Medicine vs Pharmacy

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moto_za said:
What are the pros and cons of each. Trying to make an informed decision and explore my options.
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pharm = less money + less responsibility (both good and bad) + less training required + not as expensive school tuition + u still get to wear a white coat. all of those are comparatively speaking as opposed to MD. altho i am pretty sure pharmacy caps salary at some point. i think its like 120K or so.
 
Cleavername said:
pharm = less money + less responsibility (both good and bad) + less training required + not as expensive school tuition + u still get to wear a white coat. all of those are comparatively speaking as opposed to MD. altho i am pretty sure pharmacy caps salary at some point. i think its like 120K or so.
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My mother has been a pharmacist for 20 years. Her pay has increased dramatically since the beginning of her career. She lives in a small town/suburban area and makes over 120K a year, and she is a retail pharmacist.... Well she is the director of retail pharmacy for the whole hospital system, but it is definitely possible to make over 120K a year. She has always pushed me away from medicine, because her job allows her many of the same benefits as a doctor without the long hours and copious amounts of paper work.... Another benefit of being a pharmacist is more time to spend with family, being a doctor requires more time away from home.
 
Thanks a lot for the responses..keep them coming please 😀
 
I guess it also depends on what you're satisfied with doing. I think being a physician will allow you more variety in your career compared to being a pharmacist. Also, you probably have more chance of being "the boss" with a medical degree.
 
LastPolarBear said:
I guess it also depends on what you're satisfied with doing. I think being a physician will allow you more variety in your career compared to being a pharmacist. Also, you probably have more chance of being "the boss" with a medical degree.
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Yea, if you go retail. But who the hell goes retail?? :barf:
 
Honestly, I think that the demand for pharmacists will go down as they are replaced with those pill dispenser machines.

ParataRobot350.jpg


I'm only half kidding.
 
^ haha.

I think pharmacists are not well utilized in our healthcare system. They know their drugs and, unless you work for a hospital, you will never really have to share your clinical knowledge. Aside from what may or may not make you drowsy.

Got to love that 9-5 with a stable 6 digit salary though. Start your life off early and travel the world with partying still on the agenda cuz you're still young baby.
 
CoolWhipp said:
^ haha.

I think pharmacists are not well utilized in our healthcare system. They know their drugs and, unless you work for a hospital, you will never really have to share your clinical knowledge. Aside from what may or may not make you drowsy.

Got to love that 9-5 with a stable 6 digit salary though. Start your life off early and travel the world with partying still on the agenda cuz you're still young baby.
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And then after a few years you go back to school and get your MD.😀
 
Chops369 said:
Yea, if you go retail. But who the hell goes retail?? :barf:
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The majority of pharmacists.

Pharmacists held about 269,900 jobs in 2008. About 65 percent worked in retail settings. Most of these were salaried employees, but a small number were self-employed owners. About 22 percent of pharmacists worked in hospitals. A small proportion worked in mail-order and Internet pharmacies, pharmaceutical wholesalers, offices of physicians, and the Federal Government.
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pros pharmacist- shorter hours,less training . less responsibility(some don't like this however). cons-(especially in retail) job requirements may include ringing up at the register, directing and knowing where everything in the aisles is eg which coffee is on sale, limited use of clinical skills (sometimes all you need to know is which cough medication is good), unable to make independent decisions in most cases(dependent on the md and insurance co), abused by everybody(doctors, nurses at md's office, receptionists at md office and especially patients)
 
Girls stay hotter when they do pharmacy. So get pharmacy girls and they love medical students.
 
Medicine - Under saturated field. High demand for basically very field.
Pharmacy - Over saturated field. More graduates come out then people retire. They are relatively in low demand.
It's significantly hard now a days to find a job as a pharmacist. Medicine provides a lot more demand and variability.
Best thing a pharmacist can do now a days is to get a Pharm.D/ JD. Now that will get you tons of cash.

Pharmacy : less of your life in school ( 2 - 4 programs). You can be a licensed pharmacist at age 24 if you do one of those. Cost less. If you find a job it has pretty good job security.
Medicine : just plain out more choices. Your going into a field which takes a lot of time 7 years ( min). But in the end your going to have a easier time because you got a better choice in career and its all in demand.
 
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serenade said:
Best thing a pharmacist can do now a days is to get a Pharm.D/ JD. Now that will get you tons of cash.
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Who sold you that?





That aside, I'm applying to both pharm and med. That's what I'm aiming to do anyway. Regardless, I'll get to apply to pharm school first thus I'd get accepted and be able to start sooner. I guess that gets in the way with medical school. I just quit my job, moved, and now I'm sitting waiting for prereq classes to start May 25. Being a student sucks. Fast in fast out makes me think of trashing my other life goals. Been there done that before though.
 
I was a pharmacy tech during college, and now I'm a medical resident, so I have some perspective.

Pharmacy is shorter, only 4 years. Shorter is better because you'll make money sooner. Medicine is MINIMUM 4 years plus 3 years residency = 7 years.

No residency in pharmacy. Residency is hell.

Medicine is more prestigious. Pharmacists don't get much respect from their customers. Your pharmacy techs will recognize you for your genius though!

Pharmacists work in small a box. Nagging customers ask you multiple times a day why their co-pay is so much, not realizing it has nothing to do with you.

Doctors deal with more waste of time documenting and paperwork.

Neither pharmacists or doctors get decent lunch breaks and have little time to use the bathroom. Healthcare is healthcare.

Doctors make a lot more money than pharmacists. This is a silly point, because compared to most people, pharmacists make tons of money too. Most of the pharmacists I worked with drove nice cars and lived very comfortably. Medicine is about to experience a painful thrashing from B. Obama.

Many of these points are generalizations, but you get my drift. There are sweet gigs and terrible jobs in both medicine and pharmacy. Some pharmacists make tons of money by owning their own pharmacy in a prime location.
 
psu2014 said:
My mother has been a pharmacist for 20 years. Her pay has increased dramatically since the beginning of her career. She lives in a small town/suburban area and makes over 120K a year, and she is a retail pharmacist.... Well she is the director of retail pharmacy for the whole hospital system, but it is definitely possible to make over 120K a year. She has always pushed me away from medicine, because her job allows her many of the same benefits as a doctor without the long hours and copious amounts of paper work.... Another benefit of being a pharmacist is more time to spend with family, being a doctor requires more time away from home.
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Depends greatly on the specialty.
 
If you can stomach the day to day of a pharmacist, then it's really not a bad gig. There are several accelerated programs that I know are not extremely competitive, and you don't have to make the same investment (both financial, emotional, and time) as in medicine.

If you're looking for something more stimulating, and autonomy, then pharmacy might not be the right job for you.
 
FIREitUP said:
If you can stomach the day to day of a pharmacist, then it's really not a bad gig. There are several accelerated programs that I know are not extremely competitive, and you don't have to make the same investment (both financial, emotional, and time) as in medicine.

If you're looking for something more stimulating, and autonomy, then pharmacy might not be the right job for you.
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finally some one keeps us focused on whats truely important.
 
Wyclef said:
I was a pharmacy tech during college, and now I'm a medical resident, so I have some perspective.

Pharmacy is shorter, only 4 years. Shorter is better because you'll make money sooner. Medicine is MINIMUM 4 years plus 3 years residency = 7 years.

1. No residency in pharmacy. Residency is hell.
2. Medicine is more prestigious. Pharmacists don't get much respect from their customers. Your pharmacy techs will recognize you for your genius though!

3. Pharmacists work in small a box. Nagging customers ask you multiple times a day why their co-pay is so much, not realizing it has nothing to do with you.

Doctors deal with more waste of time documenting and paperwork.

Neither pharmacists or doctors get decent lunch breaks and have little time to use the bathroom. Healthcare is healthcare.

Doctors make a lot more money than pharmacists. This is a silly point, because compared to most people, pharmacists make tons of money too. Most of the pharmacists I worked with drove nice cars and lived very comfortably. Medicine is about to experience a painful thrashing from B. Obama.

Many of these points are generalizations, but you get my drift. There are sweet gigs and terrible jobs in both medicine and pharmacy. Some pharmacists make tons of money by owning their own pharmacy in a prime location.
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I am also a pharmacy tech.

1. Not true. There are actually residencies for pharmacy, and they are basically a must if you want to do anything clinical-based.

2 and 3. Spot on.
 
You guys have a very narrow view of pharmacy. There is an enormous amount of variety. Pharmacists can do residencies, too...and specialize. Just some right off the top of my head: community pharmacy, ambulatory care, nuclear pharmacy, clinical, hospital staff, mail order, consulting, insdustry, public health, informatics and IT...specialties: hem/onc, critical care, transplant, cardio...

There is a lot to do with a pharmD. In rural areas, there are pharmacists making 150K+ (high demand there). 40 hours a week, regular schedule, benefits, and you can essentially "leave work at work".

You could also opt to open your own pharmacy instead of working for the big boxes.
 
Also pharmacists stand allllll day without many breaks. If you work retail where you have a drive through youre going to be super busy, I foresee a burnout withing a couple years of retail. If I chose pharmacy I would to a residency (pharmacotherapy/nuclear pharmacist) and work in a hospital setting.
 
Anyone switch from pharmacy to medicine or med to pharmacy? Glad or not you did?
 
Chops369 said:
I am also a pharmacy tech.

1. Not true. There are actually residencies for pharmacy, and they are basically a must if you want to do anything clinical-based.

2 and 3. Spot on.
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Explain, what is clinical pharmacy?
 
serenade said:
Explain, what is clinical pharmacy?
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Well every hospital has pharmacists, who will most likely be saving our asses if we ever make it to residency. They round with doctors, make IV's, dispense drugs, compound, and basically just oversee and monitor patients' drug regimens so none of the noobs kill anyone :meanie:.

Like rxlea said, there are also specialties for clinical pharmacists.
 
BJJ said:
Also pharmacists stand allllll day without many breaks. If you work retail where you have a drive through youre going to be super busy, I foresee a burnout withing a couple years of retail. If I chose pharmacy I would to a residency (pharmacotherapy/nuclear pharmacist) and work in a hospital setting.
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Well, a lot of doctors stand all day as well, along with working longer hours. If burn out is the issue I would say that doctors most likely have a higher burn out rate.
 
Cleavername said:
i hope to god thats not true if my other choice is MD, and i don't even believe in god.
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Is it really surprising to you that doctors work a lot of hours? So yes, in a way, it is true. Pharmacists work less hours in general.
 
Clinical pharmacy: oversee med regimens/treatments, dosing, TPN monitoring, make recommendations, check for drug interactions, round with doctors, interpret labs (and make dosing or treatment suggestions based on these), verify orders, many other things, and, in general, are the "medication experts" and an important part of the medical team. I work at a top notch institution and the docs and residents often say how important the clinical pharmacists are. They don't do much compounding/IV making except in the OR. The technicians mostly do the compounding and the pharmacists in the central pharmacy check it. Although, they are the only ones allowed to compound the cocaine drops (although I got to do it before). We don't have an ER pharmacist but I know that other hospitals do (we don't have a trauma center). The specialty pharmacists do even more, especially with transplant and hem/onc but a residency isn't required (the ones we have, have moved into those positions over time because of their experience). I think residencies will be required, though, as competition increases.
 
afkari said:
Anyone switch from pharmacy to medicine or med to pharmacy? Glad or not you did?
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I'm attempting to switch pharmacy to medicine...no outcome yet. But I am glad and have enjoyed the application process.
 
The thing that really ticks me off is that retail pharmacy you make 100-130k on average and you don't have to be all that bright to do it. Clinical pharmacy you have to know TONS more and you take a pay cut for it (typically runs 90-110k). You basically get paid more for dealing with more crap (maybe like GI?). Retail will pay you out the nose to run that register and hand a $5 gift card to every squeeky wheel who hates you b/c you're trying to save their butt or prevent them from going down that slippery slope towards narcotic addiction (seen it...it ain't pretty). Couple years ago I traveled a lot b/c the company couldn't find RPhs for some smaller areas...probably made 150k b/c of the overtime.

I'm trying to move into medicine b/c I'm tired of not getting to be the "creative" one. I just get to check if what's already been decided seems appropriate. So...it may not be a great career move in a lot of people's eyes...but I don't just wanna be the double check (though I'm glad to do it as long as you don't yell at me). 🙂
 
I think what most people said is accurate. Pharmacists make really good money not as grueling an education. At my school we have a pretty good pharm program that takes all of its students straight out of High School. You get a B.A. and a Pharm. D. in six years - and its a really big program, 300 to 400 students I think.

Those kids are set if you ask me. Especially the ones looking to start a family early.
 
Pharmacy was a good gig until all these new schools started opening up. Now, the demand is shrinking and retail jobs are no longer guaranteed. I would say going to pharmacy school is definitely not worth the time nor money. If I had to do it again I would definitely not have applied. Just my two cents.
 
And the funny thing is that in pharm kids and premed kids take the same classes their first two years - bio, chem, orgo, physics, etc. The 800 or so premed kids in these classes are afraid the 300 pharmacy students are going ruin the curve!
 
ScarletRMD said:
I think what most people said is accurate. Pharmacists make really good money not as grueling an education. At my school we have a pretty good pharm program that takes all of its students straight out of High School. You get a B.A. and a Pharm. D. in six years - and its a really big program, 300 to 400 students I think.

Those kids are set if you ask me. Especially the ones looking to start a family early.
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That's actually a big problem with pharmacy. There are lots of not-so-competative 6 year programs that have too many students. As you can probably imagine, they don't really help the already saturated job market.
 
bassvp said:
The thing that really ticks me off is that retail pharmacy you make 100-130k on average and you don't have to be all that bright to do it. Clinical pharmacy you have to know TONS more and you take a pay cut for it (typically runs 90-110k). You basically get paid more for dealing with more crap (maybe like GI?). Retail will pay you out the nose to run that register and hand a $5 gift card to every squeeky wheel who hates you b/c you're trying to save their butt or prevent them from going down that slippery slope towards narcotic addiction (seen it...it ain't pretty). Couple years ago I traveled a lot b/c the company couldn't find RPhs for some smaller areas...probably made 150k b/c of the overtime.

I'm trying to move into medicine b/c I'm tired of not getting to be the "creative" one. I just get to check if what's already been decided seems appropriate. So...it may not be a great career move in a lot of people's eyes...but I don't just wanna be the double check (though I'm glad to do it as long as you don't yell at me). 🙂
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Agreed bass!!

Clinical pharmacy is much more difficult to enter, harder to maintain (they are always under pressure to be active in the COP and do research, academic hospital), and pay is less as you said.

I feel the same in retail. By the time the patient comes to see us, they have already been treated. Someone else has done the hard part of diagnosing and deciding the proper treatment. While what we do is important, it's not what I really want to do in providing health care.

Good luck with changing to medicine!
 
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