Medicine vs Pharmacy

[Confused321]

Hello

I am looking into medicine and pharmacy and would like your input on which
is better to pursue. Which has more difficult admission requirements and a better
overall future? I've searched through SDN and I would like a more updated answer.
Is medicine saturated? which is harder to get into? do they have the same prereqs?

Why did you choose to pursue medicine over pharmacy? Thank you.

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[Biochemistry2014]

Better is subjective.

I left pharmacy school in pursuit of medicine and have seen a fair share of both fields. Regarding the market, pharmacy is known to be saturated with many grads having difficulty finding jobs in desirable spaces and many more grads having trouble finding a full time job. Medicine will absolutely offer you more security. Medicine is not saturated.

Prereqs are very similar with some slight variation between individual schools. However, you can get into a pharmacy school without a degree, unlike medicine in which you'll need a bachelors.

Regarding admission requirements, there is no doubt that medicine is more competitive and harder to get into. Many are now able to get into pharmacy school with GPA's below a 3.0 and subpar standardized test scores (of course this depends on the individual school).

Medicine and pharmacy work towards the same goal in very different ways. I'd suggest shadowing a fair share of both to find your answer between the two.


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[piii]

Do you want to work with and treat patients, or do you just want to hand medicine over to them?

 

[ERDOC555]

The answers to all your questions is medicine.

Much harder to get into, much better job prospects, not saturated in the majority of fields.

If you like pharmacy and are really passionate about it then by all means do it.

Also, much less money in Pharmacy, but (i believe) much better hours/lifestyle than most physicians.

Put some hard research in to determine what field seems more enjoyable.

Hopefully that is somewhat helpful

 

[musicplease]

Medical school is harder to get into, pharmacy school doesn't even compare.

 

[Confused321]

are patients often rude to physicians? i know that its a problem with pharmacy

 

[ERDOC555]

are patients often rude to physicians? i know that its a problem with pharmacy

Absolutely! Even the nicest physicians aren't impervious to the abuse and disrespect of patients. Whether one is worse than the other I couldn't tell you, but I can guarantee that physicians deal with rude/difficult patients quite frequently.

 

[BigBoss]

are patients often rude to physicians? i know that its a problem with pharmacy

I work as a pharmacy technician at the moment and I can tell you from experience that pharmacists are not treated with as much respect as physicians are by patients. It's an unfortunate dynamic as both are important to providing healthcare in their own unique way. Though, I couldn't see myself as a pharmacist, which is why I will be attending medical school this fall. As explained by the other gentlemen and/or ladies in this thread, medicine has more benefits and physicians generally have a greater level of respect.