Hi everyone...I'm not sure if this is where I should post this question...I'm kinda new at this...Anyone out there that switched from Medical into Pharmacy School? If so, I would really appreciate any comments/advice from you. I recently took a leave of absence from medical school and am redeciding my career path. Pharmacy school has always been in the back of my mind...so if any of you have been through the same situation, I would like to hear from you. Thanks in advance.
Medical School to Pharmacy School
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I'm the other way around. After obtaining my PharmD, I'm planning on applying to Medical School. I just feel that I would have a greater impact on someone's life being a physician. But I might also look into Pharmacy Practice Residencies to practice clinical.
All in all, Pharmacy is a GREAT career.
All in all, Pharmacy is a GREAT career.
i'm not in your shoes but i think its definitely something you should look into... hopefully while in med school you learned how to study and those skills will be very valuable in pharm schoolJJ1020 said:
pharmacy is a shorter path (one which i am glad to have chosen now because i am burning out) and does offer ways to help people.
i feel that as a pharmacist i will have a greater impact on someone's life than a physician would.
but personal opinion...
good luck!
The district manager of the chain pharmacy where I work first obtained his MD, then his PharmD, now he is in the business end of running the pharmacies regionally. There are tons of options still open to you; it is not impossible to switch, or to get both degrees, or pull one out of left field and go into law, or business or teaching.
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AMG_MD said:
What in world are you talking about? Just b/c he's trying to change his career path? There are plenty of people out there who change their minds about med school, or other professional schools for that matter, doesn't mean they have deep rooted issues.
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AMG_MD said:
Getting into any grad or professional program is grueling and time consuming- things can change, especially if the individual has other things going on in their life.
Let me add- I accept your opinion.
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AMG_MD said:
wow those are some SERIOUS conclusions/assumtions you made from the OP's post. I'D say that YOU have issues of making assumptions--from a 2-3 lines post that requsted an opinion from other's who decided to switch career paths?? Sheesh!
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it is none of your business to comment on things regarding other people's issues.
wow, you give some great advice. Now, if you would only follow it yourself.
AMG_MD said:
wow, you give some great advice. Now, if you would only follow it yourself.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=2078663&postcount=8AMG_MD said:
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JJ1020 said:
i have to be honest with some of you. i have been really angry at some people who decides to go to medical school after the pharmacy school, but i came to realization that it is none of my business. being in a professional school takes a lot out of you. especially medical school. personally i dont think i can stand up there watch people die, cut someone open, it is just not in my personality.
i totally respect your decision. the bottom line is that you have to know what you makes happy. i know you heard it million times, but it is just simple as that.
i peronally do not think you will have any hard time adjusting to the pharmacy school. pharmacy these days offer various other career choices other than the usual. (community/hospital). i am sure there is one career that suits your personality and your career expectations.
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My A&P teacher was an MD. She got all the way through and then decided that she would rather be a teacher. She's only in her 20's but I respect her for doing what she wants.
So, if you think pharmacy school is what you want, then go for it. You'll still be competing against 9 other applicants for 1 seat and not have any time for anything except studying and school for 4 years. If you're just burned out, then stay in med school after the leave of absence. You'll get burned out in pharmacy school, too.
So, if you think pharmacy school is what you want, then go for it. You'll still be competing against 9 other applicants for 1 seat and not have any time for anything except studying and school for 4 years. If you're just burned out, then stay in med school after the leave of absence. You'll get burned out in pharmacy school, too.
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I agree with kwakster928, just to do what makes you happy.
I don't really know the difference between becoming a physician and a pharmacist though. It really takes commitment for the physician career because it takes a lot of years with intense training. Pharmacy also has intense traning, but doesn't take that long. Some of the things physicians do such as cutting people open, having fats flicked on people face in anatomy lab, and telling people their beloved person is dead are overwhelming for me.
What is the essential difference between a physician and a pharmacist in terms of job satisfaction, job responsibility, and job environment?
I don't really know the difference between becoming a physician and a pharmacist though. It really takes commitment for the physician career because it takes a lot of years with intense training. Pharmacy also has intense traning, but doesn't take that long. Some of the things physicians do such as cutting people open, having fats flicked on people face in anatomy lab, and telling people their beloved person is dead are overwhelming for me.
What is the essential difference between a physician and a pharmacist in terms of job satisfaction, job responsibility, and job environment?
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*deep breathe* ALLLLLLLL BYYYYYYY YYYOUUUUURRRRSELFFFF....... DON'T WANNNNNNNNNNNA BEEEEEE ALLLLLLLL BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOURRRRSELLLFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF................ ANYYYYMORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
thank you, thank you...
thank you, thank you...
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didn't you just have a smiliar thread in pharmacy forum? why are you double posting everywhere? just curious.
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JJ1020- You have started four threads on this exact topic in the past two days. Please post each topic only once and in the most appropriate forum. I am merging the thread you posted in Pre-Pharmacy to the Pharmacy thread.
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sorry for my random post... can't really remember what I was thinking when I wrote it.
Finals coming up are making me loopy.
Anyways, figure out what you want to do when you grow up and do it.
Finals coming up are making me loopy.
Anyways, figure out what you want to do when you grow up and do it.
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tupac_don said:
I would say the first 2 years of med school are pretty close in intensity as pharm school w/ med school being just a bit more. All in all I feel one can get a 4.0 in both (the first 2 years of med school vs first 3 years of pharm)w/ the same amount of effort. Just my thoughts.
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I believe pharmer and tupac_don have their PharmDs and are currently in medical school, so they have a personal basis for comparing the intensity of the programs.
Dana's comment about a competitive admissions process raises a good point. Just because you got into medical school does not automatically make you a shoe-in for pharmacy school. If you drop out of medical school, pharmacy admissions committees will question your change in career path. To say that you are pursuing pharmacy as a lower stress alternative will probably not sit too well. Even if you give them another reason, they may be wary. So, you would probably be at a disadvantage, relative to other PharmD applicants.
Dana's comment about a competitive admissions process raises a good point. Just because you got into medical school does not automatically make you a shoe-in for pharmacy school. If you drop out of medical school, pharmacy admissions committees will question your change in career path. To say that you are pursuing pharmacy as a lower stress alternative will probably not sit too well. Even if you give them another reason, they may be wary. So, you would probably be at a disadvantage, relative to other PharmD applicants.
pharmer said:
So far, I think Pharmacy school was a lot easier. I find myself constantly studying in medschool, about 3 times more than I ever did in pharm school. But I think it because I found chemistry (organic chemistry) pretty easy to understand. Much of the first 2 years has to deal with organic chem is some way (pharmaceutics, med chem). However, in medschool, since I don't have a photographic memory, I have to study (memorize) all the time. Just my take on the intensity of med school vs. pharm school
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IDPHARM said:
I'm curious, since I chose not to go to med school. What types of things do you have to memorize?
I totally mess up on the type of pure memorization we have in pharm school. I have to remember every type of presynaptic and postsynaptic neuron in the brain, what area of the brain they originate in and project to, what subtype is the autoreceptor, what neurons have heteroreceptors (ie alpha-2 on a serotonin neuron) and what affect that has depending on the area of the brain, etc. Then I have to learn every drug and which neurons it affects, then predict the response and side effects. I'm really, really burned out on this and I still have another semester of pharmacology to go.
I find memorization of drug names & dosages fairly easy, from working in a pharmacy. I'm thinking med school would be more like the receptor memorization, only for the entire body. Is that correct?
dgroulx said:
Actually what you have described is so far what medical school has been like. The brain stuff (ironically I have a neuroanatomy comprehensive final tomorrow, so I can empathize), pharmacology is memorization. But I feel that in medicine so far it has been every course this semester like gross anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy. So my problem has been the sheer volume of material to memorize. My experience in pharmacy school was that there were courses like pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, pharmacognsy, where the emphasis was not so much to memorize chemical structures but to be able to understand concepts like Structure Activity Relationships (SAR) of drugs and predict their action. I am not a good short term, large volume memorizer (maybe a problem of my hippocampus
so for me, med school has been more intense. I know everyone is different
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pharmer said:
Those of my friends and colleagues that went to medical school after pharmacy felt that medical school was more difficult in technical matters, and less difficult in coursework. Although, I'm sure it advantageous to have sat through Pharmacology, Physiology, and Microbiology once already and learning to rote memorize in prior training helps.
As for a career choice, I'm afraid I have to agree on AMG_MD's take on the "issues" question. The medical school admissions process is deliberately designed to force a candidate to think through the decision to enter professional training. Medical schools really hate those dropouts who do not complete the training due to "it's not for me" issues. It's too expensive for them to admit candidates to flunk them out (contrary to popular belief). I'm not saying that this person has a problem, except to note that getting into pharmacy or anything else will not be an easy admission. As an admissions person, I'd be inclined to believe that this person is not introspective enough to merit admission and needs some time (a couple of years) to rethink his/her position.
Medicine is a wide-open field. Why don't you try doing some of the more unusual ways to get an education (Lab Med., Dermaholiday, Informatics, Clinical Decision Support and Administration, etc.) before you consider dropping the program? I'm sure that there is something out there that will match with you.
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DrPharm said:
I have been practicing pharmacy for 15yrs and I recently finished a non-traditional PharmD program. I am also planning to apply to medical school and currently studying for the MCATs. I love pharmacy too but I feel limited in what I can do to help patients.
thanks everyone for all your comments/support/critiques...
I'm still trying to figure out what's best for me...my personality...what I'll be suitable for...what I'll enjoy...
I know some of you might be upset at where I'm coming from...but I'm just a bit late at realizing that I need to do this for me...I wouldn't want to be stuck in this same position 3 or 4 years down the road...so I need to make the best choice that I can with a clear mind...
But thanks for all your support!!!
I'm still trying to figure out what's best for me...my personality...what I'll be suitable for...what I'll enjoy...
I know some of you might be upset at where I'm coming from...but I'm just a bit late at realizing that I need to do this for me...I wouldn't want to be stuck in this same position 3 or 4 years down the road...so I need to make the best choice that I can with a clear mind...
But thanks for all your support!!!
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JJ1020 said:thanks everyone for all your comments/support/critiques...
I'm still trying to figure out what's best for me...my personality...what I'll be suitable for...what I'll enjoy...
I know some of you might be upset at where I'm coming from...but I'm just a bit late at realizing that I need to do this for me...I wouldn't want to be stuck in this same position 3 or 4 years down the road...so I need to make the best choice that I can with a clear mind...
But thanks for all your support!!!
I went to pharmacy school for undergrad and I have a BS in pharmacy. I then went right into med school and now I am an internal medicine intern applying for a general surgery spot. Since I have completed both types of schooling, I feel that I can give reliable information. Pharmacy school is hard, but in a different way. Learning a lot of drugs and everything about them (i.e. medicinal chem, pharmacology, kinetics, therapeutics, etc.) is difficult no doubt, but it is realistic and do-able. In med school, you have to learn about everything else - basic science and clinical medicine - about all areas of medicine. Basically there is just a whole crapload more to memorize and learn. It may be more than some people can deal with. Yeah, eventually you can specialize and what not, but initially you need to know it all - you need to know it all so that you can do well on boards and get a good residency. Basically there is a lot less pressure on you in pharmacy school. When I started pharmacy school in 1996, there was a saying "All Cs, 50 Gs." In other words, you just need to pass and you will still wind up with a great job. Try that with medical school, and you can kiss competative stuff like derm and ortho good-bye as a career option. The updated saying should be "all Cs, 100 Gs." That is one distinct perk about going to pharmacy school. There are a few advantages: better schedule as compared to that of a physician, no such thing as call (usually), and if there is it is NO WHERE near as intense, AWESOME job stability, INCREDIBLE job flexibility, LOW liability as compared to practicing medicine, etc. The list goes on and on. However, you have to realize that your role in healthcare will be downgraded. No matter what anyone says, you will not have as great an impact on the health and welfare of your patients should you choose to have patient contact. You will have a lot, granted, but still not as much as a physician. A lot of people in the pharmacy profession will argue this, but they are wrong. My advice to you, bottom line, is DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. If you are gonna kick yourself later for not going to med school, then finish it now. Otherwise, pharmacy is a great career and just as respectable (as it should be).
To those who think this guy is nuts/has issues for wanting to go to pharmacy school AFTER starting med school.......and to those who think that I and the many others like me who went to med school after pharmacy school are nuts.....very succinctly: KISS MY ASS!!!
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It seems that less people switch out of medicine, does the typically larger amount of time and resources put in medicine the main factor? Going from pharmacy to medicine seems easier than the other way around in terms of what was put in and if medicine doesn't work they can always fall back on pharmacy.
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holy 4 year old thread
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At least he didn't start a new one.
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It takes a long time to become an attending physician. You have to go to medical school and then do a residency, fellowship, etc. It would seem pretty devastating to switch from the physician track to the pharmacist track if the person was a resident physician, because they would have to be in school another four years to get a PharmD.
Most likely, medical school students who want to switch to pharmacy school probably aren't very far into the medical school program. Why would you give up being a physician if you've already completed four years of medical school?
Perhaps they really hate working with patients and healthcare professionals directly, but I don't see how this is justified, because they will experience similar situations while working as a pharmacist. All of the pharmacists that I know work directly with patients or directly with other healthcare professionals. So many of the jobs available in pharmacy revolve around people. Even mail order pharmacists have to talk to people, albeit over the phone, but they still interact with patients and physicians.
Personally, I think it's a lifestyle issue. Medical students may not want the lifestyle of a physician, so they opt out, and go to pharmacy school instead.
Most likely, medical school students who want to switch to pharmacy school probably aren't very far into the medical school program. Why would you give up being a physician if you've already completed four years of medical school?
Perhaps they really hate working with patients and healthcare professionals directly, but I don't see how this is justified, because they will experience similar situations while working as a pharmacist. All of the pharmacists that I know work directly with patients or directly with other healthcare professionals. So many of the jobs available in pharmacy revolve around people. Even mail order pharmacists have to talk to people, albeit over the phone, but they still interact with patients and physicians.
Personally, I think it's a lifestyle issue. Medical students may not want the lifestyle of a physician, so they opt out, and go to pharmacy school instead.
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My cousin's husband finished med school, but never did his residency. At the time, CIS was such a hot field and he was working at home making 80K. Now he is making wayyyy over 100K working at home.
I also know someone who practiced pharmacy for over 25 years, then decided to go to med school just for the heck of it. He is an MD, but he can't practice since he didn't bother to do his residency.
I also know someone who practiced pharmacy for over 25 years, then decided to go to med school just for the heck of it. He is an MD, but he can't practice since he didn't bother to do his residency.
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How do you figure that?
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considering the post is over 3 years old and they were last active 09-16-2007 06:30 PM how do you figure they're supposed to answer?
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+1
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What do you mean?
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ditto.
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