Dentistry or Pharmacy?

[urluvzaddicting]

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Hi everyone. Right now, I want to go into dentistry, but still I have doubts. How did everyone here choose their profession in dentistry? how do you really know for sure? I really dont want to aim for dentistry only to find that I want to go into pharmacy. Should I shadow a pharmacist just to make sure? I have shadowed before in dentistry, and they seem to do more active work (only because I have never shadowed a pharmacist but only can imagine what they would do with prescription pills). Can someone help me weigh the pro's and con's between these two and give the main reason why they chose dentistry?

 

[tinman831]

Should I shadow a pharmacist just to make sure? I have shadowed before in dentistry, and they seem to do more active work (only because I have never shadowed a pharmacist but only can imagine what they would do with prescription pills).

Yes. Go find out for yourself what being a pharmacist is like and what's best for you. You don't want any regrets about the decision you make.

 

[Ething]

Listen, i love the chemistry......but do you seriously want to go to school for that many years just to count pills? Dentistry just seems much more exciting, but who knows.

 

[UBCvan]

OK... i have volunteered in 2 different pharmacies (200 hours)and have worked with 4 or 5 pharmacists so far..when i began working i loved the profession jus because it was a new environment...i told myself this is a profession i wanna be in...however after 150 hours of volunteering i found out that it is not what i wanna do becasue it has nothin do do with what i have studied fo 4 years...maybe it has but not that much...however the hospital system is much better becasue you do what you deserve....but i personally dont wanna get into hospital becasue the money isnt as much as community pharmacy....another thing i dont like about pharmacy is that i have seen many many patients come in to the store and ask some common questions BUT the pharmacist has not been able to answer them at alll..and i really felt bad for them for not knowing thos easy questions...like one time a lady cam in and said there is factory beside their house producing CO(carbon monoxide)..does it effect us?the pharmacist was clueless....however i knew the answer...(it binds to your hemoglobin and blocks the site for attachment of O2)...couple days ago a man came in said do you have any info about low diet fat?the phamrcasit saiiiiiiiiid nOOO..search on google...i mean i dont wanna study for 4 years thinking i am a pharmcists and not even being able to answer those questions...believe me i could go on and on brnging you examples of a situation where the pharmacist was clueless...

i m just giving you what i have seen and what i have experienced:

one time the pharmacist told me i dont feel like a pharmacist, i feel like a seller.
many times i have seen people be so angry for waitning more than 10 min..
i have seen many people not respectingh you at all thinking like you are a grocery seller...
i ve seen people so rude many times and it hurts me so much...

OK if you wanna know what happens when a prescription comes to the pharmacists:

1)pharmacist search the name of the patient if he/she is on the file
2)if yes he cheks what medications he has been taking eaither from same phamrcay or other pharmacies
3)then goes and bring the medication, count them, put them in a bottle and lable them.
they also deal with the insurance plans and all that sh** that does not feel like being a pharmacist at all.
4)then get the money from patient
5)thats it

HOEVER most pharmacies have technitions and technisions do 80% of what i just told you and pharmcists only chek if the technisions has been doing the right think...

NOTE THAT WORKING IN A HOSPITAL IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BUT U WONT GET AS MUCH MONEY


but for dentistry you really get to do what you have been doing in college..people respect you...you get alot of money ALOT...you know you are doing something for the money you are getting...you know that Doctor that people call you is really you whereas in pharmacies you dont feel like a doctor....

but all these are my opinions YOU SHOULD VOLUNTEER FOR YOURSELF and dont say wow its so fun once you are in...think that you are going to be doing this for the rest of your life....volunteer alot so it becomes like your real job..thats when you can decide....

good luck

regards,

 

[NewMexDent]

Ok, there are ton's of posts about dent vs other medical proffesions. What do you really expect us to tell you? We are obviously interested in dentistry and would probably favor dentistry. All of us have to go through the process of picking a proffesion and you are no exception - you need to figure it out for yourself.

Get out and observe, talk to current dentists and pharmacists, do some research. Just keep in mind that dentistry is not as "cushy" as people perceive it to be. It's hard work and there are ton's of dentists that hate their career choice - probably because they didn't really understand what it would be like before they decided to do it.

 

[jeezy]

hospital pharmacists make rounds like doctors which is more challenging and interactive than retail. there is nuclear pharm, pharm consulting and other crap. retail just pays the most out of school. if i was in hs i would probably go the pharm route

 

[supraman]

Shadow a pharmacist? It can be done at home.

Find 6-8 hours of free time. Find all the pills in your house. Stand the entire time and count and segregate them (use your imagination).

 

[2quik]

Shadow a pharmacist? It can be done at home.

Find 6-8 hours of free time. Find all the pills in your house. Stand the entire time and count and segregate them (use your imagination).

Hahaha. Hmm, do i like apples or oranges more? Dentistry and Pharmacy are two completely different things! Dentistry perceived by most (i dont know really...) people would be the harder profession (i am guessing, since you need more college credits to get into it), however, it is very interesting! Pharmacy, learning about pills, affects...blah blah blah...would be boring as hell to me.. Dentistry is not fun and games though (comming from a D1), it's very very hard work! So, if you get into it, you'd damn well better love it and want to be a dentist in the end.


Real life example:
Talking to a P1 yesterday (who is in a 3-year pharmacy school), asked em how school was going?
P1 response: "really hard, we're taking 4 courses this semester!"
me: 4? we (d1s) are taking 14 classes (if you combine lecture and lab, its more 10 courses..) this semester!

 

[vize]

Dentistry is hell. I'm so pissed I signed up for this ****! GRRR 😡 The good part is that the females are outrageously good looking 👍

 

[2quik]

The good part is that the females are outrageously good looking 👍

WhAt school do you go to? haha

 

[vize]

Michigan! GO BLUE! haha, it's weird though cuz the class of 2010 has like 70% guys, and our class of 2011 has 49% female. So I'm not too sure about the class of 2012, but I'm definitely satisfied with our ratio.

 

[2quik]

Nice, our ratio of guys:girls are about the same. Good luck this year, i think the key is to just survive...

 

[vize]

Yeah, man, good luck.