How many of you pharm students are stimulated by what you're learning in pharm?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

phattestlewt

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
152
Reaction score
5
How many of you pharm students are stimulated by what you're learning in pharm school?

It seems like all of you would say yes, but is the curriculum engaging? What do you learn?

I'm trying to decide between pharmd and md and i like both of them but i like the fundamental nature of what one would learn in pharmd more than md.

Heard of any doctors going into pharmd programs after? or pharmd--> md?
I guess i would at some point in my life really like to learn (for the sake of knowledge, yes hard to believe isn't it?) pharmaceutical sciences. I find it fascinating and would hate to give up on it.

if i do an md/phd program, what field could i do a phd in to learn more pharmaceutical sciences?

Members don't see this ad.
 
How many of you pharm students are stimulated by what you're learning in pharm school?

It seems like all of you would say yes, but is the curriculum engaging? What do you learn?

I'm trying to decide between pharmd and md and i like both of them but i like the fundamental nature of what one would learn in pharmd more than md.

Heard of any doctors going into pharmd programs after? or pharmd--> md?
I guess i would at some point in my life really like to learn (for the sake of knowledge, yes hard to believe isn't it?) pharmaceutical sciences. I find it fascinating and would hate to give up on it.

if i do an md/phd program, what field could i do a phd in to learn more pharmaceutical sciences?

I did not find most of school engaging. I find that learning on my own for its own sake is more exciting, long-lasting, and effective. Most, but not all, teachers are clock-pushers and have no teaching sense. They stand and regurgitate or read crap off a PPT.
If you're interested in becoming a Pharmacology Researcher, then, a straight PhD in Pharmacology will get you there. You'd be wasting time and money on the PharmD/PhD or MD/PhD. And yes, there is demand for experts in Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry, who do you think is working at Pfizer, GSK, BI, and so on?
 
There was one MD in my Pharm.D. class. He was a PCP and got burned out, so he decided to change careers and he now teaches AP at my pharmacy school. I know of a couple of Pharm.D.'s that have gone on to earn MD and DO degrees. If you are truly passionate about learning and not memorizing go to medical school. Just my 2 cents..
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Any school's curriculum is designed to satisfy the accreditation standards so they have to include things that I'm not very interested in too. You'll not love all the things you learn in school. However, majority of the time, I love what I'm learning. The main difference from the undergraduate is that there are days that I look forward to going to lecture when the topic is what I'm interested in. I would say the most intellectually stimulating moment is while I'm working in a pharmacy and I'm stuck with a clinical question that I can't answer yet. Then I will go search drug monographs, guidelines, textbooks, pubmed and etc. to satisfy my need for an answer haha.

If you're debating for your career pathway, the best way is to experience it yourself. Look for volunteering opportunities. Read professional magazines to see what's going on in the profession. They do give you insights. At least it did for me. You need to figure out pros and cons before choosing anything since you're about to invest 4+years anywhere you go. Most of the times, people can't stand the cons and thus do not choose that pathway. No job is perfect. See if benefit outweighs the risk.
 
Tbh I really liked what I learn in pharmacy school. The curriculum is such so that you learn pathophys which is from a medical/sometimes pharmacist perspective (disease state, etc), the pharmacology (how the drug works in the body etc.), and the therapeutics (how you treat the patient which is key to what you are supposed to be doing as a pharmacist).

Understandably it's tough, there is tons of cramming so it's almost like reading a Harry Potter book on release day and then forgetting it by the time the movie comes out. Kind of a silly comparison, but as a fourth year student, I realize there is tons I forgot...so while on rotations (practical experience) I'm refreshing it all. It's tough, and rotations can be draining...I've done my retail one so far, so I gotta admit I didn't really feel this one-but I do like learning, looking up stuff about health in general, etc. so the researching part for me is really enjoyable.

Are you in high school? You should major in pharmaceutical sciences. I kno my school offers a BS in pharmaceutical sciences and I think that's a great undergrad degree for either pharmacy or medicine. You should also get a job as a tech ASAP. Working as a tech will expose u to what pharmacy is like and is great for pharmacy school b/c working experience means A LOT when in pschool-learned this the hard way. Try to shadow a doctor or get some volunteer hours in. See what you're feeling. A lot of what you learn in school, while it may be intellectually stimulating, is not necessarily reflective of reality. Get practical experience.

There are way more PharmDs who go to MDs than MDs who go to Pharmacy. I've heard of one person quitting med school and doing pharmacy. But I think PharmD-->MD route is more common-prob b/c people want a far more clinical aspect in their work. Also prob the fact that MDs are meant to be diagnostic experts in that they translate your symptoms into a disease state/problem and go from there so they have vast knowledge in anatomy/physiology and all that. Pharmacists are more like treatment experts, so they are supposed to have way more knowledge and say in what you can do to manage your disease state (both using medicine + non-therapy recs) as well as have knowledge about the drugs and how it affects the body. It's a bit more chemistry/biochemistry-like.

If u read the forum, just be aware pharmacy jobs are becoming a bit hard to find. You should be ready to move out of state, maybe in a rural area, to find a job. There are jobs in retail, hospital and clinical but it seems like most jobs are available in retail. However, if you are truly passionate and love what you are learning, don't let this discourage you. People are still able to find jobs in areas of their choice (from what I've witnessed), it's just not as easy as it once used to be.

MD jobs aren't facing a saturation like pharmacy jobs are (at least not to my knowledge) but their hours are long and haphazard and w/ changes to health care, they may be expected to see a lot more patients, which seems like it could be quite draining.

But don't take my word. Get the practical experience, hang around w/ both pharmacists and docs, and see wat u like. Good luck!
 
tbh, if you are going to work in retail, 75% of the stuff you learn in school is a complete waste of your time and tuition. only thing you really need to pay attention to is law, and drug info classes
 
A doctor in my town was originally an anesthesiologist. Became a nurse and pharmacist somewhere along the way. He eventually went back to family practice. I never really got to ask him why he switched careers so many times, and which ones he liked best. Though, I wish I did :(

As for my own opinion, I think had I not been accepted into pharmacy school so quickly (only did two year pre-reqs), I would have gotten my PhD in pharmacology. I was working in a pharmacology research lab for a year, and I really liked it. It's definitely a continuous learning cycle if you set research as your career. The issue is, if you make it your career, you might end up being more involved in grant writing. I think that was my PI's biggest frustration.

Edit: I should probably note that I haven't actually started pharmacy school, so I can't really tell you if it's engaging for me.
 
tbh, if you are going to work in retail, 75% of the stuff you learn in school is a complete waste of your time and tuition. only thing you really need to pay attention to is law, and drug info classes

Yes, school is a waste of time from the perspective of most retail and many hospital pharmacists. HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that the job doesn't demand intellectual capacity from you. You will have to learn things on your own. Do that NOW before you start practicing.
 
Go shadow different pharmacists and physicians actually working in a specialty area you would be interested in. That's the best way to figure out if you are going to like it or not.
 
Go shadow different pharmacists and physicians actually working in a specialty area you would be interested in. That's the best way to figure out if you are going to like it or not.

This is a good method. BUT: A job feels different when you know what you're doing versus when you don't. Being a new cashier/intern/tech at a pharmacy sucks vs being the pharmacist who has been there for even a few years. This can be applied to practically every field. Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a profession by your 2 months of painful (in)experience in it.
 
I did not find most of school engaging. I find that learning on my own for its own sake is more exciting, long-lasting, and effective. Most, but not all, teachers are clock-pushers and have no teaching sense. They stand and regurgitate or read crap off a PPT.
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Completely in agreement.

There was one MD in my Pharm.D. class. He was a PCP and got burned out, so he decided to change careers and he now teaches AP at my pharmacy school. I know of a couple of Pharm.D.'s that have gone on to earn MD and DO degrees. If you are truly passionate about learning and not memorizing go to medical school. Just my 2 cents..

Darn, now they tell me...too late!:(
 
If you're more interested in adverse effects or why different people react differently to medications, you can always do a clinical pharmacology fellowship in medicine, i.e. you do med school, then 3 years internal medicine, then 2 years of clinical pharmacology. These people can do the same things as regular internists, but spend a lot of time on pharmacology research interests, e.g. pharmacogenomics, predicting drug response, so on. Very intellectually stimulating, and you get to work with patients.
 
If you're more interested in adverse effects or why different people react differently to medications, you can always do a clinical pharmacology fellowship in medicine, i.e. you do med school, then 3 years internal medicine, then 2 years of clinical pharmacology. These people can do the same things as regular internists, but spend a lot of time on pharmacology research interests, e.g. pharmacogenomics, predicting drug response, so on. Very intellectually stimulating, and you get to work with patients.

Not sure if I would recommend 5 years of post-grad training to become a clinical pharmacologist (a specialty that has been on the decline since the 1970s as clinical pharmacist have largely replaced them).
 
Top