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Hi all,
I stumbled onto this website not too long ago and am absolutely elated that there is such wonderful support group out there! I have been thinking about what I want to do now that I have graduated and pharmacy is a field I am heavily considering. I am trying to find a single career path that would align with my wide interests. So, I have some (well, MANY) questions for those of you who are more experienced in the area of pharmacy. They are about both general and specific aspects of pharmacy as a career choice. If you have any suggestions to my list of questions, please, please, PLEASE help!
Ok. Here goes…
The background- my desires:
I am extremely interested in microorganisms. bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses… you name it, I find them fascinating. What I would like to do is to make drugs or come up with treatments to combat the pathogenic ones. At the same time, I also would like track down and control diseases, especially the communicable ones. While I am interested in research, I don't want to go for just a Ph.D. I want something that would enable to me to do research and see patients at the same time … so I am currently looking at dual degree programs…while I am interested in a career that will effect the public on a broader scale, I also would like help out the sickly on an individual basis too…I could also see myself doing the regulatory of drugs and vaccines…
The dilemmas:
1. I have been told that what I am interested in – making drugs and treatments against and other ways of control for infectious diseases - is too narrow, that it would work against me in the eyes of the admission committee. Is that true? I don't see them that way; I feel like what I just named is broad, TOO broad… what should I do? Is there one single profession/ degree that would enable me (with the knowledge and authority) to do all of the above? Am I thinking too much? Am I being too ambitious? I want to be able to use my degree and really make an impact in the world. However, clearly I can't say on my personal statement that I am interested in almost all parts of pharmacy – clinical (for clinical trials, tailoring of drug regimen for patients), government (clinical trials, regulatory, drug discovery and development), industry (drug discovery and development)… Admissions would just think that I am bluffing, or that I really don't know what I want in life…However, my vision could feasibly span across those three sectors…(are my interests what one would call "translational research"?)
2. Also, how would I be able to express my genuine interest in my personal statement and still keep the admission committee captivated / interested in my application? Am I right to think the field of pharmacy as a career all about retail or hospital setting and direct patient contact? (the few?) Pharmacists who are working in outside the conventional settings are those who no longer want to continue to perform at their place of initial interest (e.g. drug stores and hospital) and THEN later picked other avenues of practice? I don't mind patient contact. In fact, I am interested in pharmacotherapy and a specialty residency.
3. For what I want to do, I do know that pharm.d/mph and pharm.d/ph.d programs are an option. Are there listings of pharmacy schools available out that indicating which schools offer such combined tracks? While there are statistics on admissions into pharm.d.programs, are there info on competition into dual degree programs (are they as competitive as md/ph.d programs)? I don't imagine them to be federally funded in any way?
4. I guess all my questions stem from this: Is a Pharm.D a degree (or a combination of it with a graduate program) what I should be going for? Would getting the pharmacy degree allow me (the power) to practice the medical / pharmaceutical knowledge I will learn in pharmacy school in a way that would advance me toward my future goal? What are the things that MDs in internal medicine can do but Pharm.D degree holders with an Infectious Disease residency background can't do? What are the limits and where do responsibilities overlap? Surely there must be some. I mean, for the pharm.d, their residency in infectious diseases (typically one year, right? After getting the pharm.d. degree) is a lot shorter than that of medical students (oh, I think 3-4 years?). I don't even know what my chances are for pharmacy school, but I really want to apply and see what comes out of it…and whether I could reach my dreams…
oh, and on top of what I just mentioned, I am also interested in clinical toxicology and forensics.
These questions have been boiling in my mind… should I focus my efforts elsewhere? Any answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance!!
~ quite lost
I stumbled onto this website not too long ago and am absolutely elated that there is such wonderful support group out there! I have been thinking about what I want to do now that I have graduated and pharmacy is a field I am heavily considering. I am trying to find a single career path that would align with my wide interests. So, I have some (well, MANY) questions for those of you who are more experienced in the area of pharmacy. They are about both general and specific aspects of pharmacy as a career choice. If you have any suggestions to my list of questions, please, please, PLEASE help!
Ok. Here goes…
The background- my desires:
I am extremely interested in microorganisms. bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses… you name it, I find them fascinating. What I would like to do is to make drugs or come up with treatments to combat the pathogenic ones. At the same time, I also would like track down and control diseases, especially the communicable ones. While I am interested in research, I don't want to go for just a Ph.D. I want something that would enable to me to do research and see patients at the same time … so I am currently looking at dual degree programs…while I am interested in a career that will effect the public on a broader scale, I also would like help out the sickly on an individual basis too…I could also see myself doing the regulatory of drugs and vaccines…
The dilemmas:
1. I have been told that what I am interested in – making drugs and treatments against and other ways of control for infectious diseases - is too narrow, that it would work against me in the eyes of the admission committee. Is that true? I don't see them that way; I feel like what I just named is broad, TOO broad… what should I do? Is there one single profession/ degree that would enable me (with the knowledge and authority) to do all of the above? Am I thinking too much? Am I being too ambitious? I want to be able to use my degree and really make an impact in the world. However, clearly I can't say on my personal statement that I am interested in almost all parts of pharmacy – clinical (for clinical trials, tailoring of drug regimen for patients), government (clinical trials, regulatory, drug discovery and development), industry (drug discovery and development)… Admissions would just think that I am bluffing, or that I really don't know what I want in life…However, my vision could feasibly span across those three sectors…(are my interests what one would call "translational research"?)
2. Also, how would I be able to express my genuine interest in my personal statement and still keep the admission committee captivated / interested in my application? Am I right to think the field of pharmacy as a career all about retail or hospital setting and direct patient contact? (the few?) Pharmacists who are working in outside the conventional settings are those who no longer want to continue to perform at their place of initial interest (e.g. drug stores and hospital) and THEN later picked other avenues of practice? I don't mind patient contact. In fact, I am interested in pharmacotherapy and a specialty residency.
3. For what I want to do, I do know that pharm.d/mph and pharm.d/ph.d programs are an option. Are there listings of pharmacy schools available out that indicating which schools offer such combined tracks? While there are statistics on admissions into pharm.d.programs, are there info on competition into dual degree programs (are they as competitive as md/ph.d programs)? I don't imagine them to be federally funded in any way?
4. I guess all my questions stem from this: Is a Pharm.D a degree (or a combination of it with a graduate program) what I should be going for? Would getting the pharmacy degree allow me (the power) to practice the medical / pharmaceutical knowledge I will learn in pharmacy school in a way that would advance me toward my future goal? What are the things that MDs in internal medicine can do but Pharm.D degree holders with an Infectious Disease residency background can't do? What are the limits and where do responsibilities overlap? Surely there must be some. I mean, for the pharm.d, their residency in infectious diseases (typically one year, right? After getting the pharm.d. degree) is a lot shorter than that of medical students (oh, I think 3-4 years?). I don't even know what my chances are for pharmacy school, but I really want to apply and see what comes out of it…and whether I could reach my dreams…
oh, and on top of what I just mentioned, I am also interested in clinical toxicology and forensics.
These questions have been boiling in my mind… should I focus my efforts elsewhere? Any answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance!!
~ quite lost