I was wondering, is anyone here debating between pharmacy and med school? I'm at a crossroads. I've always been interested in becoming a pharmacist but after talking to two of the staff pharmacist I work with (including the pharmacy manager), I'm now reconsidering. They've both said the direction pharmaceuticals is headed is toward more cooperate greed than patient care and if given the knowledge they know now they would have gone to med school all those years ago instead of pharmacy school. They also said that there are more Pharmacist graduating than there are job positions...this scares me a little, I don't want to be head high in student loan debt and no job to pay it back. What do you guys think? All this information has me questioning which way to go.
Your manager and staff pharmacist are correct. There is corporate consolidation meaning independent pharmacies are either closing or getting bought out by chain stores. Walgreens and CVS have closed several stores and are laying off workers.
With respect to hospital pharmacy, if you pursue a residency, it will not guarantee you a job in the hospital nor does it increase your salary. It is the nature of the saturated market because there are too many graduates every year. So hospital employers have constructed residency programs to admit the competent students
Cons of pharmacy residency:
1. It does not guarantee you a job nor does it increase your salary. There have been pharmacy residents that have gone back and worked in retail pharmacy despite two years or they are working non-pharmacy jobs.
2. COVID-19 has made things worse for pharmacists, cutting hospital pharmacist hours and hiring freezes leaving residents unemployed.
3. You won’t be considered a health care provider because you won’t get money from insurance for your clinical services. Plus, no prescriptive authority even though schools will tell you are the drug expert.
4. Pharmacy residency is even more competitive than medical residency. There are 300 applicants trying to apply for four seats or three seats. Where as medical residency has 100-200 applicants applying for 20-30 seats. There are more medical residency programs and more seats available and getting a spot is based on merits. Where as pharmacy residency, even smart students are not getting matched.
Medicine is better choice than pharmacy. Even though job growth is 4%. There is still demand for doctors in rural areas and once you are done with residency, you will be earning 4 times more than a pharmacist. Medicine is hard to get in, but if you have the grades, strong ECs then go for it. Plus if you need help with GPA, then you can do a post bacc or SMP. Medical residency guarantees you a job and a high earning potential. Plus you can prescribe and get compensated by insurance for your services because you are a real health care provider.
Medicine may be harder to get in, but it is easier finding a job once you are done with residency/fellowship training. Plus, you get to call the shots in patient care. You can scratch out recommendations from 15 year experienced PGy-2 trained pharmacist who knows more about medications, but has no leverage.
Pharmacy is easy to get in and extremely difficult getting any job whether it is retail or clinical pharmacy
Do not listen to these other posters. Please look at the job market forum and make a informed decision. You do not want be in 200k in debt without a job or a job that pays only $40-50/hr when you are on 200k loans. Pursue medicine, you have a unusual income to pay off 200k in debt
I am new grad and so far I only have a intern job at a drug information center
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