Intro from Australia

[d.a.n.]

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Hey!

I'm a 3rd Year Pharmacy Student, from Melbourne Australia.
We have a B.Pharm course that's 4 years + Pre-Reg year, that's probably the most acclaimed in Australia.

I've considered working in the USA in the future, as I would like to experience the lifestyle, go to a Red Sox game, and maybe see a few ice hockey matches. It would also be good to save a bit of money for the future, as the base rate for a USA Pharmacist seems to be almost twice the pay of an Australian Pharmacist.

My primary issues with working the USA are.

a) What recognition would the B.Pharm have in the USA, and what tests/training would I have to complete to work over there?

b) Tax (Australia is taxed 50% or so for every dollar over $50k AUD)

c) Job Satisfaction
It seems that US Pharmacists work 12+ hr days, and don't seem to enjoy work that much

d) Ethical Issues

I don't know if this is a preconception or something, but Pharmacies are called Drugstores over there? And you can sell Alcohol and Cigarettes in your own Pharmacy. It appears the the primary function of the US Pharmacy is to sell sell sell and make money first, and help the patient second.

e) Finding a Place to live, 'settling' for a whole year or two

Renting out a place would be a big jump for me, I'm still 20, live at home, don't think I have enough 'homely' skills to keep myself alive for a year by myself! Is there any kind of exchange person system? I'd probably want to live in a 'minority' tolerant area (warning stereotype; eg not the South)

Thanks for the replies
Dan

ps. Apologies in advance for any shock caused by generalisations. I'm sure all of you think of Australia as the Outback still!

 

[kwakster928]

I will try to answer from what i know so far.. WE = USA

Hey!

a) What recognition would the B.Pharm have in the USA, and what tests/training would I have to complete to work over there?

we do not give out BsPharm anymore. all the programs are transformed to a minimal 6 year PharmD program. (minimum 2 years pre-req, 3 or 4 yrs in reality, and 4 years of professional) RPhs who hold BsPharm are still allowed to practice in the US. however some of the RPhs are getting PharmD's via non-traditional route. I do not know why, but the trend is there. I do not really know about the testing. I think you have to pass some special tests. here is the link.

http://www.nabp.net/faq/faqprefpgee.asp

b) Tax (Australia is taxed 50% or so for every dollar over $50k AUD)

since you will be making close to or over $100,000 US, you will be on high tax bracket. i think about 35%. dont quote me on that though. but as long as you vote for bush, tax cut remains permanant. (hehe)

c) Job Satisfaction
It seems that US Pharmacists work 12+ hr days, and don't seem to enjoy work that much

i have to say it depends on pharmacists. in general, pharmacists in the US work about 40 hours a week, you are welcome to do more. People really seem to like the profession and they are quite proud of it. no matter where you go there will be some group of people who are not happy with their job. it is just the human nature.

d) Ethical Issues

I don't know if this is a preconception or something, but Pharmacies are called Drugstores over there? And you can sell Alcohol and Cigarettes in your own Pharmacy. It appears the the primary function of the US Pharmacy is to sell sell sell and make money first, and help the patient second.

no alcohol (at least in PA, NY, NJ) yes cigarettes. mostly coporation based chains (CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, etc) are profit driven. however as pharmacist, you can do your part (counseling as much as you can) and make money for the coporation at the same time. profits mostly comes from drug price the company sets. pharmacist who works in the community pharmacy has nothing to do with this. unfortunately we are the middle man. this is where the stress comes from.

e) Finding a Place to live, 'settling' for a whole year or two

Renting out a place would be a big jump for me, I'm still 20, live at home, don't think I have enough 'homely' skills to keep myself alive for a year by myself! Is there any kind of exchange person system? I'd probably want to live in a 'minority' tolerant area (warning stereotype; eg not the South)

living in a different country is not a joke. you have to think this very very seriously. immigration to the US is especially tough after 9/11. i dont know what the foreign relation btw Australia and the US is but most of the othe countries for the employment at least, VISA is extremely tough to get, and greencard is even tougher and takes f-ing long time. you might want to investigate immigration/visa situations before you even think about moving. this is the most involving first step. w/o this you really can't move into second step (finding work, deciding where to go etc).

hope i became some help to you. watch out for high UV level there. Damn O3

 

[Trancelucent1]

As far as VISA's go, it seems like it's much easier to get one coming from UK/Australia or other countries that are similar to the US (I use similar loosely, I'm just referring to a somewhat similar culture and language). I've known people who haven't had much of a hard time coming over here from the UK even after 9/11.
Also I know a guy who came from Ghana with his BS in Pharmacy. He had to take a certification exam (probably NAPLEX or equivalent) and he also had to take a foreign language exam. He's been working for Walgreens for about 4 years now and said that he didn't really have a problem coming over here. Good luck!

 

[npp71681]

Hi!

If a BS Pharmacy comes from other country, than how he/she learn those thousands of drugs, because each country uses different drugs for different diseases. For example, the drug they use for cancer in Australia or other countries might not be same they use it in USA. By taking these FPGEE and NAPLEX do foreign Pharmacist knows everything they need to know in order to practice in USA or they have to go back to school in USA and get the equivilent degree?, because from other country he/she only has BS in Pharmacy(B.Pharm) and USA now requires PharmD to practice as a Pharmacist.

 

[d.a.n.]

Hi!

If a BS Pharmacy comes from other country, than how he/she learn those thousands of drugs, because each country uses different drugs for different diseases. For example, the drug they use for cancer in Australia or other countries might not be same they use it in USA. By taking these FPGEE and NAPLEX do foreign Pharmacist knows everything they need to know in order to practice in USA or they have to go back to school in USA and get the equivilent degree?, because from other country he/she only has BS in Pharmacy(B.Pharm) and USA now requires PharmD to practice as a Pharmacist.

I think the Trade Names would be one of the greater issues. And the way our system is set up (government subsidising etc) may be a bit different. After it's all said and done, I think you'd be quite suprised at how capable a recently qualified Australian Pharmacist is!

 

[JDiddy]

As far as I know, to work in the U.S, foreign trained grads need to have graduated from a 5 yr degree and pass a couple of exams. Thing is, the pre-registration year in Australia and the UK is not considered a fifth year.

Does anyone know if the requirements are different for people who already have a university degree? I'm from Canada and have already done 2 years of college (basically all my science pre-reqs), and 3 years of Uni (BSc. Physiology). I wonder if thats enough?

 

[d.a.n.]

As far as I know, to work in the U.S, foreign trained grads need to have graduated from a 5 yr degree and pass a couple of exams. Thing is, the pre-registration year in Australia and the UK is not considered a fifth year.

If it's not considered a 5th year, is it possible that you could do a year of supervised practice?

Our 4 years at university are absolutely jampacked with hours. Students studying law at Monash University have 12 contact hours per week, we have 30+.

How many hours per week do most PharmD students go through?
Also, what do Americans think of the doctorate part of the PharmD. Would you consider yourself a real doctor?

 

[Trancelucent1]

If it's not considered a 5th year, is it possible that you could do a year of supervised practice?

Our 4 years at university are absolutely jampacked with hours. Students studying law at Monash University have 12 contact hours per week, we have 30+.

How many hours per week do most PharmD students go through?
Also, what do Americans think of the doctorate part of the PharmD. Would you consider yourself a real doctor?

Yes, I would consider myself a doctor. I have a BS and now I'm working on my PharmD. After 8 years of school, I would definately consider myself a doctor. No, I would not consider myself a physician but yes a doctor. To earn a doctorate in this country, you do 4 years undergraduate and 4 years post graduate. Not everyone that gets a PharmD does 8 years, but I still consider them to be doctors. Right now I'm signed up for I think 15 hours a week, but I can honestly say that I do actual pharmacy school work probably 40+ hours a week. It's been a quite intense first couple of weeks, but I am enjoying it.

Also, I do think that people from foreign countries should be allowed to practice as long as they take the same exams (and maybe a few more) that we have to take. I'm not so ignorant that I believe our schools are the best, I'm sure you'll have an excellent education as well. But I would say that the lifestyle is different and it might be harder for you to adjust to our laws/pharmacy practice. I think that you should try finding out more about the requirements over here (I don't think many of us know the laws for international degrees so you should try finding some more info online). Good luck with your pursuits!