Is Pharmacy right for me?

[coleman12]

I'm currently finishing my BS in Chemistry along with pre-reqs for pharmacy.

My interest in pharmacy originates from organic chemistry, especially synthesis. The building of large molecules from smaller ones was like a puzzle, and on one occasion my lab group made ibuprofen.

I moved further towards pharmacy while working at a gym. I learned everyday about how food, sleep, exercise, and in particular supplements can help people overcome injury or accomplish new goals. In one example, the amino acid arginine, when consumed in the body creates nitric oxide (NO), which is a vasodilator. The expansion of these blood vessels allows for the blood to carry more oxygen, which in theory should allow one to do more work. What's awesome about the things I learned is that I really enjoyed teaching this knowledge to help other people; something useful in pharmacy. And there's so much more to learn! I'm genuinely enthusiastic about how minerals, macromolecules, and drugs can affect hormones, organ function, and overall health.

I have doubts because I've been told it's boring to be a pharmacist. I've considered doing a PharmD/PhD program mostly because I've been indecisive between pharmacy and pharmacology.

Thoughts?

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[Sugoi Travis]

My comments are in bold.

I'm genuinely enthusiastic about how minerals, macromolecules, and drugs can affect hormones, organ function, and overall health.

I think this is one of the most important things that an aspiring pharmacy student can have. Honestly, if one isn't interested in how the body interacts with natural and synthetic substances, then how will they get the drive to pursue a career such as pharmacy?

I have doubts because I've been told it's boring to be a pharmacist. I've considered doing a PharmD/PhD program mostly because I've been indecisive between pharmacy and pharmacology.

Don't listen to that kind of stuff. Have you ever worked in a pharmacy before (i.e. interned or been a tech)? Some people tell you that being a pharmacist is boring because THEY think that. At the moment, you're letting someone else's thoughts about pharmacy affect you, and that shouldn't be happening. What should be happening is you going out and experiencing the field on your own (if you haven't done so already), then coming to a conclusion if this is something you want to continue to pursue.

 

[coleman12]

It's probably naive of me but unfortunately I don't have any actual pharmacy experience yet. I have some shadowing opportunities set up for the summer but I've been unable to find a pharmacy tech job.

You're right though, I shouldn't allow the opinions of others affect me. There are some people out there, even on this forum that seem pretty ambitious to cast a negative light on both pharmacy and pharmacology.

Out of curiosity though, in what situation would a PharmD/Ph.D be ideal? Shouldn't someone only need one?

 

[Sugoi Travis]

It's probably naive of me but unfortunately I don't have any actual pharmacy experience yet. I have some shadowing opportunities set up for the summer but I've been unable to find a pharmacy tech job.

You're right though, I shouldn't allow the opinions of others affect me. There are some people out there, even on this forum that seem pretty ambitious to cast a negative light on both pharmacy and pharmacology.

Out of curiosity though, in what situation would a PharmD/Ph.D be ideal? Shouldn't someone only need one?

Don't worry about it; to be honest, I did not consider pharmacy until the summer before my 4th and final year in undergrad. At that time, I had already distanced myself from pre-med and pre-dent and didn't want to go into either profession (medicine would take too long and I don't find the idea of looking at people's teeth, no matter how nice/ugly, to be particularly enticing). However, I swear I had a blast at my pharmacy internship. It took maybe 10-15 total internship hours to get settled in with the retail team but after that, things took off and I absolutely loved working with everyone. I know that I most likely found the needle in the hay stack, but that internship showed me how good retail could POTENTIALLY be. The patients who came in were also well-behaved and that's a big plus in my books.

For the naysayers on pharmacy (not sure about pharmacology), they do have a reason to express those thoughts. Definitely read up on the pharmacy job outlook sticky thread as well as go into the Pharmacy sub-forum and get an idea on how the profession looks. Don't believe those overly-negative comments, but at the same time, don't believe those overly-positive comments (what I like to call "fantasy-land" comments). The profession is definitely somewhere between "stay far away from pharmacy" and "it's kinda tough to get a job nowadays."