If I'm more interested in pharmaceutical industry,
(more research based, concentrate more on developing and testing drugs) should I go to graduate school and get PhD instead of going to Pharmacy school? (and get pharmD)
Is there a way that I can go to pharmacy school and work in the field that is more concentrated on research?
We could probably use a little bit more information on what part of the research process that you're looking to get into. Both PhD's and PharmD's can be involved in drug development, but you're more likely to see one type involved in one phase over another.
PhD's are more involved in more "basic" areas of research (basic as in base-level fundamental research... not basic as in simple). They are going to be involved with things such as the development of the actual chemical structure. They're also going to be more involved with the delivery of the drug (as in, how to incorporate it into a vehicle or how to conjugate it with something so that your body can take it in safely and easily).
PharmD's would be more involved with the clinical phase of drug research. In terms of drug development, this would involve concerns of designing the structure of the trial and then evaluating the endpoints to be looked at. They look at what happens to the patients who take the drug, and they also look at the relevance and results of the drug.
Obviously, there is a degree of overlap between one area and another, and one area doesn't mutually exclude PhD's as opposed to PharmD's. However, these are certainly the general trends.
On another obvious note: Obviously, picking up both doctorates would cover your bases and expand your knowledge. However, I think the idea of a dual-doctorate route is being treated a little lightly in this thread. A PharmD takes 4 years (some are 3 years), and you can option into a 1-2 year residency afterwards. A PhD generally takes 6-8 years (varies quite a bit, behold:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v431/n7006/full/nj7006-382a.html). If you go for each program one at a time, then that's anywhere from 9-12 years in a school (and 14+ years if you count residency).
If you decide to do a dual-doctorate route, then hopefully you would find your way into a school that offers the option of pursuing a PharmD and a PhD at the same time. This will shorten your time-commitment into the 5-8 year range. These aren't exactly well-publicized "programs" for the simple fact that they're not very popular. They're extremely rigorous, take longer than each doctorate by itself, and don't ensure that you make more money in the end.
In terms of motivation, you would have to be very motivated to try to pick up both at once. When you graduate from undergrad and you consider your options, simple interest wouldn't be a proper reason to pursue a dual-degree. In addition to being extremely good at organic chemistry and physical chemistry (not to be confused with general chemistry), you would need to really enjoy that kind of stuff too.
And it's not at all like trying to double-major. I almost accidentally double-majored in undergrad for the simple fact that I liked taking higher-level Government classes. That sure as hell won't happen with a PharmD/PhD.
In short, a PhD in pharmacology sounds like what you're looking for. I also want to add that I have an immense amount of respect for people who run at PhD's for the simple fact that you don't really do PhD's for the money. You do it because you have an immeasurable affection for the subject which has endured through a hundred months of pain and fatigue.
Anyho, in the odd-chance that you're still thinking about a dual-degree approach, Ohio State has a decent write-up of their program:
http://www.pharmacy.ohio-state.edu/programs/ceut/programs/faq.cfm .
Best of wishes.
--Garfield3d
