy sounds a lot more appealing. 🙁

Also, I wanted to elaborate a bit more. Whatever I do, I'm not doing it just for the money. As long as I make around 50-60k, I'll be happy at whatever I do. I just want a job with good hours but that remains intellectually stimulating. Also, I have shadowed in medicine extensively and a few times in pharmacy, and am working on shadowing more in pharmacy. And I have talked to loved ones, mentors, teachers, etc. about the decision; this post isn't the first time I've asked anyone else about the dilemma. Med school seems to be the prevailing opinion, anyone else have any input?

 

[sunflower18]

Ha yeah, it is sorta weird. I sorta realized it might not be my thing about a year ago, but went ahead with the application. I had good enough grades/MCAT to get me accepted, I suppose, even if my other stuff/displayed motivation was just meh.



Yeah, the last thing you said is definitely my analysis of the situation, and from that perspective pharmacy sounds a lot more appealing. 🙁

Also, I wanted to elaborate a bit more. Whatever I do, I'm not doing it just for the money. As long as I make around 50-60k, I'll be happy at whatever I do. I just want a job with good hours but that remains intellectually stimulating. Also, I have shadowed in medicine extensively and a few times in pharmacy, and am working on shadowing more in pharmacy. And I have talked to loved ones, mentors, teachers, etc. about the decision; this post isn't the first time I've asked anyone else about the dilemma. Med school seems to be the prevailing opinion, anyone else have any input?

The way I see it, there are two main reasons why I think you should go into pharmacy.

First -- you don't want to decide to just deal with your apathy and go to med school, and then find the work and commitment so unbearable that you'd either have a miserable life or need to drop out. You'd be in debt, you'd be several years older, and you'd look like a quitter if you wanted to try to get into pharmacy school. They'd wonder why you dropped out and how they knew you wouldn't drop out of their program, too.

Second -- so many people are DESPERATE to get into medical school and really feel like this is their calling and passion and the only thing that would make them happy. If you are just shrugging and saying, "Eh, whatever, I don't really want to be here but I'll suck it up", then you are taking a spot away from someone who might not have a chance to become a physician otherwise. You need to do what is best for you, obviously, but you should definitely be aware of this as a consequence of your actions.

Personally, I would hate to go into pharmacy and would choose med school 1000x over. I have my own reasons for that, but those are completely irrelevant because those obviously aren't your reasons.

If you'd prefer to be a pharmacist and being a doctor would be your second choice at best, then I think you should be a pharmacist. Life's too short to spend time, money, and resources on something that isn't exactly what you want -- especially if the thing you do want is attainable.

Good luck with your choice, and keep in mind that everything that is said here is based on opinion and you need to assess all of that through your perspective. Let us know what you choose!

 

[Thego2guy]

The way I see it, there are two main reasons why I think you should go into pharmacy.

First -- you don't want to decide to just suck it up and get into med school, and then find the work and commitment so unbearable that you'd either have a miserable life or need to drop out. You'd be in debt, you'd be several years earlier, and you'd look like a quitter if you wanted to try to get into pharmacy school. They'd wonder why you dropped out and how they knew you wouldn't drop out of their program, too.

Second -- so many people are DESPERATE to get into medical school and really feel like this is their calling and passion and the only thing that would make them happy. If you are just shrugging and saying, "Eh, whatever, I don't really want to be here but I'll suck it up", then you are taking a spot away from someone who might not have a chance to become a physician otherwise. You need to do what is best for you, obviously, but you should definitely be aware of this as a consequence of your actions.

Personally, I would hate to go into pharmacy and would choose med school 1000x over. I have my own reasons for that, but those are completely irrelevant because those obviously aren't your reasons.

If you'd prefer to be a pharmacist and being a doctor would be your second choice at best, then I think you should be a pharmacist. Life's too short to spend time, money, and resources on something that isn't exactly what you want -- especially if the thing you do want is attainable.

Good luck with your choice, and keep in mind that everything that is said here is based on opinion and you need to assess all of that through your perspective. Let us know what you choose!

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