Interest in Pharmacy; guidance needed

[Lands]

Hi, I am a junior in high school and I have an interest in pharmacy.
I need some guidance on what I should be doing and I need to know if it is even possible for me to become a pharmacist when I get older. I am a mediocre student by all means, but I do wish to pursue in the field of pharmacy. Is community college to a university a viable option? I am not looking for the fastest way to become a pharmacist; I look to become a very good pharmacist. I have strong interests in chemistry, although I failed AP chemistry, but I do not know if this will take me anywhere.

Please give me some advice on what I should do to pursue my dream of being a pharmacist.

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[EyEnStein 07]

Maintain a high GPA or try to for the rest of your high school career. Score well on the SAT's and get into a good college, you can even try to look into 6 year BS/Pharm D. programs (google is your friend).

Except for that at your stage right now its a bit early to do anything. Perhaps if you really want...you can shadow a pharmacist or try to get a job as a pharm tech, either certified or work your way up. Get introduced to the field.

AP chemistry generally wont hurt you...when you say fail i assume you mean you got a 1 or a 2. Though Chemistry is important, you will be taking it in college anyways, and chances are...a 2 on the AP can help you get a A in college chem, and thats what matters the most. Remmber, noone will know your AP scores unless you report them.

 

[Lands]

Fail means F in the course.

 

[CScull]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to be a pharmacist? Also, why did you do so poorly in AP Chem?

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Hi, I am a junior in high school and I have an interest in pharmacy.
I need some guidance on what I should be doing and I need to know if it is even possible for me to become a pharmacist when I get older. I am a mediocre student by all means, but I do wish to pursue in the field of pharmacy. Is community college to a university a viable option? I am not looking for the fastest way to become a pharmacist; I look to become a very good pharmacist. I have strong interests in chemistry, although I failed AP chemistry, but I do not know if this will take me anywhere.

Please give me some advice on what I should do to pursue my dream of being a pharmacist.

Stop being mediocre and start doing your best.

 

[Lands]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to be a pharmacist? Also, why did you do so poorly in AP Chem?

I want to be a pharmacist because I like helping people out and after being helped out by a really great pharmacist myself, I realized I could do the same for other people. Yes, there are a lot of other professions where I can assist people with their needs, but pharmacy is the only one I see that intertwines science and people the best.
I failed AP chemistry simply because I did not try at all. It wasn't until the end of the semester that I realized I made a grave mistake in doing so. I dropped it off for the next semester and ended up retaking this course this school year (it would replace the F). I made an improvement and was getting a relatively high B. The only problem is that I had had to change schools and my new school does not offer AP Chemistry, so I was left with the option of Honors Chemistry, which is nothing compared to AP Chemistry.

I am trying harder now, but I'm afraid what I do isn't enough.

 

[CScull]

Hmm... if I were you I would try to take AP Chemistry agian next year if they let you (and if you don't have another required class). Either that or try it at a university. If it's really just that you weren't trying then you should see a big difference in your grades. If you're still not getting it then you probably should try to work out whatever's causing your difficulties (study habits, concept misunderstanding, ect).

I don't really know how it would work if you went to a CC and then to a regular college. Typically pharmacy students take 2-3 years of UG as a declared "Pre-Pharmacy" and then go straight into Pharmacy School. I'm not sure how you would get your pre-reqs and stuff out of the way at a CC.

If you're more of a people person you might ought to think about medicine... it's much more socially involved than Pharmacy is.

 

[Lands]

Yeah, the difference when I tried had a MUCH different result, as I was getting one of the highest grades in the class. Unfortunately, I won't ever have the chance of re-taking the course, but I'm not going to really trip over this.

Right now the best thing I can do, I guess, is try even harder and get more involved with EC and volunteer work. I'll find a way, hopefully.

 

[bigpharmD]

If you're more of a people person you might ought to think about medicine... it's much more socially involved than Pharmacy is.

I love it when pre-health people give advice like this. So is a radiologist socially involived? What about a pathologist or an anesthesiologist? What about a critical care attending who only takes care of patients who are intubated and sedated and cant talk?

 

[xnfs93hy]

Hi, I am a junior in high school and I have an interest in pharmacy.
I need some guidance on what I should be doing and I need to know if it is even possible for me to become a pharmacist when I get older. I am a mediocre student by all means, but I do wish to pursue in the field of pharmacy. Is community college to a university a viable option? I am not looking for the fastest way to become a pharmacist; I look to become a very good pharmacist. I have strong interests in chemistry, although I failed AP chemistry, but I do not know if this will take me anywhere.

Please give me some advice on what I should do to pursue my dream of being a pharmacist.

CC-->four year is fine. That is what I am doing. You may only need to stay a year.

How did you fail AP Chem?

Regardless, even though you failed the class, you will be given the chance to redo it in college.

 

[RochChalk]

If being a Pharmacist is truly your dream, it is certainly possible. I was a lot like you in high school, I didn't really try and was not a very dedicated student though I graduated with somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3.5 or 3.6. However, I am a very good student in college - I attribute it to becoming more motivated, and realizing how great an opportunity I have in attending a university. I also think people just generally mature around college age.. academically and intellectually (obviously this is not true for all).

You will have to take a curriculum heavy in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochem, microbio, and A&P. So lots of science, hopefully that's what you're into.

Here's my personal story and experience with pharmacy if you're interested:
I was also very interested in Pharmacy entering my freshmen year of college, encouraged by my mother who has been a pharmacist for 30 years now. So I did my freshmen year going through the pre-pharm pre-reqs and all the jazz. I was not extremely happy or interested with the classes I was taking. That summer I decided to work as an intern at a Walgreens Pharmacy to see if it was truly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Turns out I absolutely hated the job. Walgreens is a notoriously busy pharmacy, and I grew to hate the interaction with people - some were very nice and grateful, but the majority were angry and upset people looking to take out their high prescription prices out on me. I also hated dealing with the insurance companies.

Now, you should take this with a grain of salt because 1) I was working as a pharmacy technician, which in essence entails doing most of the dirty work while the pharmacist simply confirms filled prescriptions or consults patients about drugs. However, the pharmacists were often stressed out as well dealing with doctors, insurance companies, or patients. 2) Not all pharmacies are as intensely busy as Walgreens. 3) Several people are extremely happy with their decisions to become a pharmacist.

 

[CScull]

I love it when pre-health people give advice like this. So is a radiologist socially involived? What about a pathologist or an anesthesiologist? What about a critical care attending who only takes care of patients who are intubated and sedated and cant talk?

I was generalizing. Let me rephrase then: most doctors are more socially involved than most pharmacists.

 

[Maygyver]

You are in highschool, you have the opportunity to be anything. I have heard from many people that pharmacy isn't as much chemistry as people think, but to be honest, to fail AP chemistry, you might not be wanting to look into something that involves chemistry. Also, in general, I want to be [insert health field] because I [want to help people/cure AIDS etc]" is not a good reason to go into health. There's usually more.

 

[DrYoda]

Stop being mediocre and start doing your best.

This is the best advice in the thread, regardless of what field you choose to pursue. In college you'll have a freshstart, take advantage of it and become a great student.

 

[speciald]

Finish honors chemistry and do well in it. The only AP science my daughter took was AP Bio and she got accepted at 8 (0-6 and 2+4) schools this year. Take extra science (anatomy, physics, etc.) if your school offers it and do well in them. Take an extra math class if you have time. Most schools are not going to accept (or recommend you use) AP credit for science anyway, so you might consider AP in gen ed classes like English.

Yes, many MD's don't have the time to spend with each patient, but that's not true of all. GP's and peds often are more involved. Also, PA is a good field that allows for specialization and I've found PA's generally incorporate more time and teaching in their interactions with patients than most MD's. Same for PTs, RT's and the other support specialties. Definitely set up some shadowing in a few areas that you might be interested in and keep an open mind. You might be surprised...