Leaving pharmacy school forever

[smercer]

If I didn't have my current education, I'm not sure I would be talking with providers about script issues. I would probably miss a bunch of them, and I would not have a clear idea about what's an issue and what's not. In some independent settings, the computer doesn't generate DUR messages.

Additionally, your license qualifies you to work in areas with even higher levels of responsibility. Either a board of pharmacy would have to start issuing different level licenses for pharmacists or they have to hold everyone to a fairly high standard when it comes to education. Despite being someone who, through no choice of my own, didn't complete a residency, I would support mandatory residency for pharmacists.

Addendum: I just wanted to point out that community pharmacists actually have a huge responsibility to their patients as the last line of defense between them and a bad script. They also have a lot of power to change therapy. I have definitely called about weird scripts and gone over labs (often susceptibility results) with providers to find better therapy options.

I think he is referring to the idea that RPH's did not have the level of education that we have to acquire now and were not having issues with being able to identify drug interactions/dosage issues/etc. Really the only benefit for the PharmD over the RPH is a better background knowledge for being able to describe the mechanism of what the issues exist, which is important, but knowing everything about warfarin does not inherently make me good at adjusting the dose based on the INR. Most of what we use comes from simple daily experience with it, ie the life-long learner concept. It was simply just put in place to make pharmacist more clinical, which is funny as most of my clinical knowledge (PK) came from experience as an intern in a hospital and from rotations.

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[Abby Atwood]

I still wish there was the BS Pharmacy as that's really what you need for the vast majority of all the work involved in the profession (and I really wish the number of hours needed prior to full practice was upped to 3,000-4,000 as it was in the old days to practice under supervision). It's always been title inflation that has gotten us to this point. The problem now is that pharmacy schools can get away with training substandard graduates hoping that the residency will act as a finishing school, whereas even a decade ago, a pharmacist who could not practice straight from school was considered to be incompetent as well as a judgment against the school.

I think it's pretty difficult to get into a residency program. Most of the people who get into a program are top of their class and extremely competent. (Take that with a grain of salt though. As a residency match reject, I'm a little biased ). I also think most people leave school with a minimum of 3000-4000 intern hours. I think South Dakota requires intern hours in the 3000 range. Even for states besides South Dakota, you typically get around 2500 through your school. The vast majority of students also get at least 2000 hours from standard employment as an intern. Conservatively, I graduated with 3000 intern hours outside my school program (total of 5500 hours).

Maybe I'm exceptionally stupid, but I don't think I could have walked into the place I'm currently working, able to practice, without my PharmD. Beyond a better understanding of disease states, my doctor of pharmacy degree gave me the ability to locate and synthesize clinical data. I am smarter than I was prior to this curriculum. (My school actually tested the critical thinking skills of my class before the P1 year and at the end of the P3 year, so I have proof ). I wouldn't want to be out there without this background.

 

[lord999]

I think it's pretty difficult to get into a residency program. Most of the people who get into a program are top of their class and extremely competent. (Take that with a grain of salt though. As a residency match reject, I'm a little biased ). I also think most people leave school with a minimum of 3000-4000 intern hours. I think South Dakota requires intern hours in the 3000 range. Even for states besides South Dakota, you typically get around 2500 through your school. The vast majority of students also get at least 2000 hours from standard employment as an intern. Conservatively, I graduated with 3000 intern hours outside my school program (total of 5500 hours).

Maybe I'm exceptionally stupid, but I don't think I could have walked into the place I'm currently working, able to practice, without my PharmD. Beyond a better understanding of disease states, my doctor of pharmacy degree gave me the ability to locate and synthesize clinical data. I am smarter than I was prior to this curriculum. (My school actually tested the critical thinking skills of my class before the P1 year and at the end of the P3 year, so I have proof ). I wouldn't want to be out there without this background.

You're not 'exceptionally stupid', you just haven't been "unschooled" long enough to realize that school is just there for efficiency (it's easier to learn faster when you're told what you're supposed to learn as opposed to picking it up from random experience). It's a difference between those who can or cannot, and the degree has never been the arbiter of that even in the present day; that is why there is a licensing process. The skills you cite are ones that were expected of any pharmacist, but we just do not need to do so most of the time. There will come a point in your practice where this all becomes fairly unconscious, where you can feel the way it should work. The difference between the practitioners now and the ones that were trained in the older era is the amount of supervised experience, and the quantity and the quality have always made the difference in addition to what latent talent you had.

Putting it another way, the LDS, Orthodox Jews, and fervent Catholics have formal, didactic classes on marital relations. Sure, you could go to these classes and avoid some obvious mistakes, but considering that marriage and family are usually argued to be more important than our career, think of how little formal training you had (unless you were part of a fairly parochial system) versus what you learned in those experiences? It's not that you completely miss out on certain things if you just go with experience, but there's a sterility and artificiality to classroom training that you never really shake off unless you do have that experience (I shudder at all the couples I knew who had to attend classes with a declared celibate priest and actually thought that those classes would determine marital success). There's some balance to be achieved, I actually found the classes helpful in terms of communication failure assessment which I didn't want to find out the hard way with the wife, but I am personally assured that experience counted for a lot more than any class in why I have a lasting marriage.


And for medicine, that is the purpose of the residency in their case, to make up the gap in what medical schools do not teach anymore. It was once quite possible to get the entirety of the practice experience in medical school, but no longer. Residency also grants that level of experience that school can never impart. Pharmacy (with the exception of nuclear and arguably the specialties like oncology and ID) does not yet have that developed a practice yet that distinguishes themselves from the base. As well, an extremely hardworking and somewhat intelligent technician can become a pharmacist and many do. I assure you that school helps with exposure to the variety of situations, but whether or not you can be a good pharmacist has more to do with you. The difference is not whether you did well in school as much as it is whether or not you can competently figure out how to make those numbers work day in and day out without burning out, turning to destructive outlets, or other self-harm. That's the real challenge and always has been.

 

[Rukn]

I wish I had walked out the first day of the first class

 

[Abby Atwood]

This thread popped up again, and I reread some of the recent posts. To make one final case for PharmD vs RPh, I would argue that pharmacy practice is slightly less instinctual than intercourse. Saying, "well, no one taught me how to have sex" is not the best argument for minimizing pharmacy education. A currently practicing RPh may be better than a PharmD, but that's because they have decades of experience. I can't wait decades to practice. Just my $0.02 again.

 

[gwarm01]

I wish I had walked out the first day of the first class

I hate to hear that. Have you at least been able to find a job? I get that the job isn't what we were promised by our schools, but it still provides a good living with easy work conditions.

This thread popped up again, and I reread some of the recent posts. To make one final case for PharmD vs RPh, I would argue that pharmacy practice is slightly less instinctual than intercourse. Saying, "well, no one taught me how to have sex" is not the best argument for minimizing pharmacy education. A currently practicing RPh may be better than a PharmD, but that's because they have decades of experience. I can't wait decades to practice. Just my $0.02 again.

I might not be interpreting this correctly, but it will probably take you a similar amount of time to obtain that level of skill. One of the most knowledgeable and talented clinical pharmacists I ever knew was an RPh, and he was still teaching things to us after years of employment. PharmD, PGY1/2, it didn't matter. Our degree/credential creep has not brought substantial gains.

 

[samven582]

Wanna know something ****ed up? I got rejected from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi because of my religion and ancestry. They asked me during the telephone interview if I was Sunni Muslim or Shia Muslim and if I have any Iranian ancestry. When I answered Shia and yes to the Iranian ancestry (my great-great-great grandparents moved from Iran to India and then my grandparents moved to the USA), I was told I couldn't be hired.

How did you get a interview with Cleveland clinic?

 

[Modest_anteater]

Well answering the questions
A) i do have student loans but they are at a manageble level still.
B) i am considering the usual alternative routes such as PA or med school but they all involve more loans.

I like working in a retail pharmacy setting but if im just going to end up with ton of student loans and limited job opportunities then i was thinking of calling it quits now and changing fields now.

I just wanted to ask how other people have done the transition to ther fields within or outside pharmacy.

PA would be great, much more opportunities. I think you can talk to PAtoPharm. He is a user in this community that has some knowledge with both the PA and Pharm learning environments. He also has a lot of experience with transitioning into many different things. @PAtoPharm

 

[Modest_anteater]

Wanna know something ****ed up? I got rejected from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi because of my religion and ancestry. They asked me during the telephone interview if I was Sunni Muslim or Shia Muslim and if I have any Iranian ancestry. When I answered Shia and yes to the Iranian ancestry (my great-great-great grandparents moved from Iran to India and then my grandparents moved to the USA), I was told I couldn't be hired.

dude you should have just lied or been economic with the truth

 

[lord999]

dude you should have just lied or been economic with the truth

Well, except being from the wrong school of thought in this case and found out later is a pretty good case for a mysterious death. They were doing @Sparda29 a favor by saying incompatible orientation. We actually are one of the few countries that make it a point to try to tolerate religion, even the Discordian cult within the Catholic Church.

Also, male health care practitioners are recruited by the Middle East and Singapore. Don't bother, their pay rates are not very competitive unless you want to avoid taxes, native worker displacement is going on, and it's somewhat of a problem getting a job back in the States afterwards.

 

[PAtoPharm]

PA would be great, much more opportunities. I think you can talk to PAtoPharm. He is a user in this community that has some knowledge with both the PA and Pharm learning environments. He also has a lot of experience with transitioning into many different things. @PAtoPharm

Just depends on how much risk he wants to take and how badly he wants a job as a pharmacist. Going to PA/NP school would definitely be less of an uphill battle when it comes to getting a job (just don't wait 5-7 years to go to PA/NP school, do it now)

 

[SClENCE]

Are you in year two of a 4 or 6 year program? I think that makes a big difference in the decision. If you choose something else, will you need to take a year off in order to prepare your application (take exam, get letters of recommendation, gain shadowing experience, etc.)?

You are potentially losing 3 years. That 3 years could be worth $300,000 in lost pay and $50,000 in tuition.

 

[dnp1123]

switching careers wastes so much time to be honest. i would just pick something from the very beginning and finish it out, no jumping around, it wastes too much time and too much money. you can still find a job as a pharmacist, even in saturated areas there's CVS. no one wants to work for CVS, so most of the time they have openings. that's the last resort, get a pharmd and become a cvs slave until something better comes along. the good thing is 1) you'll be making $100k+ 2) you won't go into more debt due to ****ty and wasteful years of higher education 3) you save time, instead of doing more nonsense schooling you'll be done sooner and able to work quicker

This is no longer a reliable path. "If I can't find work anywhere, I'll just go work for an undesirable location at CVS." Way too many graduates competing for a decreasing number of positions, and to add insult to injury, 32 hour work weeks is the new FT norm. @BMBiology, what are your thoughts?

 

[tropicalstudent]

So as an update, I did end up leaving pharmacy school in fall 2017 and truthfully it has been the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get a job in clinical research within a academic medical center that has really helped me grow professionally and personally. While, I really thought that I was going to commit a big mistake for leaving but it turned out quite the opposite. I am even considering going into another healthcare field that I hadn't considered but that I think would be a great fit personally and professionally. In the end, life is too short to study and work in something that your mind and soul isn't into. There are always options to change for the better and to not be afraid to jump into the unknown. Just my 0.02 cents.

 

[Modest_anteater]

So as an update, I did end up leaving pharmacy school in fall 2017 and truthfully it has been the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get a job in clinical research within a academic medical center that has really helped me grow professionally and personally. While, I really thought that I was going to commit a big mistake for leaving but it turned out quite the opposite. I am even considering going into another healthcare field that I hadn't considered but that I think would be a great fit personally and professionally. In the end, life is too short to study and work in something that your mind and soul isn't into. There are always options to change for the better and to not be afraid to jump into the unknown. Just my 0.02 cents.

!Congratulations! You made an awesome choice and dodged a financially lethal bullet. You should tell your story in the pre-pharmacy sub-forum to try to save some of them.

 

[FakePharmacist]

!Congratulations! You made an awesome choice and dodged a financially lethal bullet. You should tell your story in the pre-pharmacy sub-forum to try to save some of them.

Yes. Divert as much as you can. That may help with over saturation. I want our career to go back to being admirable again.

 

[Modest_anteater]

Yes. Divert as much as you can. That may help with over saturation. I want our career to go back to being admirable again.

THat's like saying you want an ice cube to become unmelted. It's simply not going to happen in this life for us. Maybe in 50 years. The only way would be for them to make the NAPLEX actually hard so the pass rate is around 5-10%.

 

[FakePharmacist]

THat's like saying you want an ice cube to become unmelted. It's simply not going to happen in this life for us. Maybe in 50 years. The only way would be for them to make the NAPLEX actually hard so the pass rate is around 5-10%.

Making the NAPLEX harder would be really stupid since students already paid their dues to get there. Making the PCAT harder and raising the GPA may work better. And stop building new pharmacy schools. I know some schools have really low standards but then thats the case for all professional schools. We need to lose the extra weight from the beginning, not at the end of the road.

 

[FakePharmacist]

So as an update, I did end up leaving pharmacy school in fall 2017 and truthfully it has been the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get a job in clinical research within a academic medical center that has really helped me grow professionally and personally. While, I really thought that I was going to commit a big mistake for leaving but it turned out quite the opposite. I am even considering going into another healthcare field that I hadn't considered but that I think would be a great fit personally and professionally. In the end, life is too short to study and work in something that your mind and soul isn't into. There are always options to change for the better and to not be afraid to jump into the unknown. Just my 0.02 cents.

With my masters in Neuroscience, only thing I can do was to be a research scientist. Worked at UTSouthwestern med school for 3 years. At some point, you will hit the ceiling. I felt like a professional degree will help me advance far more and it has. You may feel like youve dodge a bullet being that you wont have to pay off loans and what not but if you consider future career path, there isnt a lot of places to go with that. My gf is a post-doc in biochem and she feels a professional degree may helped her more.

 

[Modest_anteater]

Making the NAPLEX harder would be really stupid since students already paid their dues to get there. Making the PCAT harder and raising the GPA may work better. And stop building new pharmacy schools. I know some schools have really low standards but then thats the case for all professional schools. We need to lose the extra weight from the beginning, not at the end of the road.

Yeah but you ever try to take food away from a hungry dog? it will bite you. Same with the easy fed money flowing to pharm schools. They will fight you tooth and nail to prevent barriers to them filling their seats with warm bodies to get access to fed money. It's more realistic to make NAPLEX harder and then having a whole generation of non-licensed students whole will spread the word not to go to pharm school which will reduce demand and cause schools to go out of business.

 

[FakePharmacist]

Yeah but you ever try to take food away from a hungry dog? it will bite you. Same with the easy fed money flowing to pharm schools. They will fight you tooth and nail to prevent barriers to them filling their seats with warm bodies to get access to fed money. It's more realistic to make NAPLEX harder and then having a whole generation of non-licensed students whole will spread the word not to go to pharm school which will reduce demand and cause schools to go out of business.

Im sure neither of our ideas will come to fruition BUT do you realize how irresponsible that sounds? Haha so youre saying make the NAPLEX harder so these students who legitimately completed their degrees will have higher possiblity of not being able to practice? Hence, not be able to pay their loans back and make the type of living they deserve?

 

[Modest_anteater]

Im sure neither of our ideas will come to fruition BUT do you realize how irresponsible that sounds? Haha so youre saying make the NAPLEX harder so these students who legitimately completed their degrees will have higher possiblity of not being able to practice? Hence, not be able to pay their loans back and make the type of living they deserve?

>completed their degees
the degree means absolutely nothing. it's a piece of paper and with all the degree mill pharmD programs students need to be preparing for the NAPLEX independently of anything they learn in school.

>make the type of living they deserve
No one deserves anything. Just because one went to a school doesn't mean they are entitled to anything. Students need to pay the piper for the mistakes they made. And for some students that means earning 12 USD an hour after graduation which they should still be thankful for.

 

[tropicalstudent]

With my masters in Neuroscience, only thing I can do was to be a research scientist. Worked at UTSouthwestern med school for 3 years. At some point, you will hit the ceiling. I felt like a professional degree will help me advance far more and it has. You may feel like youve dodge a bullet being that you wont have to pay off loans and what not but if you consider future career path, there isnt a lot of places to go with that. My gf is a post-doc in biochem and she feels a professional degree may helped her more.

First, I just left pharmacy school and pharmacy period. Also, yes for being in a clinical research setting I know that to grow I need a clinical degree at some point. But right now a few years of experience and salary is the best thing for me at this point. Also, biochem research is very different from what I do, which is closer to clinical trials and that area has a decent career growth.

 

[FakePharmacist]

>completed their degees
the degree means absolutely nothing. it's a piece of paper and with all the degree mill pharmD programs students need to be preparing for the NAPLEX independently of anything they learn in school.

>make the type of living they deserve
No one deserves anything. Just because one went to a school doesn't mean they are entitled to anything. Students need to pay the piper for the mistakes they made. And for some students that means earning 12 USD an hour after graduation which they should still be thankful for.

Right. Youre simply stating the obvious. But put youreself in ones shoes who would have to go through that pain just because someone thought thats the only solution to our current pharmacy problem. It no different than what current Trump admin is doing (not to be political). We need real helpful solutions, not ones that could screw people who worked so hard to achieve a goal.

A degree is not a piece of paper. Unless you cheated way your through school. It is a paper proving that you worked hard to get an education. An education that allows you to impact lives and help others. Not sure where the cynicism is coming from but i refuse to believe that 4 years of my hard work at one of the top institutions in the nation means nothing and i wasted my time just to get a piece of paper thats worthless.

 

[smercer]

Right. Youre simply stating the obvious. But put youreself in ones shoes who would have to go through that pain just because someone thought thats the only solution to our current pharmacy problem. It no different than what current Trump admin is doing (not to be political). We need real helpful solutions, not ones that could screw people who worked so hard to achieve a goal.

A degree is not a piece of paper. Unless you cheated way your through school. It is a paper proving that you worked hard to get an education. An education that allows you to impact lives and help others. Not sure where the cynicism is coming from but i refuse to believe that 4 years of my hard work at one of the top institutions in the nation means nothing and i wasted my time just to get a piece of paper thats worthless.

The real issue is that many times these people are making an uninformed decision when they get into the field. The current society makes kids think they have to have everything figured out as soon as they are out of high school. Most of the kids parents (though this is slowly beginning to change as the younger generation's children are reaching adulthood) still believe the only way to be successful is to go to college. Thus, you combine schools which give very limited to direction to kids (outside of wow, you are really good at X subject), parents who only want their kids to be successful (see getting a college degree and not making the same mistakes), and colleges which have nothing but dollar signs in mind and you get a bunch of kids stuck with worthless degrees and no job prospects. If you want to change anything, the place to start is in high school. These kids need to be learning life skills and gaining a real understanding of the real world, then maybe they will be able to make an informed decision when they need to and not completely rely on people who do not have their best interest in mind.

Also, it is easy to crap all over anyone when they are just a number on a spreadsheet, but dang these are people with families. You cannot ruin someone else's life just because you do not want yours to be ruined. It is this kind of mindset that has gotten us here in the first place. Who cares about anyone else as long as I am doing good. Well, at some point those other people start to matter to you. I agree people need to be able to help themselves and need to work for things, but lets not pretend that everyone is given a complete run down of risks vs rewards for every decision they make.

 

[rph3664]

So as an update, I did end up leaving pharmacy school in fall 2017 and truthfully it has been the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get a job in clinical research within a academic medical center that has really helped me grow professionally and personally. While, I really thought that I was going to commit a big mistake for leaving but it turned out quite the opposite. I am even considering going into another healthcare field that I hadn't considered but that I think would be a great fit personally and professionally. In the end, life is too short to study and work in something that your mind and soul isn't into. There are always options to change for the better and to not be afraid to jump into the unknown. Just my 0.02 cents.

Don't let the detractors get you down. You made a decision that is right for you.

 

[jjkz]

So as an update, I did end up leaving pharmacy school in fall 2017 and truthfully it has been the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get a job in clinical research within a academic medical center that has really helped me grow professionally and personally. While, I really thought that I was going to commit a big mistake for leaving but it turned out quite the opposite. I am even considering going into another healthcare field that I hadn't considered but that I think would be a great fit personally and professionally. In the end, life is too short to study and work in something that your mind and soul isn't into. There are always options to change for the better and to not be afraid to jump into the unknown. Just my 0.02 cents.

It takes a lot of courage to do what you did...period. Right or wrong everyone will have their opinions but only you know whats right for you and thats what makes it the RIGHT decision. I declined my admission to pharm school and that was one of the, if not the hardest decisions ive ever made...so i know firsthand how tough a decision that may have been for you and i applaud you for your courage to jump ship. I’m sure your gut will lead you to a fulfilling career.


I am the Master of my Fate: I am the Captain of my Soul.
-William Henley

 

[Modest_anteater]

Right. Youre simply stating the obvious. But put youreself in ones shoes who would have to go through that pain just because someone thought thats the only solution to our current pharmacy problem. It no different than what current Trump admin is doing (not to be political). We need real helpful solutions, not ones that could screw people who worked so hard to achieve a goal.

A degree is not a piece of paper. Unless you cheated way your through school. It is a paper proving that you worked hard to get an education. An education that allows you to impact lives and help others. Not sure where the cynicism is coming from but i refuse to believe that 4 years of my hard work at one of the top institutions in the nation means nothing and i wasted my time just to get a piece of paper thats worthless.

People that failed to plan correctly and pursued a degree in a field with dwindling opportunities deserve to be punished for failure to research the occupation thoroughly enough. An Art History degree is also a degree that allows you "to impact lives and help others" does that mean everyone getting an art degree should have a 120,000 USD a year job at Sotheby's international realty in NYC appraising fine art? No.

"not ones that could screw people who worked so hard to achieve a goal."
Stop playing the victim. No one screwed you, you only screwed yourself going for a lack luster saturated degree and failing to accurately and correctly research the trends associated with the pharmacy world.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Lol

 

[FakePharmacist]

People that failed to plan correctly and pursued a degree in a field with dwindling opportunities deserve to be punished for failure to research the occupation thoroughly enough. An Art History degree is also a degree that allows you "to impact lives and help others" does that mean everyone getting an art degree should have a 120,000 USD a year job at Sotheby's international realty in NYC appraising fine art? No.

"not ones that could screw people who worked so hard to achieve a goal."
Stop playing the victim. No one screwed you, you only screwed yourself going for a lack luster saturated degree and failing to accurately and correctly research the trends associated with the pharmacy world.

Uh... when did I say i was the one who got screwed over? Youre right, no one screwed me over. I am very happy to be a pharmacist. I love my job and this career.

Whos playing the victim? Why so much hate? I can understand why you would hate yourself for being who you are or what you do but you shouldnt presume others feels the same.

How is stating the fact that making NAPLEX harder not being a great solution playing victim?

It is true that pharmacy in metroplex areas are saturated but thats the case for many medical fields. I have a friend whos a GI doc and hes opening his office 20 miles outside of the city. How do you even know i failed to research the pharmacy career before i began? Youre making way too many assumptions about someone you dont know.

Why are you associating making impact with dollar value? Sure, there are lots of jobs that make a difference. Doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers etc but in our capitalistic society, there are monetary values that one deserves for being in a certain career. Whats your point?

 

[Dr. Pill]

Uh... when did I say i was the one who got screwed over? Youre right, no one screwed me over. I am very happy to be a pharmacist. I love my job and this career.

Whos playing the victim? Why so much hate? I can understand why you would hate yourself for being who you are or what you do but you shouldnt presume others feels the same.

How is stating the fact that making NAPLEX harder not being a great solution playing victim?

It is true that pharmacy in metroplex areas are saturated but thats the case for many medical fields. I have a friend whos a GI doc and hes opening his office 20 miles outside of the city. How do you even know i failed to research the pharmacy career before i began? Youre making way too many assumptions about someone you dont know.

Why are you associating making impact with dollar value? Sure, there are lots of jobs that make a difference. Doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers etc but in our capitalistic society, there are monetary values that one deserves for being in a certain career. Whats your point?

This guy is a well documented tool, don’t spend too much time trying to rationalize or figure out why he posts what he does.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Im sure neither of our ideas will come to fruition BUT do you realize how irresponsible that sounds? Haha so youre saying make the NAPLEX harder so these students who legitimately completed their degrees will have higher possiblity of not being able to practice? Hence, not be able to pay their loans back and make the type of living they deserve?

I'm not saying I agree with this idea, but realistically, it's no different than getting a J.D. degree (7 years-4 yr bachelor + 3 years professional) and the bar exam with only 75% of average passing. OK, 75% passing is still higher than the 10%, but it's still talking about a quarter of students who got their degree that couldn't pass the exam.

 

[Modest_anteater]

This guy is a well documented tool, don’t spend too much time trying to rationalize or figure out why he posts what he does.

Yeah I agree. I mean calling jpromeo a tool is a little to far but he's setting up pharmacy to be in the same field as finding a cure to cancer or something which is ridiculously grandiose.

 

[rph3664]

It takes a lot of courage to do what you did...period. Right or wrong everyone will have their opinions but only you know whats right for you and thats what makes it the RIGHT decision. I declined my admission to pharm school and that was one of the, if not the hardest decisions ive ever made...so i know firsthand how tough a decision that may have been for you and i applaud you for your courage to jump ship. I’m sure your gut will lead you to a fulfilling career.


I am the Master of my Fate: I am the Captain of my Soul.
-William Henley

Six years ago, I walked away from active pharmacy practice, although I'm still licensed. One thing I haven't shared here until now, because it wasn't relevant, is that I have been dealing with a cancer diagnosis in recent months (my prognosis is excellent) and emotionally healing from that was less brutal than the pharmacy decision.

With the exception of a couple of posters here, I have had 100% support for my decision.

 

[johnpharm01]

Six years ago, I walked away from active pharmacy practice, although I'm still licensed. One thing I haven't shared here until now, because it wasn't relevant, is that I have been dealing with a cancer diagnosis in recent months (my prognosis is excellent) and emotionally healing from that was less brutal than the pharmacy decision.

With the exception of a couple of posters here, I have had 100% support for my decision.

I wish you the best in your battle against cancer. I am considering leaving pharmacy and have looked at other fields. What do you transition into?

 

[rph3664]

I have an Amazon resale business. I realized I had enough money saved up to retire, and did so. (And yeah, I buy my own health insurance, and one of the blessings throughout this whole thing is that after the not-insignificant deductibles were met, it has been paying claims with very little hassle.)

I had breast cancer, caught very early on a mammogram. Two lumpectomies and 20 radiation treatments later (chemotherapy was deemed unnecessary, which was the BEST news ever!), my life expectancy is about the same as if this had never happened.

Get your routine cancer screenings! And support the ACA, flawed as it is.