If you had to do it over...

[highlyfavored]

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would you still choose pharmacy? If no, why not?

 

[sdn1977]

would you still choose pharmacy? If no, why not?

yep - in a heartbeat! Other than deciding upon on my spouse, it has been the best decision of my adult life. My professional life has given me the mental & academic stimulation I knew I wanted. I've been able to associate with some of the best medical & pharmaceutical folks I could ask to know. I've had the flexibility to pursue my personal life to the extent I've wanted & look forward to (a retirement which allows me to work when & where I choose). I've had tremendous flexibility in sites of practice & have been given the tools, educationally, to be able to rise to the challenges presented over the years. I've been valued and respected by my pharmaceutical peers and have been seen by folks in other health professions as a resource they can always rely upon. Finally, I've had the great opportunity, which really is just a unique twist of fate, to live during a time of tremendous research & development in drugs & their use in modifying disease, which I find fascinating. I'm sure there are other reasons for me still liking my choice after 29 years, but there it is in a nutshell!

 

[Moxxie]

yep - in a heartbeat! Other than deciding upon on my spouse, it has been the best decision of my adult life. My professional life has given me the mental & academic stimulation I knew I wanted. I've been able to associate with some of the best medical & pharmaceutical folks I could ask to know. I've had the flexibility to pursue my personal life to the extent I've wanted & look forward to (a retirement which allows me to work when & where I choose). I've had tremendous flexibility in sites of practice & have been given the tools, educationally, to be able to rise to the challenges presented over the years. I've been valued and respected by my pharmaceutical peers and have been seen by folks in other health professions as a resource they can always rely upon. Finally, I've had the great opportunity, which really is just a unique twist of fate, to live during a time of tremendous research & development in drugs & their use in modifying disease, which I find fascinating. I'm sure there are other reasons for me still liking my choice after 29 years, but there it is in a nutshell!

👍 👍 👍 These are precisely the reasons that I'm excited to be going into the field of pharmacy. The profession is going to be changing even more in the next few decades, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens!

 

[bananaface]

Yes. Hopefully I'll still feel that way in 29 years.

 

[dgroulx]

Ask me again after I graduate. 😀

I hate pharmacy school. If I had to do it over, I would probably see if I liked it better at another school. I might just hate my school.

I do love learning the material and I enjoy it when I am working. I think I will like being a pharmacist and it will be worth it in the end, if I don't die first.

 

[gablet]

I wish that I would have done this 5 years ago. It's hard doing it with a family.

 

[pharmeronadell]

Ask me again after I graduate. 😀

I hate pharmacy school. If I had to do it over, I would probably see if I liked it better at another school. I might just hate my school.

I do love learning the material and I enjoy it when I am working. I think I will like being a pharmacist and it will be worth it in the end, if I don't die first.

Just hang in there, Dana! You can do this. The profession is much bigger than the school you're attending. Once you're finished with school, you get to choose where to work, and hopefully, surround yourself with happy coworkers!

 

[crossurfingers]

Ask me again after I graduate. 😀

I hate pharmacy school. If I had to do it over, I would probably see if I liked it better at another school. I might just hate my school.

I do love learning the material and I enjoy it when I am working. I think I will like being a pharmacist and it will be worth it in the end, if I don't die first.

I'm hoping I would say that I'd do it over again after I graduate. Right now, not so much. And the sad part is that I like school more than I actually like working in a pharmacy. 🙁 I'm hoping things improve with time.

 

[usi]

Ask me again after I graduate. 😀

I hate pharmacy school. If I had to do it over, I would probably see if I liked it better at another school. I might just hate my school.

I do love learning the material and I enjoy it when I am working. I think I will like being a pharmacist and it will be worth it in the end, if I don't die first.

What do you hate the most...

 

[28657]

Yes. I would still pick pharmacy...it offers me #1-great pay, #2-great job opportunities, #3-schedule flexibility, #4-a chance to exercise my brain, and #5-a nice little addition of "helping others".

I'm on rotations with a classmate of mine and we couldn't be further apart with our expectations of our clinical experience. In the past 2 weeks, we have answered an in-depth drug question from a doc, researched 2 meds for possible addition to the formulary, and conducted a medication utilization evaluation (MUE) of Tygacil and Zyvox. I'm quite satisfied with our projects; however, my classmate HATES it. She wants more patient contact (I don't want ANY). So she asked our preceptor for the opportunity for more patient contact. He's doing everything he can to accomodate her request like discussing outpatient meds with patients, going on rounds with docs, and hanging out in the ICU following ICU docs all day. She's not really happy with any of this stuff, she does NOT want to be a pharmacist. She told the preceptor she'd "think about talking to patients about outpatient meds, but that she already does that in retail, so it doesn't interest her". He proceeded to say "Well THIS is what pharmacists do!".

My point is, it's important to know the duties of your profession before choosing it.

 

[gdk420]

would you still choose pharmacy? If no, why not?

No, I would not do it again.

 

[dgroulx]

What do you hate the most...

The amount of work to do in the given time. This semester is only 6 weeks long because they send us out on rotations at the end of February. This means that the take all the material that is supposed to be taught over 14 weeks and cram it into 6 weeks. Then we have rotations for a full year, then return to school for the final 8 weeks so they can cram another 14 weeks into that time frame. UF is a 5 year school crammed into 4 years.

I do school work every weekend, because there is no time during the day to do work. The therapeutics cases are extremely difficult, but we only have 2 days to prepare and most of that time is taken up with attending classes. It's not as bad for people who live close to campus. In hindsight, I wish I would have shared an apartment in Seminole then drove home on weekends. Yesterday, I left my house at 6:30am and didn't get home until 7:30pm. I had another migrane (2 days in a row, now). Took aspirin and slept for 2 hours. My husband made me some dinner, then I just crashed again.

 

[sdn1977]

Yes. I would still pick pharmacy...it offers me #1-great pay, #2-great job opportunities, #3-schedule flexibility, #4-a chance to exercise my brain, and #5-a nice little addition of "helping others".

I'm on rotations with a classmate of mine and we couldn't be further apart with our expectations of our clinical experience. In the past 2 weeks, we have answered an in-depth drug question from a doc, researched 2 meds for possible addition to the formulary, and conducted a medication utilization evaluation (MUE) of Tygacil and Zyvox. I'm quite satisfied with our projects; however, my classmate HATES it. She wants more patient contact (I don't want ANY). So she asked our preceptor for the opportunity for more patient contact. He's doing everything he can to accomodate her request like discussing outpatient meds with patients, going on rounds with docs, and hanging out in the ICU following ICU docs all day. She's not really happy with any of this stuff, she does NOT want to be a pharmacist. She told the preceptor she'd "think about talking to patients about outpatient meds, but that she already does that in retail, so it doesn't interest her". He proceeded to say "Well THIS is what pharmacists do!".

My point is, it's important to know the duties of your profession before choosing it.

yep - agree completely!

 

[meg]

Sounds like your classmate wants to be a doctor or nurse..

 

[kwizard]

Yes. I would still pick pharmacy...it offers me #1-great pay, #2-great job opportunities, #3-schedule flexibility, #4-a chance to exercise my brain, and #5-a nice little addition of "helping others".

My point is, it's important to know the duties of your profession before choosing it.

I guess another thing to consider are the various different roles one can serve as a pharmacist. I have a fair amount of former classmates who are somewhat disenchanted w/ pharmacy as a profession, but I'd agree that many of them have not taken the oppurtunity to become more informed about their career choice and/or actively taken an effort to gain exposure to other potential oppurtunities.

Has your classmate considered a VA hospital where you can function w/ more autonomy as a provider and potentially run your own clinic? Another option for more 1:1 patient contact and disease management would be an independent pharmacy or a more disease management approach via a managed care organization like Kaiser Permanente. I guess the main point is that ICU inpt pharmacy isn't for everybody and it is ok to have a more ambulatory focus. You just have to know what setting (inpt vs outpt vs am care vs managed care) suits you best and then find a way to expose yourself to that setting. Oppurtunities in life are often what you make of them. I think the same holds true w/i pharmacy.

To answer the original question: Yes I would do it over again, but I too have wondered from time to time whether I wanted to make change (possibly go to med school out of frustration w/ some of the MDs I've worked w/ in the past). Everytime I think about it, I come back to the realization that I enjoy pharmacy tremendously and I want to improve patient care as a pharmacist and I figure the best contribution I can make is as a pharmacist b/c we are a necessary entity in health care decision making. I'm still holding out for a TV show glorfying pharmacists like MDs are glorified in ER or house. Maybe they can call it Rx or Pharmacy. That'll be must see TV!? 🙂

 

[sdn1977]

kwizard - speaking of which.....have you noticed recently pharmacists are the bad guys on TV? Did you catch the House episode when the pharmacist filled an rx with the wrong medication & House had to come save the day? How about the Desperate Housewives episode when the pharmacist killed the MD to get the MD's wife (the redhead)? My husband (a dentist who are usually portrayed as villians) told me he was glad somebody other than dentists are being the bad guys - I told him I thought he was sick!!! 😱 (joking!)

 

[ultracet]

kwizard - speaking of which.....have you noticed recently pharmacists are the bad guys on TV? Did you catch the House episode when the pharmacist filled an rx with the wrong medication & House had to come save the day? How about the Desperate Housewives episode when the pharmacist killed the MD to get the MD's wife (the redhead)? My husband (a dentist who are usually portrayed as villians) told me he was glad somebody other than dentists are being the bad guys - I told him I thought he was sick!!! 😱 (joking!)

no rph will ever match the dentist in little shop of horrors....

I'll be a den-ha-tist

 

[alwaystired]

kwizard - speaking of which.....have you noticed recently pharmacists are the bad guys on TV? Did you catch the House episode when the pharmacist filled an rx with the wrong medication & House had to come save the day? How about the Desperate Housewives episode when the pharmacist killed the MD to get the MD's wife (the redhead)? My husband (a dentist who are usually portrayed as villians) told me he was glad somebody other than dentists are being the bad guys - I told him I thought he was sick!!! 😱 (joking!)

Maybe other professions are jealous that we are amoung "the most trusted professions" and they are trying to muck us up....

 

[highlyfavored]

Yes. I would still pick pharmacy...it offers me #1-great pay, #2-great job opportunities, #3-schedule flexibility, #4-a chance to exercise my brain, and #5-a nice little addition of "helping others".

I'm on rotations with a classmate of mine and we couldn't be further apart with our expectations of our clinical experience. In the past 2 weeks, we have answered an in-depth drug question from a doc, researched 2 meds for possible addition to the formulary, and conducted a medication utilization evaluation (MUE) of Tygacil and Zyvox. I'm quite satisfied with our projects; however, my classmate HATES it. She wants more patient contact (I don't want ANY). So she asked our preceptor for the opportunity for more patient contact. He's doing everything he can to accomodate her request like discussing outpatient meds with patients, going on rounds with docs, and hanging out in the ICU following ICU docs all day. She's not really happy with any of this stuff, she does NOT want to be a pharmacist. She told the preceptor she'd "think about talking to patients about outpatient meds, but that she already does that in retail, so it doesn't interest her". He proceeded to say "Well THIS is what pharmacists do!".

My point is, it's important to know the duties of your profession before choosing it.

When you say schedule flexibility, you mean like...what? I know in retail, I usually see 1 pharmacist and a couple of techs. Say for instance, someone called and you needed to go home immediately, how would that work? How much notice do you have to give to take PTO? I guess I'm trying to compare the flexibility I have at my current job to a career in pharmacy.
If you're classmate doesn't want the talk to pts about outpt meds, what is she looking for when she says more pt contact?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

No.
Porn star.
Less stress.

 

[off2skl]

In the past 2 weeks, we have answered an in-depth drug question from a doc, researched 2 meds for possible addition to the formulary, and conducted a medication utilization evaluation (MUE) of Tygacil and Zyvox.

Sounds like a cool rotation (though a lot of work)..yikes!!! I'll be glad when I'm on rotations, this drive is killing me!

 

[kwizard]

If you're classmate doesn't want the talk to pts about outpt meds, what is she looking for when she says more pt contact?

Since I have just enabled the power to read minds I am assuming that the classmate mentioned in the previous list may become easily frustrated by reviewing discharge meds in an ICU setting. A possibly reason for this frustration may be due to feeling by the student that they are not directly involved in the pt care (i.e. the meds have already been decided by MD (albeit w/ some reccomendations from pharmacy) and they as the pharmacist may just be reviewing what is already written on paper).

Obviously I don't know if this is truly the case, but I've observed and encountered similar situations previously. In a critical care/ICU setting even the interaction w/ the pt may not necesarily be ideal as the pt may be comatose/compromised mental status/or any other type of reason b/c after all they are in the ICU.

Some pharmacists thrive in the ICU setting as it is something new every second and can be a really fast paced environment and lots of interventions can be made w/ medical team via drug reccommnedations, therapeutic drug monitoring & dosing, drug interactions, etc.. However, others may desire a more personal relationship w/ the pt where the pt aren't in such a "critical setting".

Retail provides 1:1 interaction w/ pts but still in a fairly stressly environment where you are too often the last chain in decision making process (i.e. MD/NP/PA already made up their mind what they want to give so unless it is something really out of wack typically you have to go w/ the flow). However, I don't want to underestimate the importance of drug counseling at the community level as it is essential for pts to understand what they are taking and how to take it in addition to the thousands of OTC questions you can get.

However, some pharmacists may enjoy managing someones cholesterol and/or blood pressure, and/or seizures in a med management clinic. Other options may be in anticaog therapy. This type of ambulatory setting may provide more enjoyment and reward for those w/ more interest in ambulatory care b/c they aren't just making reccomendations and/or adjusting the vanco due to compromised renal function, but they are actually directing a different scope of the pts care (either via a collaborative care model w/ the MD or w/ almost complete autonomy in the federal sector). So when that person's cholesterol/blood sugar or seizures have become controlled you feel like you have helped that individual reach their goal together as a team (you and that pt). An even more obscure situation is when you are treating a therapeutic endpoint that can't be measured directly by a lab value (i.e. mental illness) and you manage the disease state into remission. Honestly that is a truly rewarding experience which is a little different from inpt setting as often in the inpt setting your thanks may come from the medical team more than the pt and/or their family. Obviously this is all relative to the individual, but luckily pharmacy is diverse enough to probably satisfy a large realm of desires.

As far as scheduling, it varies with whatever sector you practice in. If you want to work 12hr shifts you can do that or if you want to work 8-4:30 M-F you can do that as well. The key is just finding the right kind of setting where that type of scheduling is possible.

 

[28657]

When you say schedule flexibility, you mean like...what? I know in retail, I usually see 1 pharmacist and a couple of techs. Say for instance, someone called and you needed to go home immediately, how would that work? How much notice do you have to give to take PTO? I guess I'm trying to compare the flexibility I have at my current job to a career in pharmacy.

Pharmacy is as flexible as they come:
working on-call, part-time, full-time, or over-time...
Midnight shifts, day shifts...
Wanna go backpacking through Europe for a couple months...quit! It's very easy to find another job.

As for needing to leave work early for an emergency...your DM will either find a replacement or you might just have to shut the pharmacy down....**** happens and work is NOT the most important thing in life.

If you're classmate doesn't want the talk to pts about outpt meds, what is she looking for when she says more pt contact?

You've got me there! 😱

 

[usi]

kwizard - speaking of which.....have you noticed recently pharmacists are the bad guys on TV? Did you catch the House episode when the pharmacist filled an rx with the wrong medication & House had to come save the day? How about the Desperate Housewives episode when the pharmacist killed the MD to get the MD's wife (the redhead)? My husband (a dentist who are usually portrayed as villians) told me he was glad somebody other than dentists are being the bad guys - I told him I thought he was sick!!! 😱 (joking!)

Yeah! I notice that!
To be honest I rather be scary than boring. Because everybody I talk to thinks that pharmacy is for boring nerds... 😡

 

[Sosumi]

That's my gripe with House M.D., even though I usually enjoy that show. It just feeds into the stereotype that doctors know everything. House basically is an expert on every medical specialty, they can perform almost any surgery, and they even do their own labwork! Who needs nurses, other specialty physicians (besides House's oncologist best friend), pharmacists, when you have these superdoctors to save the day? Those nurses, other doctors, pharmacists, and hospital administrators are just there to get in House's way, not save his behind.

It just irritates the more I learn about disease states and therapy how you have to suspend your disbelief watching the show, such as when they diagnose tuberculosis without even bothering to run the definitive tests for it because it's just a plot twist at the end because of course it wasn't tuberculosis after all.

As to the OP's question, my only regret is that I didn't start pharmacy sooner. Although I do wonder about other professions, especially dentistry looks appealing because of the autonomy.

 

[kwizard]

That's my gripe with House M.D., even though I usually enjoy that show. It just feeds into the stereotype that doctors know everything. House basically is an expert on every medical specialty, they can perform almost any surgery, and they even do their own labwork! Who needs nurses, other specialty physicians (besides House's oncologist best friend), pharmacists, when you have these superdoctors to save the day? Those nurses, other doctors, pharmacists, and hospital administrators are just there to get in House's way, not save his behind.

It just irritates the more I learn about disease states and therapy how you have to suspend your disbelief watching the show, such as when they diagnose tuberculosis without even bothering to run the definitive tests for it because it's just a plot twist at the end because of course it wasn't tuberculosis after all.

I agree completely. To answer sdn1977's question, I gave up on ER, House, and other similar types of shows. I found them interesting prior to and even during first couple of yrs of pharmacy school, but after a while you "de-glamourize" the whole situation and it gets irritating and frustrating as the shows just tend to "over-glamourize" one profession. The same could be said I guess for cop/lawyer shows, like Law & Order, but as a pharmacist I guess the ER shows are increasingly harder for me to relate to. I understand the need to create drama, but at some point don't you have to be a little more realistic? I guess that is why they call it acting?

 

[Jeddevil]

I'm on rotations with a classmate of mine and we couldn't be further apart with our expectations of our clinical experience. In the past 2 weeks, we have answered an in-depth drug question from a doc, researched 2 meds for possible addition to the formulary, and conducted a medication utilization evaluation (MUE) of Tygacil and Zyvox.

Where is your rotation at? It sounds like a nice one and I have to pick pretty soon for next year I believe. If you don't want to put it our publicly, please pm me. I am having a hard time finding info on rotations. Thanks.

 

[fidelio]

kwizard - speaking of which.....have you noticed recently pharmacists are the bad guys on TV? Did you catch the House episode when the pharmacist filled an rx with the wrong medication & House had to come save the day? How about the Desperate Housewives episode when the pharmacist killed the MD to get the MD's wife (the redhead)? My husband (a dentist who are usually portrayed as villians) told me he was glad somebody other than dentists are being the bad guys - I told him I thought he was sick!!! 😱 (joking!)

You know...
I think you're right. I saw an episode of Law And Order where a pharmacist diluted medications so he could make more money off of his patients. The pharmacist ended up killing 8 people because the medications were not the correct dosage.

 

[BiOGoly]

You know...
I think you're right. I saw an episode of Law And Order where a pharmacist diluted medications so he could make more money off of his patients. The pharmacist ended up killing 8 people because the medications were not the correct dosage.

Unfortunately some of the best fiction is firmly rooted in truth. You may have heard of this man Robert Courtney , who is currently serving 30 years in the Big House (was going to be 196 years, but he copped a plea). "He began diluting medications to help pay more than $600,000 in taxes and fulfill a $1 million pledge to his church." Scum like that weasel don't deserve to breathe. I hope he's somebodies prison bitch.

 

[Requiem]

As of this moment, after a terrible day at school mind you, here's my thoughts:

I think the profession, and practice is great. This is from my experience, albeit it slightly limited; however, I have a rotation this summer and I'll be able to know for sure at that point.

School is ridiculous. Personally, I really dislike my professors - and so do almost all my classmates. It's very unorganized, and the professors currently teaching make it clear they do NOT want to be there whatsoever, and we take the brunt of it, day in day out.

It is the exact opposite of what I thought 'professional' school would be, had this been a regular B.Sc. undergrad I could understand some terrible profs, but not in this environment. They test on absolutely abstract ideas, so you end studying endlessly on what you think is relevant (i.e anatomy-> we're doing cardiology) and pour hours into tons of memorization, then the test barely contains any cardiology whatsoever. It's like you could study 2 hours or 20, and still end up with the same mark. Absolutely frustrating.

As well, I expected my marks to drop - but legitmately. Our marks drop because the profs throw in randow questions which turn out to be worth 20%. For example -> pharmaceutical analysis, we were given an endotherm from a DSC Calorimetry with NO information on the axis, and asked to calculate the specific heat of fusion. Highest mark on that test was 84.

Annoying things like that which continue to accumulate day after day make it very stressful and frustrating.

Like I said, bad day for me to answer this, but I didn't really exaggerate.

 

[npage148]

I would NOT go to pharmacy school again. I would go straight Pharm Sci or chemsitry if i had to do it again. I feel the whole thing is Hokie, i really dont know how else to explain it. They severly overtrain you for the majortiy of the jobs and try to instill a idea of grandour into every student. Persoanlly, i think there should still be a BS then PHARM D tract. I wont really explain how/why i feel this way, cause i dont really know. I just know, i would stick to a straigh basic science. I also found, i dont like clinical junk but thats just a small part


As Requiem mentioned about our teacher. I find that alot of our teachers are young (under 30), fresh out of residence, have little teaching exprience and would rather party with the students/be their friend than teach them.

 

[alwaystired]

As of this moment, after a terrible day at school mind you, here's my thoughts:

I think the profession, and practice is great. This is from my experience, albeit it slightly limited; however, I have a rotation this summer and I'll be able to know for sure at that point.

School is ridiculous. Personally, I really dislike my professors - and so do almost all my classmates. It's very unorganized, and the professors currently teaching make it clear they do NOT want to be there whatsoever, and we take the brunt of it, day in day out.

It is the exact opposite of what I thought 'professional' school would be, had this been a regular B.Sc. undergrad I could understand some terrible profs, but not in this environment. They test on absolutely abstract ideas, so you end studying endlessly on what you think is relevant (i.e anatomy-> we're doing cardiology) and pour hours into tons of memorization, then the test barely contains any cardiology whatsoever. It's like you could study 2 hours or 20, and still end up with the same mark. Absolutely frustrating.

As well, I expected my marks to drop - but legitmately. Our marks drop because the profs throw in randow questions which turn out to be worth 20%. For example -> pharmaceutical analysis, we were given an endotherm from a DSC Calorimetry with NO information on the axis, and asked to calculate the specific heat of fusion. Highest mark on that test was 84.

Annoying things like that which continue to accumulate day after day make it very stressful and frustrating.

Like I said, bad day for me to answer this, but I didn't really exaggerate.

I 100% agree with you. Nothing irks me more than studying my butt off to get the stupidest questions ever asked. For example, "what is the 17th ADR for this drug" I and probably nobody else cares. Jesus, ask something that actually matters. Sorry for the rant.

 

[ML-Scalpel]

Ask me again after I graduate. 😀

I hate pharmacy school. If I had to do it over, I would probably see if I liked it better at another school. I might just hate my school.

I do love learning the material and I enjoy it when I am working. I think I will like being a pharmacist and it will be worth it in the end, if I don't die first.

Same here.. same feelings..

 

[timbo301]

Same here.. same feelings..

i hate school too! if i had a quarter for everytime i said i hate school then i would be really rich. everyone says that its "worth it" and it will "pay off" in the end but is it really worth it? i'm losing my sanity. is anyone with me?

if i had to do it over again, i would probably rethink different schools possibly.

 

[angelil_yu]

if not pharmacy, i'll go to:

Medical school if I got accepted, if not, I'll go for

bass guitar school--if it turns out that my creativity sucks, i'll become

a racer with my Protege5!! i 😍 this car so much i dont know how much longer i should wait to get it 😛