From Pharmacy School to Medical School

[Ravan]

A pharmacist friend of mine recently told me that he was not anymore professionally satisfied dispensing drugs in a pharmacy and was planning to apply to medical school. Has anyone of you travelled this path? I just got accpeted to a pharmacy school and I would dread to feel the same way after four years.

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[xadmin]

A pharmacist friend of mine recently told me that he was not anymore professionally satisfied dispensing drugs in a pharmacy and was planning to apply to medical school. Has anyone of you travelled this path? I just got accpeted to a pharmacy school and I would dread to feel the same way after four years.

Volunteer at a Pharmacy place for a few years and see if you like it.

 

[vraypharmd2md]

I am in the middle of this process.

Next week, I will graduate from pharmacy school (PharmD). In August I will be beginning medical school.

For me, pharmacy is a great profession, but it is not something that I wanted to do everday. So I decided to apply to medical school. So during my last year of pharmacy school, I got lots of clinical experience and exposure to the healthcare field. This made me a better applicant b/c I wasn't the "typical" pre-med.

It is definitely not about money b/c when you consider more than just starting salaries and hours, pharmacists and physicians have comparable earnings. It is not about prestige. It is not about taking the easy route either. The most important thing at this point is to figure out what is right for you b/c this is something that you will be doing for a long time.

If you have any questions (about pharmacy or the med school application process), I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.


V

 

[pharmgirl]

I echo vraypharmd2md's comments. I graduated from pharmacy school in 2001 and will start med school this fall. It's important that you figure out what you want to do. Not everyone will be dissatisfied with pharmacy, but you need to figure it out for yourself.

This I've posted on threads for this topic several times before, you may want to search for the past threads.

Good luck with everything! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Volunteer at a Pharmacy place for a few years and see if you like it.

 

[prlester]

I echo vraypharmd2md's comments. I graduated from pharmacy school in 2001 and will start med school this fall. It's important that you figure out what you want to do. Not everyone will be dissatisfied with pharmacy, but you need to figure it out for yourself.

This I've posted on threads for this topic several times before, you may want to search for the past threads.

Good luck with everything! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

I would really think about the medical move. there is a lot of mythology about medicine in this country. You will probably earn only 160,000/year, starting at 30 for a 22yo ms1. You will have no time for anything else, especially during 7 years min of school. Medical people are all about status, like the 'apprentice" without social skills. You have to associate with these people because there is no time to cultivate other friends. It can be a trap because of all the debt 140,000 for a public school (multiply by 3x when you factor in interest). Some doctors work ok and earn a lot but it is very competitive to get those slots. If you don't have hobbies, crave status and material things and don't care about relationships or free time and are smart, with good memory skills, medicine is a good bet for you. It isn't about helping other people. I don't mean because med students aren't good people initially, but it destroys your soul and embitters you when you realize you have sacrificed your life. It is a job, but treated like a non-politicized calling.

 

[Ravan]

Thank you everyone for your inputs. I will PM you vraypharmd and pharmgirl if I do have specific questions.

 

[Ravan]

I would really think about the medical move. there is a lot of mythology about medicine in this country. You will probably earn only 160,000/year, starting at 30 for a 22yo ms1. You will have no time for anything else, especially during 7 years min of school. Medical people are all about status, like the 'apprentice" without social skills. You have to associate with these people because there is no time to cultivate other friends. It can be a trap because of all the debt 140,000 for a public school (multiply by 3x when you factor in interest). Some doctors work ok and earn a lot but it is very competitive to get those slots. If you don't have hobbies, crave status and material things and don't care about relationships or free time and are smart, with good memory skills, medicine is a good bet for you. It isn't about helping other people. I don't mean because med students aren't good people initially, but it destroys your soul and embitters you when you realize you have sacrificed your life. It is a job, but treated like a non-politicized calling.

Surely there are those out there who are statisfied with what they do and feel like they make a difference in the world - even with their '160,000' salary.

 

[sistermike]

I would really think about the medical move. there is a lot of mythology about medicine in this country. You will probably earn only 160,000/year, starting at 30 for a 22yo ms1. You will have no time for anything else, especially during 7 years min of school. Medical people are all about status, like the 'apprentice" without social skills. You have to associate with these people because there is no time to cultivate other friends. It can be a trap because of all the debt 140,000 for a public school (multiply by 3x when you factor in interest). Some doctors work ok and earn a lot but it is very competitive to get those slots. If you don't have hobbies, crave status and material things and don't care about relationships or free time and are smart, with good memory skills, medicine is a good bet for you. It isn't about helping other people. I don't mean because med students aren't good people initially, but it destroys your soul and embitters you when you realize you have sacrificed your life. It is a job, but treated like a non-politicized calling.

That statement is extremely generalized. I myself am not a doctor (nor do I think you are), but I do know practicing physicians, and their life is nothing of how you described it. First off, they do have time outside of school. In undergrad you have plenty of time outside of school (well I do anyways, and I maintain a high G.P.A.). In Med School, many say that although you are busy with school, there is time outside of your studies.

If you don't have hobbies, crave status and material things and don't care about relationships or free time and are smart, with good memory skills, medicine is a good bet for you. It isn't about helping other people.

I do agree with you that doctors tend to "crave" status to a certain extent, but they deserve it. They have spent the last 8 years in undergrad and med school and other 3-6 years doing post-grad training. Hell I give them the upmost respect. Don't care about relationships? Contrary to your beliefs, doctors do have caring personalities who enjoy and cherish their families and friends. They are not dehumanized individuals who are only out for money and themsevles. And furthermore, become a doctor has nothing to do with "smarts." It has everything to do with determination and your drive for the profession. The material in medical school isn't exactly "hard" to comprehend, but it does take a very determined person to actually memorize and learn the material.

I don't know if you are someone who is dissatisfied because you were rejected from med school or if you are just totally against the career, but please keep your negative comments to yourself about the profession, especially when they are generalized comments that have no truth behind them. I don't know if you realize it, but you are in the pre-med forum; hence almost everyone in here is determined to become one of those "doctors" who "don't care about reliationship" and are in it for the "money."

 

[prlester]

I go to an allopathic outside of nyc. the curriculum is a cluster****, but i cant imagine other schools are better. 160,000 after massive debt and years of no income isn't that much, especially if you factor in lost investment potential. You might turn a profit at 35-38 depending on how you pay off loans/ how much you took out. Rule of thumb is multiply said amount by three.
Your right, undergrad premed isn't that bad, but it is all down hill after that. I just got done visiting an undergrad and the hype about premed was so large I forgot about it. A lot of the expectations of premeds are not in sync with the reality. Your blind fetish is representative of this. I think med school is something one has to experience for themselves. I know it was in my case.
You got into to school. that is an accomplishment, but your premed efforts might translate into one year of med school if you microscoped it.
I dont know if the majority of my class are a bunch of **** because they are poor human beings or because they are stressed, but it gets to you after a while. I say that most med students dont have the dawning that they made a mistake until their third or sometimes intern year, but by then it is too late, too much debt.
You really have to sacrifice everything. Technically you could still fit in one night out, a couple walks in the park a week, 30 min of television, but you have to really budget your time. The first year isn't too bad if you had done a post bac program, something everyone at my school seems to have but me. Just get re
ady for a precipitous drop in grades for second year.

 

[prlester]

Surely there are those out there who are statisfied with what they do and feel like they make a difference in the world - even with their '160,000' salary.

you are dazzled by the large salary. you dont see the hidden costs. You dont make that salary until atleast seven years down the road after massive debt, which builds and starts to acrue at different times in your schooling. Furthermore, that salary is more about the hours worked then pay/hour, a point you will see vhemently attacked on this forum by doctors. For the really big salaries try 70hr/week.
the only people i see satisfied, not happy, are the hyper nerds who have shut off all other facets of their lives. Finally, these people are in an environment were dating, self-improvment etc. are void. They are no longer handicaped.
I haven't started practicing and am still in med school, but the sacrificing and long-term nature of it has started to dawn on me and I am having trouble reconciling this. I didn't think it would be this bad.
By the time the training is over and it is "supposed to get better" (a mantra you hear a lot in school) you feel like life has passed you by. A whole year has gone by since I started school and it is like an blank tape. I can't say I have grown or did anything. In fact my morale has plummeted and I feel awkward around people.
The socialising that does go on is fake and contrived, like one would have with disgruntled co-workers.
I don't have an answer, which is one reason I didn't listen to people like me when I was pre-med. At the time I thought any allied health people were just failed pre-meds, but now I know that there are very legitimate reasons not to.

I am thinking of changing to pharmacy. If anyone could give me some info about the job, its future etc., please email me back.

 

[calcium boy]

you are dazzled by the large salary. you dont see the hidden costs. You dont make that salary until atleast seven years down the road after massive debt, which builds and starts to acrue at different times in your schooling. Furthermore, that salary is more about the hours worked then pay/hour, a point you will see vhemently attacked on this forum by doctors. For the really big salaries try 70hr/week.
the only people i see satisfied, not happy, are the hyper nerds who have shut off all other facets of their lives. Finally, these people are in an environment were dating, self-improvment etc. are void. They are no longer handicaped.
I haven't started practicing and am still in med school, but the sacrificing and long-term nature of it has started to dawn on me and I am having trouble reconciling this. I didn't think it would be this bad.
By the time the training is over and it is "supposed to get better" (a mantra you hear a lot in school) you feel like life has passed you by. A whole year has gone by since I started school and it is like an blank tape. I can't say I have grown or did anything. In fact my morale has plummeted and I feel awkward around people.
The socialising that does go on is fake and contrived, like one would have with disgruntled co-workers.
I don't have an answer, which is one reason I didn't listen to people like me when I was pre-med. At the time I thought any allied health people were just failed pre-meds, but now I know that there are very legitimate reasons not to.

I am thinking of changing to pharmacy. If anyone could give me some info about the job, its future etc., please email me back.

I think if you have an interest in going to pharmacy school the best thing you can do is find a job as a pharmacy tech. I think its pretty easy to find a tech job especially at a retail chain (walgreen's) The outlook for pharmacist is pretty good, since people are living longer, I read an article that the shortage will last until about 2010 to 2015, for pharmacist. There are alot of differnet settings you can practice in: hospitals, retail chains (earn the most and alot of overtime if you want), clinics, nursing homes, research, teach, and many others. Hospital pays about 20,000 to 10,000 less then retail chains. Depending where you work you might be on call or if you work at a retail chain, you work an eight of twelve hour shift and your free to do what you want, no calls. Retail pharmacist make about 85,000 to 100,000 depending on location and if your a staff or manager pharmacist. Some places offer a sign on bonus about 10,000 to 20,000, but you have to stay for at least a certain number of years. Some places will pay for a four to five year lease on a nice car (Bmw, Lexus,etc.) Some places even have better deals, depending on that you will not mind working in the middle of sticksville.

It can be a rewarding profession and you can still have a great social life if thats what you want. A friend of mine works at a retail chain made 100,000 last year and his wife is also a pharmacist. He has a four day weekend off every other week, but he has to work a couple of twelve hour shifts during the week. If you want to do more clinical work there is alot places you can find it. It all depends on what you put into it is what you get out of it.

Pharmacy School is for years some school you can finsih is three to three and a half years, but you lose summer breaks. Youn need to take the Pcat for most schools, alot easier than the MCAT. Do not need a four degree, pre-reqs are pretty much the same as medical school. Some places require microbiolgy, Stats, Cal II. You have to check the school website

But I have to say the most important thing to do, if your thinking about pharmacy is to find a job as a tech. I HAVE SEEN IT SO MANY TIMES, PEOPLE GET ACCEPTED TO PHARMACY SCHOOL AND AFTER THEY FINSIH THEY DECIDE THE JOB IS NOT RIGHT FOR THEM. PART OF THE REASON IS THEY NEVER WORKED IN A PHARMACY TO FIND OUT WHAT IS ALL ABOUT AND SEE IF THEY WOULD LIKE IT. I THINK ALMOST ALL PHARMACY SCHOOLS REQUIRE YOU TO ONLY FINISH YOUr PRE-REQS, NO FOUR DEGREE NEEDED, WHICH I THINKS IS WRONG. FIRST THEY SHOULD REQUIRE A FOUR DEGREE, BEACUSE SOME PEOPLE THEY LET IN ARE TO YOUNG AND NAIVE. THEY SHOULD ALSO MAKE YOU WORK A CERTAIN AMOUT OF HOURS AT A PHARMACY BEFORE YOU START TO SEE WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.

I think it is a waste of time and money to finish pharmcay school and then realize that your not happy and you want to go to medical school. Did you take the time and really look in the profession? Did you ever work in a pharmcay before you started pharmcay schools? You probably did not even take the time to earn BA degree or the pharmd is not good enough at the end of your name, you have to have the M.D.

 

[prlester]

I am in the middle of this process.

Next week, I will graduate from pharmacy school (PharmD). In August I will be beginning medical school.

For me, pharmacy is a great profession, but it is not something that I wanted to do everday. So I decided to apply to medical school. So during my last year of pharmacy school, I got lots of clinical experience and exposure to the healthcare field. This made me a better applicant b/c I wasn't the "typical" pre-med.

It is definitely not about money b/c when you consider more than just starting salaries and hours, pharmacists and physicians have comparable earnings. It is not about prestige. It is not about taking the easy route either. The most important thing at this point is to figure out what is right for you b/c this is something that you will be doing for a long time.

If you have any questions (about pharmacy or the med school application process), I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.


V

what criteria goes into your comparing physician vs. pharm renumeration?