How much do you think a PharmD will help in medical school?

[pharmer]

To you seasoned med students out there,

How much do you think having a PharmD will help out in medical school? Just curious since I will be graduating pharm school in May and starting medical school in August. Many of the residents and med students I have encountered on clinical rotations tell me I will breeze through but I can't help but think they are just blowing sunshine up my a$$.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Hoosierdaddy]

pharmer,

One of my classmates is a registered pharmacist, but I don't think he has a pharm D (I think he has the old five-year pharm degree). We're almost done with our second year of med school, and he's definitely in the top fourth of our class. I don't think he would describe it as a breeze, though. Other than our pharmacology class, he really didn't have much of an advantage over the rest of us. He's a pretty smart guy, but he works just as hard as the rest of us. Good luck in med school.

 

[pharmer]

Yeah, I definitely cannot see myself breezing through medical school, except for possibly pharm, but this is only one class. Then again, I will probably have to relearn all the little minute (usually nonsignificant) details on the drugs being covered for the tests just like everyone else. I must say though, that it is nice to get clinical experience early on and to be able to observe the students and residents present patients during sit down rounds. I think this helps one get a good idea of what material is really important during the first two years of med school and better prepare one for the clinical years.

pharmer

 

[The Pill Counter]

suprisingly less than I expected. not much different than having a B.Sc., except you get to impress people once in a while by mentioning the dosage of an obscure drug.

 

[BamaFlip]

A friend of mine in my class holds a pharm D. He seems to be doing very well and enjoying himself thoroughly. He even works on weekends and has a girlfriend. I think that there is a lot be said about familiarity in a subject matter. A huge chunk of what we cover in class is far less foreign to him than it is to most others in the class. In addition, holding a pharm D will help you to do better in both 2nd and 3rd year as well (at least to be familiarized to medication classifications, standard dosages, etc.)

All in all, everyone is technically on the same playing field since most information that is tested (at least at my school) is random recall or minutia.

 

[LSUMED2006]

Obviously, you will start out with a wonderful grasp of pharmacology. Also, it is nice having at least been exposed to a variety of health conditions and human physiology. That being said, there are a good number of subjects (histo, embryo, anatomy, etc.) that you will be weaker in than those who have bs/ms in various biological fields. In the end, it is a tradeoff; however, I am very, very glad I spent some time in pharmD school.

That being said, getting a pharmd, just to prepare oneself for medschool, is a big waste of time and money. Spending some time in pharmacy school (or if you can find a rare pharmacy program that offers a bs in pharmaceutical sciences) is a great way to go.

I can say that anyone telling you that you will breeze through is indeed blowing smoke up your ass. Medical school is much, much more challenging than pharmacy school. I remember back in the day hearing some students in my pharmacy class debate whether pharmacy or med school was harder...I wish I could go back in time. For example, I took a very tough semeser of biochem in pharmacy school; when I entered medical school we covered everything in MUCH greater detail, plus much more, in the first 4 weeks of biochem! The head of the toxicology department where I attended pharmacy school told me that the immunology course he taught in pharmacy school (again considered to be a kiler course) would be covered in less than a month in med school. He was right. Having been to pharmacy school, I can say that you have an awesome foundation, not only in terms of material, but also in terms of being in a professional school and having a good study foundation.

Hope this helps,
Jason