How hard is pharm school?

[thaliagoo]

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If you majored in something hard like calculus, engineering, or physics then pharmacy is probably going to be easier. I can study some physics stuff for hours and hours and never understand it, but in pharmacy as long as you take the time you shouldn't have a problem doing well.

Well, in my bio classes, I've gotten 1 C and 2 B-. I took 3 courses of calculus based physics and aced them all. So no, I don't think being strong in problem solving will necessarily help you with memorization.

What you said about glass-blowing is silly... after all, we all take the same science prerequisites so I think we all have a good idea about how much effort we actually put in our classes. And so what if you went to the Harvard School of Glass Blowing? I'd say you have to have been pretty smart in order to get in.

 

[sdn1977]

The theory is still flawed because he is saying if you went to the school that ranked number 1 in glass blowing, and majored in glass blowing, then pharmacy is going to be easy for you.

It still depends on your major.

But yeah pharmacy is much easier than the university of illinois engineering curriculum.

Pharmacy is about memorization. If you are good at that you will do good in pharmacy school. However it doesn't reflect how much you know.

I am good at cramming and short term memorization... I do well on exams. However I do believe in the long run I will end up knowing less than people that study longer than me and get lower grades.

I'm no longer a student - in fact far from a student except for continuing education which I do "continually"! But - I would object to the statement that pharmacy is about memorization. If your assessment of yourself is that you memorize & do well on tests but end up knowing less...why do you memorize????? Pharmacy is NOT about memorization!! Some of the drugs I learned about 30 years ago are no longer manufactured. Most of the drugs I dispense today were not even thought of 30 years ago.

IMO - pharmacy is not about memorizing! It is learning mechanisms, how the chemistry of a drug can be changed to change its characteristics, how biology affects therapeutics, how biologic disease markers change drug choices, how learning all of this information changes how you educate & cousel your patients. I hope all of you who have to memorize to get thru your curriculums ultimately learn the chemistry & pharmacologic differences are important (ie lovastatin is a prodrug-requires opening of the lactone ring while pravastatin is an acid form & doesn't require activation which may be why one works better than the other, just as an example) & there is no point in memorizing the top 200 drugs - that will change from year to year & place to place.

Yeah - it was hard work to really learn the material...I can't remember if it was harder than undergraduate or not. The hardest work though is to keep educating myself when it is not important to anyone but myself & those who rely on what I'm supposed to know.......

 

[crossjb]

Are you still living in Michigan crossjb?

You know, I really shouldnt be defending you...I am a MSU alum. 😀

Yes. I live in Royal Oak...

It's all good. My older sister and brother are both MSU grads. I'm the Maize and Blue sheep of our family... 😀

 

[freshbeatschris]

I'm no longer a student - in fact far from a student except for continuing education which I do "continually"! But - I would object to the statement that pharmacy is about memorization. If your assessment of yourself is that you memorize & do well on tests but end up knowing less...why do you memorize????? Pharmacy is NOT about memorization!! Some of the drugs I learned about 30 years ago are no longer manufactured. Most of the drugs I dispense today were not even thought of 30 years ago.

IMO - pharmacy is not about memorizing! It is learning mechanisms, how the chemistry of a drug can be changed to change its characteristics, how biology affects therapeutics, how biologic disease markers change drug choices, how learning all of this information changes how you educate & cousel your patients. I hope all of you who have to memorize to get thru your curriculums ultimately learn the chemistry & pharmacologic differences are important (ie lovastatin is a prodrug-requires opening of the lactone ring while pravastatin is an acid form & doesn't require activation which may be why one works better than the other, just as an example) & there is no point in memorizing the top 200 drugs - that will change from year to year & place to place.

Yeah - it was hard work to really learn the material...I can't remember if it was harder than undergraduate or not. The hardest work though is to keep educating myself when it is not important to anyone but myself & those who rely on what I'm supposed to know.......

Very well stated. Thank you for giving us an experienced opinion. Big kudos to you for caring so much about what you do and choosing to take the time to continue to educate yourself to help keep your patients healthy. I truly admire that. You are a role model.

Chris

 

[pharmforme]

Yes. I live in Royal Oak...

It's all good. My older sister and brother are both MSU grads. I'm the Maize and Blue sheep of our family... 😀

GO BLUE!!!!! 🙂

 

[Sosumi]

Along the lines of what sdn1977 said, for me I focus more on trying to understand the concepts and reasons why certain drugs act a certain way and why some drugs are better than others depending on the situation, variables, etc. rather than just rote memorization. I have a few friends who are really good memorizers and are getting 4.0, but complain that they don't really know much afterwards. I do almost as well on tests but still retain more info because I focus on learning concepts and how they can be applied in pharmacy practice.

I'm doing better in pharmacy school than undergraduate for several reasons, however. I'm more interested in the topics -- they're more relevant and useful, I'm a lot older and have more life experience which helps motivate me to learn and apply the knowledge, and my undergrad was really competitive and had a lot of bright students who went on to prestigious medical schools so the atmosphere was a lot different than pharmacy school where we're all trying to get through it together.

 

[Trancelucent1]

The theory is still flawed because he is saying if you went to the school that ranked number 1 in glass blowing, and majored in glass blowing, then pharmacy is going to be easy for you.

It still depends on your major.

But yeah pharmacy is much easier than the university of illinois engineering curriculum.

Pharmacy is about memorization. If you are good at that you will do good in pharmacy school. However it doesn't reflect how much you know.

I am good at cramming and short term memorization... I do well on exams. However I do believe in the long run I will end up knowing less than people that study longer than me and get lower grades.

I was wondering what year you're in. I noticed we had more memorization type stuff our first year, but now I'm almost done with my second year and it's more understanding concepts that gets you through vs memorization. I guess it depends on your school b/c at UF the professors for most classes write the tests so that you can't just memorize notes and get the answers write. Our Pharmacology exams have quite a few board style questions. For pharmacotherapy we get mini-cases and we must figure out if the therapy is optimized or not. Most of the time you can't just memorize the right answer, afterall in the real world each case is different. I think it's very dangerous to just memorize short-term and this might come back to bite you in the butt when you sit for the boards. It's funny our professor told us a story this year about a girl who made 100's on every test in one of their classes but that he would *NEVER* want to go where she worked b/c she just memorized info but didn't know how to apply it. I'm not saying it's wrong to memorize, of course there's stuff I memorize, however in the longrun I want to be able to use my knowledge. I'm quite happy with my B's in classes that I really understand. I'm not just trying to get out w/ a degree, I actually want to be able to apply myself and understand what I'm talking about!

 

[38ctk]

Undergrad was wayyyyyyyyyyyyy harder for me

 

[NguoiVN]

So much memorization. Other than that I don't think it's hard.

 

[yatzek]

i go to drake, its top 50, undergrad was a bit harder, mainly cos u need the grades more- also cos some of the stuff we did wasnt very relevant to pharmacy work

 

[museabuse]

If your assessment of yourself is that you memorize & do well on tests but end up knowing less...why do you memorize?????

I am a lazy procrastinator. I wish I could study every night and reenforce information to my longterm memory, but I don't. 👎

IMO - pharmacy is not about memorizing! It is learning mechanisms, how the chemistry of a drug can be changed to change its characteristics, how biology affects therapeutics, how biologic disease markers change drug choices, how learning all of this information changes how you educate & cousel your patients.

I memorize the mechanisms, how the chemistry of a drug can be changed to change its characteristics, how biology affects therapeutics, how biologic disease markers change drug choices for each test. Yeah I know that sucks... I actually get really good grades in the short term, but in the long term... like on rotations... I think I will have to study harder than those that already have the info commited to memory. I will probably look stupider too.

 

[Caverject]

I think museabuse and myself should be the last people answering "how hard is..." questions

 

[Ndcyciv]

I guess I'm the odd ball of the group because I thought pharmacy school was WAAYYY easier than undergrad. But then again I've worked in a pharmacy since 1999 and I'm the geeky one that likes to do CE's when I'm bored.
That being said, I don't think I studied as hard as I did in undergrad, but undergrad I got A's and was doing a dual bachelor's and master's degree on an average of 22 credits a quarter. But I can tell you I didn't get straight A's in pharmacy school, but never went below a C (had medical problems that led me in the hospital for 2 months and I had to take 9 exams when I returned to keep in line with my class).

Honestly, there is no sense in worrying about how hard its going to be or be frightened of something. I was so scared of one class that I bought a book during break to study it so I knew what was going on before I went to class and I turned out to do really well in it.

Just take one day at a time and try to have fun and learn what you need to know. Before you know it graduation comes quickly and that's the scary part (I graduate this coming June-I don't even have a job I want lined up!!! But I already have the retail chain back-up plan)

 

[emogrrrrl]

I think where a lot of difficulty comes in for most people is time management, and not necessarily the ability to comprehend the material. This may have already been stated, so I apologize if I'm just repeating something.

My pharmacy school requires 19-22 credit hour semesters, in addition to having rotations and didactics during our 3rd year. If you don't know how to manage your time, you find yourself in a lot of trouble. There will always be those few who just don't get it, and no matter what they do they can't pass the classes.

I can only partially agree with pharmacy being solely based on memorization. There are some classes that are, but I think this also depends on your school. A lot of our second year classes are about application and the ability to use the information you've acquired in a clinical setting.

I've been fortunate that I haven't had to study as much as some of my counterparts. Is it easier then undergrad?...For me, I would have to say yes. Only because I think having a degree (in addition to 2 years of post bac studies) prior to starting pharmacy has allowed me to "get the hang" of what I need to study. I'm not saying you need a degree to do well, it's just my personal experience. I don't waste my time studying information that won't be tested and I think it only came with time for me. I'm also not saying that the material is easier, it's definitely a lot more in depth then your pre-pharmacy classes. Easy for me is simply not having to spend every waking moment studying to do well in a class and being able to understand the material in a lot less time.

 

[Rx_of_Music]

Just to put this out there I am a music performance major and have taken the prerequisites for pharmacy school. I have to say that the hardest classes I have taken have been in music not science or mathematics. Those subjects are easy for me. I have a cumulative GPA of 3.96 and a pre-pharmacy GPA of 4.0. The only B's I've made have been in music classes. So don't think that majors in the arts are easier than those of the sciences. Just my 2 cents. 🙂

 

[KARM12]

I think pharmacy school is easier overall. The only big difference is that I am a lot more busy than in undergrad....taking 2 exams every week. But I think I am given the tools to succeed and as long as I study for exams, I am pretty much gonna get an A or B on them. Where as in undergrad (Univ of IL in Champaign)...I could study all week and be lucky to get a C. None of my classes are curved here and they were mostly curved in undergrad. I think that makes a huge difference.

 

[miamipharmd]

Hi you all,

To anyone who're already in the Pharm. D. program, just how hard are the classes? I'm getting ready to apply next year and just want to know or have an idea what's ahead so I can better prepare myself (mentally, physicaly, or whatever else that I need to be prepare for). Are there a lot of memorization? Please, any detail insightful information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[utpharmdude]

If you can sucessfully make it through undergrads, you will be just fine in pharmacy school. Pharmacy school will require more time than undergrads but it is all a learning process and you can quickly adapt.

Hi you all,

To anyone who're already in the Pharm. D. program, just how hard are the classes? I'm getting ready to apply next year and just want to know or have an idea what's ahead so I can better prepare myself (mentally, physicaly, or whatever else that I need to be prepare for). Are there a lot of memorization? Please, any detail insightful information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[ultracet]

If you can sucessfully make it through undergrads, you will be just fine in pharmacy school. Pharmacy school will require more time than undergrads but it is all a learning process and you can quickly adapt.

Bull S***

nice thought but no

it will depend on where you did your undergrad and where you go to pharm school.

it is grad school... a whole new realm of depth of information and expectations.

the most prepared students have taken a graduate level class or two to know what is expected of them or at least really tough upper division chem classes.

 

[cdpiano27]

Very hard!!! This is a professional program. Especially if you go to a research based school.

 

[cdpiano27]

KARM12? Were you computer science major at UIUC undergrad?

If so, that will be harder than pharmacy school unless it is maybe Buffalo, UF, UCSF, UCSD, you get the point. That is almost equivalent to the undergrad at MIT.

I am currrently in a PhD program in statistics. It all depends on the level of the other students in your class how well you do. That is what I noticed. There were times when the other students in my class weren't that good and I got the highest grade in the class and got an A in undergrad. in grad school, there are times when I study very hard and it is slightly above the median but that is the cut-off for A- in a core masters course and a B or B+ in a PhD course. But in my grad school, the professor rarely gives below B because that is considered failing. So grad school grading is different but then you will also have much better students as well.

Pharm school is different because the cutoff for staying in school is usually 2.0 like in undergrad rather than 3.0 like in grad. Grading is all relative anyway.

 

[ethyl]

I'd imagine professor quality would greatly impact whether or not pharm school is that much harder than undergrad. Are the majority of professors in pharmacy curriculums decent? Or is it just like my undergrad senior level courses, where some have chips on their shoulders and test you unfairly to destroy you... while making fun of you at the same time. 😳

 

[KARM12]

KARM12? Were you computer science major at UIUC undergrad?

If so, that will be harder than pharmacy school unless it is maybe Buffalo, UF, UCSF, UCSD, you get the point. That is almost equivalent to the undergrad at MIT.

I am currrently in a PhD program in statistics. It all depends on the level of the other students in your class how well you do. That is what I noticed. There were times when the other students in my class weren't that good and I got the highest grade in the class and got an A in undergrad. in grad school, there are times when I study very hard and it is slightly above the median but that is the cut-off for A- in a core masters course and a B or B+ in a PhD course. But in my grad school, the professor rarely gives below B because that is considered failing. So grad school grading is different but then you will also have much better students as well.

Pharm school is different because the cutoff for staying in school is usually 2.0 like in undergrad rather than 3.0 like in grad. Grading is all relative anyway.

I actually did get my degree in engineering from UIUC.

I think a big thing is that classes aren't curved at MWU...so everyone has the potential to get A's...with that being said, they don't make it impossible to get A's if you put the effort in. They are very fair. I do have more work than I have ever had in undergrad, but I think I've learned time management pretty well by my 6th year of college.

I do think professors make a difference, but it is hard to compare. We don't have large amounts of profs that are tops in their field, but at the same time, our profs are here to be teachers and not for other reason (ie research). There are plus and minuses to all schools. They all teach the same things, but just go about it a different way. It all depends on what you are looking to get out of school.... I mean I did get accepted to UIC which is a very good program, but decided on MWU because I knew I would be happier here for other reasons. A lot more goes into it than rankings and such. I don't regret the decision and I don't feel like I am getting a sub-par education.

 

[Alwayzsmilingxo]

What is the hardest class in anyone's opinion? I think the biggest problems most people would have is time management and procrastination. Yea it's a lot of information thrown at you all at once but i really don't think it could be THAT difficult. Maybe the school where I took my undergrad classes was easy or something, who knows..i have nothing to judge it against. However, I'm not afraid at all. I think my worst fear is just moving so far away from home. I guess it depends on the person as well, who knows. People that have experienced pharmacy school already correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I've wondered this myself - how can you possibly know how you are going to react to the pressure until you get there? I do know this however, some of the most intelligent people I know are currently in Pharm school. They are struggling - every single one of them. So I would say if you really want it - you'll make it through. But... The days of laughing at this class or that (because research paper's/calculus/or whatever don't phase you) are pretty much over.

I wish I was already starting so I could find out - can you tell I am motivated??

~above~

 

[WVUPharm2007]

5 hours of sleep since 8AM Monday. 3 finals down, 3 finals to go. Each of which make an undergrad final look like a medical terminology quiz. Yup. Piece of cake.

 

[dgroulx]

I'd imagine professor quality would greatly impact whether or not pharm school is that much harder than undergrad. Are the majority of professors in pharmacy curriculums decent? Or is it just like my undergrad senior level courses, where some have chips on their shoulders and test you unfairly to destroy you... while making fun of you at the same time. 😳

They are mostly decent. Some are poor teachers, but they don't have chips on their shoulders. They just teach because it is something they have to do when they are a researcher.

Some of my classmates complained that the professor was trying to "trick" them with test questions. These students were those who chose memorization as a study method. When a question made you think and apply knowledge, they thought it was a trick question.

 

[kellia]

5 hours of sleep since 8AM Monday. 3 finals down, 3 finals to go. Each of which make an undergrad final look like a medical terminology quiz. Yup. Piece of cake.

I long for the days of pre-pharm classes!! My husband is taking some of them now, and they seem so basic!

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I got 1 nap hour and 3 sleep hours last night. I up to 9 hours of sleep since Monday. Can't nap now, I have another test at 3:00 EST ( 5 hours), then I have to come home and study until 2AM for another test at 11Am tomorrow morning. THEN I can sle.....oh, wait, no, then I have to go to work at 1PM until 9PM.

 

[Trancelucent1]

They are mostly decent. Some are poor teachers, but they don't have chips on their shoulders. They just teach because it is something they have to do when they are a researcher.

Some of my classmates complained that the professor was trying to "trick" them with test questions. These students were those who chose memorization as a study method. When a question made you think and apply knowledge, they thought it was a trick question.

This is exactly what some people complain about. You'd think they'd stop memorizing slides and start learning how to apply the material but no. I definately think it depends on the institution though. I've known some people who've breezed through school but have had serious problems on rotations b/c they didn't actually learn much because they just memorized.

 

[reven]

😕

 

[LiveLoveFartRepeat]

It's all nice to talk about knowledge that would help us help patients in real life..meanwhile in school they try to feed you, as much as they can, of all that theorical knowledge....

So, I think it's easy to tell somebody to focus more on patients and less on theorical knowledge..but the thruth is that theorical K. is the base of everything..even if for some people (like the one that do not do good on rotation and were doing great in school)..I believe that such people are minorities...the schools in the US have been producing excellent pharmacist years after years..and the back bone of all this in the theorical knowledge....

Theory meet practical need on the patients..somewhere down the line when most of us start putting together things in our mind..like a big puzzle..

 

[PuertoRico]

I'm planning go to Dental school but if I have some problems to get into, goes to Pharm school is my secondo option. I would like to know how hard is pharm school!!! I heard that is VERRYYYYY DIFFICULT! but when I see the Pharm curriculum, it doesn't seems hard or difficult!

I want your opinions about it! (thanks) 😍

 

[PuertoRico]

I'm planning go to Dental school but if I have some problems to get into, goes to Pharm school is my secondo option. I would like to know how hard is pharm school!!! I heard that is VERRYYYYY DIFFICULT! but when I see the Pharm curriculum, it doesn't seems hard or difficult!

I want your opinions about it! (thanks

 

[crazybob]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=4125295
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=1420585

 

[tungsten87]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=4125295
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=1420585

was just about to do that... thank you.

 

[b1234]

:troll:

 

[ShadowRX]

I'm planning go to Dental school but if I have some problems to get into, goes to Pharm school is my secondo option. I would like to know how hard is pharm school!!! I heard that is VERRYYYYY DIFFICULT! but when I see the Pharm curriculum, it doesn't seems hard or difficult!

I want your opinions about it! (thanks

Wait... wait...

Go to dental school - you're better off committing suicide there than in the pharmacy field.

/exit

 

[naseuy]

I'm planning go to Dental school but if I have some problems to get into, goes to Pharm school is my secondo option. I would like to know how hard is pharm school!!! I heard that is VERRYYYYY DIFFICULT! but when I see the Pharm curriculum, it doesn't seems hard or difficult!

I want your opinions about it! (thanks

If dental school is your first choice, stick with it. If you fail to get in the first try, do it again.