NP vs PharmD

[HedgehogCute]

Hi all,

I am a third-year undergraduate student majoring in biology and I am maintaining pretty good GPA almost As

I am recently having a huge major crisis because of the saturation of the pharmacy field.

I have interviewed a few current pharmacists and did some research on the internet and a lot of them discouraged me to pursue pharmacy.

One of my back-up plans was Nursing practicing. However, I also hear that this field is also being rapidly saturated too.

I also understand that I need to work as a BSN in order to become an NP for maybe 2-5 years.

I don't hate working as an RN that much but I cannot imagine myself doing it for more than 7 years so I don't want to end up going back to RN because I cannot find a job as an NP.

Also, I am male so I think there could be some disadvantages of being a male nurse or NP.

is the NP job market that saturated? or will be saturated as pharmacy in the near future?

This is so hard decision to make at this point when there is so many uncertainties with the COVID-19.

I also heard that DNP programs mainly focus on research or composition rather than practical knowledge. Is that true?

Also, other career suggestions will be appreciated but please don't just say do M.D without a solid reason.

I personally think NP is a better route than PA for me because NPs are more autonomous and it doesn't require a crazy amount of underpaid work hours.

Thanks!

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[psychnurse]

There are pros and cons to being a male nurse, but overall it's not a huge issue. There might be some gender bias, however. At the NP level, gender doesn't make a difference unless you want to work as a midwife or in women's health.

Yes. NP job market is saturated and will get worse because of the large number of online NP programs that will accept anyone with a pulse. However, some specialties are safe because of higher barriers to entry and narrow interest (an example is neonatal NP and/or pediatric acute care). CRNAs are also doing well.

DNP focuses on topics such as translating evidence into practice, quality improvement, and healthcare policy. DNPs look to improve health at the population level rather than individuals. The courses are mostly fluff that anyone with a brain can learn on his/her own.

At your age, if your GPA is solid, MD or DO really is the way to go. MDs/DOs operate at the top of the health care food chain and have tremendous amount of research and leadership opportunities. Additionally, you don't have to deal with the vexing politics and degrading remarks that NPs have to endure with frequently. But most importantly, you will get much better clinical training.

 

[controlledrx]

Please don’t bother with pharmacy school or NP. There are no jobs. CRNA will be a better option.

 

[psychnurse]

Please don’t bother with pharmacy school or NP. There are no jobs. CRNA will be a better option.

It's not entirely true that there are no jobs for NPs.

There are still jobs, but new grads must be willing to move anywhere in the country, don't mind living in rural areas, and/or be completely flexible about what you're willing to do. Once the NP has the experience, it gets easier. My guess is Pharmacy is similar.

 

[pamac]

It's not entirely true that there are no jobs for NPs.

There are still jobs, but new grads must be willing to move anywhere in the country, don't mind living in rural areas, and/or be completely flexible about what you're willing to do. Once the NP has the experience, it gets easier. My guess is Pharmacy is similar.

That’s only part of the story, and the truth is much more nuanced. The rules changed a while ago, and have only become further entrenched with the COVID situation: Network the heck out of an area if you want to stay there and practice after you are done with school. If you do it right, you can even bargain for a good wage instead of getting lowballed because they sense desperation.

If you want to just do school and enter the job market as a nameless, faceless application, you’ll definitely need to apply broadly. Expect to settle for low wages.... I’m talking “not much more than bedside nursing” wages, because that’s the price one must pay if one just has the mindset that they “need experience at any cost”.

I sense that with pharmacy, trends are pretty bad, even by comparison. I was hearing scary stuff 8 years ago from pharmacists and students that took the bloom off that rose. But that could be a lot of healthcare folks over time as things evolve. Psyche is more vulnerable to that than many. Like pharmacists, there will be jobs. The question will be if there are enough jobs, and how well they pay.