Med vs. Pharm Decision

[PharmEm]

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Hi,
I wrote this topic in the pharmacy section and I'm sure that this topic has popped up already.
I'm sure that many of you were deciding on which health profession to pursue during your early undergrad years and for the ones that were deciding b/t pharmacy school and med school, what made you go with med school? Just any pro/cons will suffice. Thanks.

P.S. The reason I ask is b/c, although I'm heavily sticking with pharmacy school, the thought of med school is still in the back of my mind and you know, I don't want to do something I regret later on.

 

[AStudent]

I honestly thought about doing pharm over med because of:

1) the hours worked to pay ratio
2) one can walk right out of pharm school and make around 100 large, whereas medicine requires residency etc... that don't get paid NEARLY as much.

In the end I decided to go with med for NUMEROUS reasons, and partly because I didn't want to count pills the rest of my life.

Hi,
I wrote this topic in the pharmacy section and I'm sure that this topic has popped up already.
I'm sure that many of you were deciding on which health profession to pursue during your early undergrad years and for the ones that were deciding b/t pharmacy school and med school, what made you go with med school? Just any pro/cons will suffice. Thanks.

P.S. The reason I ask is b/c, although I'm heavily sticking with pharmacy school, the thought of med school is still in the back of my mind and you know, I don't want to do something I regret later on.

 

[virilep]

the main deciding factor is how much control you want to have in the health care process. one of my best friends is in pharm school now and he tells me he wishes he woulda thought about med school because of the control aspect. for my it was about patient interaction. I know pharmacists do have interaction, but not on the same level. but yeah. that's the deciding factor. if u want to have control or not.

 

[Furrball]

Hi,
I wrote this topic in the pharmacy section and I'm sure that this topic has popped up already.
I'm sure that many of you were deciding on which health profession to pursue during your early undergrad years and for the ones that were deciding b/t pharmacy school and med school, what made you go with med school? Just any pro/cons will suffice. Thanks.

For me it wasn't about pros and cons, going into medicine is what I felt like I was meant to do. I was a scientist before med school but I found the lab too sterile. I am about to graduate from med school. I am partly terrified of what will happen that first week in July when someboday asks, "what now doctor?" and I realize that they are talking to me. The other part of me can't wait. I am excited to have my own patients in my continuity clinic. I want the responsibility that comes with having an MD and taking care of people. You ahev to ask yourself, is this what you want? Do you want to be in the hospital for 36 hours straight? Do you want your everyday experience to sometimes be the worst day in other people's lives? Medicine is the absolute right advocation for me, but you really have to want to do it to make it worth while.

 

[Shaz]

I didn't want to count pills the rest of my life.

Yep. I don't know if i'd be able to do that for the rest of my life.

 

[fun8stuff]

Hi,
I wrote this topic in the pharmacy section and I'm sure that this topic has popped up already.
I'm sure that many of you were deciding on which health profession to pursue during your early undergrad years and for the ones that were deciding b/t pharmacy school and med school, what made you go with med school? Just any pro/cons will suffice. Thanks.

P.S. The reason I ask is b/c, although I'm heavily sticking with pharmacy school, the thought of med school is still in the back of my mind and you know, I don't want to do something I regret later on.

i started out as pre-pharm and thought it was all cool until i worked in a few different settings and found it was sooooo boring- clinical was only marginally better. Talk about over-trained. A computer can do 95% of a pharmacists job. As a tech, I could basically do the job with the help of a computer after only a few months. This alone was enough to turn me away....

I don't mean to be so crude, it is important that someone or something double checks a doc, and someone that is more accessible to the public, but.... i think the person who develops a computer that does the job will make a fortune- it doesnt seem like it would be very hard to do (i have heard it is already in the making- for both retail and hospital)

edit: ERNIE the Robot Pharmacist: More Accurate than Humans
Robot Replaces Hospital Pharmacist and is more accurate!
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/07.17/13-robot.html
http://www.mckessonautomation.com/pdf/USATodayArticleRobotAtNorthMonroe(NOV2003).pdf

These sites make it look like the future of the pharmacist will be to stock the machines.... i hope not!

 

[OSUdoc08]

Hi,
I wrote this topic in the pharmacy section and I'm sure that this topic has popped up already.
I'm sure that many of you were deciding on which health profession to pursue during your early undergrad years and for the ones that were deciding b/t pharmacy school and med school, what made you go with med school? Just any pro/cons will suffice. Thanks.

P.S. The reason I ask is b/c, although I'm heavily sticking with pharmacy school, the thought of med school is still in the back of my mind and you know, I don't want to do something I regret later on.

1. Money
2. Availablity of Jobs
3. Flexibility of practice location
4. Flexibility of career choice (specialty)
5. Respect
6. Autonomy


--> Medicine

 

[PineappleGirl]

I thought about doing a pharmd for a long time. Then I had this moment of truth: I was standing in line at the customer service desk of this HUGE grocery store, the muzak blaring from the speakers, the squeaking of grocery carts in the distance, the glare of the artificial light, an obese mother surveying the pastry aisle, petulent children in tow. I glance over at the pharmacy counter. Would I really want to work a 12 hour shift in this place??

I couldn't run out of there fast enough.

Yes, yes, I know, not every pharmacist works in a grocery store, but retail is where the money is.

On another note, I was waiting for a script at CVS for 10 or 15 minutes last weekend. Some woman comes up to the pharmacist with a bag of cheetos and says, "there's no more of these, are these out of stock or something?". The pharmacist, who to his credit did not look at all peeved, had to call the manager to help her. Talk about no respect.

 

[pharmgirl]

One thing to remember, is that regardless of what you choose, it is never too late to change your mind. I graduated with my pharmacy degree in 2001, and plan to start medical school in fall of 2005. Med school was always in the back of my head, so I'm not surprised that I ended up changing my mind. I don't regret the path I chose to get here. Pharmacy is a great profession, and offers many perks. But do what you think is best for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!

 

[vraypharmd2md]

I totally agree with pharmgirl

I am completing my PharmD and will be attending med school in the fall. For me it was the issue of authority. While working in the retail pharmacies and the hospitals all of the interventions made by pharmacists were under the authority of a physician (protocols or reccommendations). This fact did not take into account the pharmacists exceptional knowledge or training. In the end I decided that I wanted the authority to treat patients when a problem arrises and not have to worry about differing attitudes toward my interventions.

I do love pharmacy. I feel my training will make me a much much better physcian.