Down in the Dumps

[ispharm4me]

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Okay. So I am a sophomore pre-pharm student. I have all kinds of questions. I have never worked in a pharmacy. I am in Organic Chemistry right now. The first semester is almost over. To me, its not that hard, but it just isnt what I call fun. "They" say it is used to predict success in pharmacy school. I have a 3.8 GPA. I say I want to be a pharmacist, but I don't actually know what they spend all day doing. It is more than counting pills or filling prescriptions I know. Could any pharmacists tell me what they actually do during their work day?

Also, I know pharmacy school will be stressful. How are rotations? What exactly will you be doing? I know you will work in many different aspects of pharmacy, but I could use some detail.

Right now all I can seem to think about are enantiomers, mechanisms, markonikov products, carbocations......and the list goes on forever.
I can deal with that through school, but forever?

I guess my question is to what extent do you apply all the chemistry?

I need some help....

 

[remedium]

Hi. This is actually a repost of my introduction post in the new members thread.

...My area of interest for the time being is immunology so I`d be glad to talk about that any day. 🙂

Ahhh... future perspectives... I hope I can be a hospital pharmacist working as an adviser mind you not a clerk on a counter. I hope I`ll be able to work in close relations with patients, take part in research and development of new forms of medication.

I`ll be glad to work in a lab too and I`m considering applying for ERASMUS - a program based on funding from the European Union that allows students from the Union to practice in an area of their choice for up to 6 months in various facilities at the University of Roma Italy.

***

I`m sure there will be many things you will find interesting when you actually start studying pharmacy and not general chemistry and biology. That`s why in my University in Bulgaria we have a weekly lecture on the topic of History of Pharmaceutical Knowledge. It gives you a perspective on what you`re really aiming at by referring the cold theoretical knowledge you have to real events in history - breakthroughs in drug application - important research in the area etc.

As I`ve said before I`d like to work in research or in clinical advising collaborating with doctors working out alternative methods of treatment on various exciting exotic disease. Hard to tell I`m also a huge House MD fan 😉.

According to my interests the ERASMUS program seems to be a good place to start my practice a few years from now. I`m aiming towards building up marketable skills rather than overly-elaborate knowledge in areas I might never find application for. After all I want to be a researcher not a lecturer.

So that`s me. I`d advise you to look in perspective talk to your lecturers or people who have experience in the area. One of my motivators is my immunology teacher who besides being an awesome person and a great professional has spent a lot of time working in Kyoto Japan. That`s a fine example of how you may still be a respected scientist and not live your life in a lab but rather travel the world in search of opportunities.

 

[andrewattheU]

you really should not be down in the dumps you have a 3.8 GPA!! Finding out about what a pharmacist does is easy just read online magazines or ask a few what they do. I remember being down in the dumps last year as a sophomore in college, but that was because I thought my ochem grades were gonna kill my chances at pharm school... so look on the bright side you have the grades that will give you a chance at anywhere you apply 🙂

 

[remedium]

I happened to read some specifics of the US system for medical training and I`ve gotta say 4 years of undergraduate studies before you even start relating knowledge to actual pharmacology is kinda harsh. The Bulgarian system is a bit more simple in that respect. After high-school you can apply directly to any university you like and take the exams hoping to cover their requirements. There are no previous experience required or interviews or letters of acceptance - you just take the exams - chemistry and biology in my case and in two weeks you visit a web-page where your results are available along with the position you qualified for. The actual acceptance is - highest 50 men and 50 women are accepted immediately. Usually a total of 3500-4000 people apply for the positions each year.

After that pharmacy is 5.5 years of training and after that you get a magister`s degree and you can open your own drug-store or go specialize in either clinical pharmacology or distribution. Those two are optional and available in Bulgaria but since we`re a member of the European Union we can apply for various programs around Europe in order to specialize in a specific area. Just as anywhere else practice is the only thing that will distinguish you from the mass when you graduate.

 

[eelo]

I happened to read some specifics of the US system for medical training and I`ve gotta say 4 years of undergraduate studies before you even start relating knowledge to actual pharmacology is kinda harsh. The Bulgarian system is a bit more simple in that respect. After high-school you can apply directly to any university you like and take the exams hoping to cover their requirements. There are no previous experience required or interviews or letters of acceptance - you just take the exams - chemistry and biology in my case and in two weeks you visit a web-page where your results are available along with the position you qualified for. The actual acceptance is - highest 50 men and 50 women are accepted immediately. Usually a total of 3500-4000 people apply for the positions each year.

After that pharmacy is 5.5 years of training and after that you get a magister`s degree and you can open your own drug-store or go specialize in either clinical pharmacology or distribution. Those two are optional and available in Bulgaria but since we`re a member of the European Union we can apply for various programs around Europe in order to specialize in a specific area. Just as anywhere else practice is the only thing that will distinguish you from the mass when you graduate.

Well then by all means, do your pharmacy work in Bulgaria. It's obviously much better, right? I mean, the lineup for non-Bulgarians hoping for admission to a Bulgarian pharmacy school is considerably longer than the lineup for non-Americans wishing to gain admittance to American pharmacy schools, right?

Right?

 

[andrewattheU]

now if I'm not mistaken the U.S. also allows people to begin pharmacy training right out of high school I do recall something about a 0-6 or even a 0-5 program hmmm...

 

[remedium]

Well then by all means, do your pharmacy work in Bulgaria. It's obviously much better, right? I mean, the lineup for non-Bulgarians hoping for admission to a Bulgarian pharmacy school is considerably longer than the lineup for non-Americans wishing to gain admittance to American pharmacy schools, right?

Right?

I am Bulgarian 😉 and I am already in my first semester. I was commenting on the differences in the two systems. Not trying to make generalizations over which is better. Yours seems to be a lot more competitive in the long term although with our the biggest competition for places is at the university entry exams.

 

[SCCpharm]

I'm a p1 and I wanted to add so far there hasn't been much Orgo Chemistry. So far all I have used from Orgo is the ability to read a skeleton structure and understanding basic isomer concepts.

Most of it has been biochemistry stuff.