"intelligent people should not do pharmacy"

[IndustryPharmD]

Did you just call me boring?

Not yet. 😀

I do, however, find hospital pharmacy horrendously boring. Not that I don't use them busy worker bees to pull clinical studies for me and for other such menial work.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Its Z]

Not yet. 😀

I do, however, find hospital pharmacy horrendously boring. Not that I don't use them busy worker bees to pull clinical studies for me and for other such menial work.

mmm.. y'know I don't work in a hospital pharmacy... I work "with" hospital pharmacy among other projects..

 

[IndustryPharmD]

mmm.. y'know I don't work in a hospital pharmacy... I work "with" hospital pharmacy among other projects..

I know you don't, but you did. How anyone can do hospital pharmacy for any meaningful amount of time and escape with their brain intact is beyond my intelligence to figure out. 😀 I spent grand total of three and a half months in the hospital, and while two floor clinical rotations were marginally OK, during the Drug Information rotation I literally felt brain cells scream in pain and die every hour I was stuck in there. 😱 And pharmacy school was the most boring academic experience of my life. Felt brain cells shrivel up and die, too... but I do love my job and I certainly have to think a lot. Some days, so much so that I require immediate intensive chocolate therapy.

 

[Its Z]

coffee is better.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

coffee is better.

I am one of the two percent of people of North European ancestry who are supermetabolizers of caffeine. If I am not tired, it doesn't do anything for me, if I am near exhausted, it knocks me out so I fall asleep with the cup still hot and half-full in my hands.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I am one of the two percent of people of North European ancestry who are supermetabolizers of caffeine. If I am not tired, it doesn't do anything for me, if I am near exhausted, it knocks me out so I fall asleep with the cup still hot and half-full in my hands.

It does jack to me, too. I can drink 4 Coke Zeros and fall asleep an hour later.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

It does jack to me, too. I can drink 4 Coke Zeros and fall asleep an hour later.

Yep. My mom always has a cup of coffee before going to bed. I am a tea drinker myself, never particularly liked coffee and gave up sodas for good in college when I realized they were making my thighs huge 😳, and diet stuff just doesn't taste right. 🙄

 

[Its Z]

I am one of the two percent of people of North European ancestry who are supermetabolizers of caffeine. If I am not tired, it doesn't do anything for me, if I am near exhausted, it knocks me out so I fall asleep with the cup still hot and half-full in my hands.

You win.

 

[Its Z]

It does jack to me, too. I can drink 4 Coke Zeros and fall asleep an hour later.

Who drinks 4 cans/bottles of soda before going to bed?

 

[rxlea]

Who drinks 4 cans/bottles of soda before going to bed?

Hope he has rubber sheets.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Who drinks 4 cans/bottles of soda before going to bed?

You ain't never gotten in line at 12AM for a video game release and played it until you pass out at 7AM...ya old fogey...

 

[Its Z]

You ain't never gotten in line at 12AM for a video game release and played it until you pass out at 7AM...ya old fogey...

rookie,

I once played Doom 18 straight hours until I thought I would puke and die while studying for CA Board. then played 24 straight hours to complete the Star Trek TNG game on Sega Genesis.

 

[bullsfan1986]

To the OP,

Pharmacy is really what you make of it. If you want "intellectual stimulation" you can (like many others have already said) do a PGY residency after you receive your Pharm D and then specialize in some rather interesting areas (oncology, peds, geriatrics, etc.). I know the job description of a pharmacist is highly subjective amongst people who don't know any better, so I suggest you experience more of what pharmacy has to offer before posting a semi-inflammatory thread on this forum. Trust me, if your goal is to have a career that intellectually stimulates you, becoming a pharmacist can definitely help you achieve it. 🙂

 

[Passion4Sci]

rookie,

I once played Doom 18 straight hours until I thought I would puke and die while studying for CA Board. then played 24 straight hours to complete the Star Trek TNG game on Sega Genesis.

I laughed out loud.

Doom.

Hahaha.

 

[Filler]

I miss my SEGA genesis..

And yes, hospital pharmacy is mind numbingly boring.

 

[Trankuil]

You ain't never gotten in line at 12AM for a video game release and played it until you pass out at 7AM...ya old fogey...

What was your latest episode of this? Starcraft 2? Red dead redemption?

 

[Passion4Sci]

What was your latest episode of this? Starcraft 2? Red dead redemption?

Only chumps waited in line for SC2. It was all about the digital download + mini-Thor vanity pet.

 

[Trankuil]

Only chumps waited in line for SC2. It was all about the digital download + mini-Thor vanity pet.

I havent bought SC2 yet, low on funds until loan money comes in 😀. I have heard its pretty damn good though.

 

[ShadowRX]

I havent bought SC2 yet, low on funds until loan money comes in 😀. I have heard its pretty damn good though.

It is! Campaign is quite impressive so far.

 

[Trankuil]

It is! Campaign is quite impressive so far.

Yeah a buddy of mine si campaigning as Protoss...says its really good so far as well.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I just got it for the pet. I've not played any of the Starcraft franchise... I feel as though I would betray Command and Conquer if I were to do so.

 

[b1234]

I doubt it will take long for online sc2 to degenerate into people only playing unlimited resource maps just like sc eventually did...

 

[vancouvergeorge]

if a pharmacist gets 100K a year no matter what, then why choose to take on more responsability? Let the physican take all the work if they want it. Why fight with them to get rights to prescribe? LOL...that isn't going to increase your salary, so just let them do it. One less thing I will have to do for the SAME salary. Same with the immunzations, just let the physicans do it. It isn't like its going to increase your salary anyways.

Said the now unemployed GM union worker in Flint....

 

[Sparda29]

I doubt it will take long for online sc2 to degenerate into people only playing unlimited resource maps just like sc eventually did...

****ing noobs. Actually, that usually happens because they don't know the importance of expansion bases, and they don't rush. Back when I was in junior high school, it was all about the 30 minute no rush on money map, and then you had a massive battle for about 30 minutes before someone made a micro management mistake and the game ended.

The games that end in like 4 minutes get annoying sometimes.

I HATE THE ZERG!

 

[b1234]

****ing noobs. Actually, that usually happens because they don't know the importance of expansion bases, and they don't rush. Back when I was in junior high school, it was all about the 30 minute no rush on money map, and then you had a massive battle for about 30 minutes before someone made a micro management mistake and the game ended.

The games that end in like 4 minutes get annoying sometimes.

I HATE THE ZERG!

Yeah, unlimited resource maps help level the playing field - since it takes most of the strategy of expanding and holding expansions, resource management, and attacking in multiple places simultaneously out of the picture...

Rushing in any RTS is just boring... win or lose - it's exactly the same thing over and over and if you're good, it degenerates into who can click faster... (or in some cases who's system sucks and hangs up for a second or two at the start)

 

[WVUPharm2007]

What was your latest episode of this? Starcraft 2? Red dead redemption?

The last time I stayed up until like 10AM the next night? Left 4 Dead 2. Been a while. Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War 2 before that...

Haha. Starcraft. I'm not Korean. I hate those types of games.

 

[Humper]

The last time I stayed up until like 10AM the next night? Left 4 Dead 2. Been a while. Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War 2 before that...

Haha. Starcraft. I'm not Korean. I hate those types of games.

Starcraft is for intelligent people, dude.

Don't get me wrong. I no longer play video games, but I still remember the classic ones back to the day.

 

[sanahenk]

Well the topic has deviated a lot form the main object. What I think is, it was a severe understatement for the people in this profession. If intelligent people do not do pharmacy then people all over the world will be at God's mercy in ailment. Doctors do not sit to make medicines, they suggest medicines that pharmacists make using their not so dull brain.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Starcraft is for intelligent people, dude.

No it isn't. It's for people with OCD. EA's NCAA Football is for intelligent people.

 

[aboveliquidice]

No it isn't. It's for people with OCD. EA's NCAA Football is for intelligent people.

No sir, that would be incorrect...

 

[Passion4Sci]

Opinions are empirically verifiable facts with a right and a wrong answer.

 

[Sparda29]

No it isn't. It's for people with OCD. EA's NCAA Football is for intelligent people.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

Do a PGY residency and work in a clinical, dynamic, pt-oriented setting, problem solved.

Not every RPh needs to, or wants to, or has to, work at CVS/Wags/insert big box retailer here.

EVERY JOB HAS A CLERICAL COMPONENT. Even the coolest job I ever had, a human intelligence collector-linguist, had some degree of paperwork.

I interrogated, and shot (usually not sequentially), people for a living and still had to do paperwork!

Your mom has an oversimplified, pedestrian view of pharmacy and unless she's a professional and in a related field I'd be careful before taking her advice.

I disagree that "intelligent" people should not do pharmacy.

So, haven't read the rest of the comments yet, but right on, Passion4Sci. In grad school, I had to set up annual or bi-annual meetings with all 5 busy members on my committee. Drove me absolutely nuts (although I do have a better appreciation for administrators now). And that's not even counting all the paperwork for grants (which may be technical but also has large amounts of crossing t's and dotting i's).

Seriously, I chose pharmacy because it was something I like, I'm a people-person, I like learning about disease and how to treat it, and I like having something to do pretty much all the time during the day (and leaving when my shift is up). I'm in out-patient pharmacy in a clinic and in a hospital, and even with the stress, I know it's probably one of the best jobs for me.

And while I know it will sometimes annoy me later on when I don't have the same authority as a medical doctor (i.e. to write prescriptions all by myself), I think my job will be much less stressful (see leaving when my shift is up), much less stomach-turning, and still have rather good compensation.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

I know you don't, but you did. How anyone can do hospital pharmacy for any meaningful amount of time and escape with their brain intact is beyond my intelligence to figure out. 😀 I spent grand total of three and a half months in the hospital, and while two floor clinical rotations were marginally OK, during the Drug Information rotation I literally felt brain cells scream in pain and die every hour I was stuck in there. 😱 And pharmacy school was the most boring academic experience of my life. Felt brain cells shrivel up and die, too... but I do love my job and I certainly have to think a lot. Some days, so much so that I require immediate intensive chocolate therapy.

So I'm interested in what particularly you found academically boring in pharmacy school. I just finished my first year and was a little unimpressed by some of the classes myself. Not all of them, and some of this had to do with having a large science background. And I do understand that not everyone is in the same place, but I didn't really think I needed two separate classes on different cultures, for example.

Just curious on others' views...

P.S. Sorry for accidently putting the thread back on topic... ;-)

 

[Zrchrn]

Pharmacists can be smart but practicing pharmacy requires no smarts because after doing it a couple of time you know it all and it gets repetitive. Is that what this is about?

Go shadow a pediatrician for a month. I've talked to several physicians/pediatricians. They tell me it's mostly ear infections, sore throats, physicals for school. I know one who is so bored with it he's going back he's switching specialties. That's one area of medicine (which seems to be one of the fields people tell you to go to if they think your smart). Whether pediatrics is repetitive or not isn't the point. (I've met many who find their jobs to be great!) The point is this: in health care the goal IS to make it repetitive! The point is to make it as idiot proof/mistake proof as possible. You are not encouraged to innovate. The people who go around trying "new things" (unless they are in research which is different altogether) are hated and in many situations get themselves in trouble.

You want to be challenged get a PhD and try to be a professor in a great university. If you can be good enough to get a job you'll have to "innovate" and research your butt off for 5 years to get tenure then you can challenge yourself as much or as little as you want.
Either that or get a job doing cutting edge research for a company somewhere. Working research in a pharmaceutical company is incredibly cutthroat you'll be challenged everyday alright.

Side Note:
We all get so caught up in our own glory/egos that sometimes we forget why we are studying so hard in the first place. It's to get a JOB, Get a job that you won't hate (and hopefully even enjoy) and that will support you and your family. Don't get rapped up in the respect/prestige issue. Making it through life an having a roof over your head food on the table and eventually putting your kids through college IS a challenge in and of itself.