PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident to MD

[nontraditionalpharmd]

So I'm a PGY-1 clinical pharmacy resident and I've been thinking about this since my second year of pharmacy school but decided to stick it out and at least get my pharmacy license and pursue a pharmacy residency to see if it would "do it for me" before I get serious about this MD thing.

I have reasons for why I think this is in my best interest and why I don't think I'll be happy even as a clinical pharmacist but mostly it's my experiences in a multidisciplinary team and seeing how much I just wish I can have as much reach and impact as the physician. I don't want to be in my 30s-40s and wish I would've just taken my shot when I had the chance.

My undergrad GPA which was 2 years since that's all I needed for pharmacy school was a 4.0 with all the general science classes (physics, bio, orgo, etc.)
My pharmacy school GPA is a 3.91

I was on several research projects and poster presentations. President and President-Elect of a pharmacy organization. I did a lot of extracurricular activities in pharmacy school.

I haven't taken the MCAT either but I'm looking at studying this upcoming year once I finish my residency in June. I only have about 30k worth of loans from pharmacy school and will be making a pharmacist's salary once I finish residency.

I have nothing tying me down such as family, spouse, or financially which is why I feel so pressed now to get the ball rolling on this career change.

Does anyone know of a pharmacist that ended up being a doctor or went to med school? Any tips if possible? Any direction/feedback would be appreciated thanks 🙂

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[RNthenDoc]

Out of curiosity, did your pharm program include a bachelor’s degree step?

 

[BC_89]

Does anyone know of a pharmacist that ended up being a doctor or went to med school? Any tips if possible? Any direction/feedback would be appreciated thanks 🙂

I know plenty that made the switch and were happy (one that’s miserable but n=1 for him).

I’ll echo the question: During your pharmD, did the program allot you a bachelors coupled with your prerequisites?

If so, study that MCAT and after your residency, focus on part-time work while taking one or two pre-reqs necessary for most MD / DO programs. I can see this as 1 year for courses + MCAT and go from that point. Just be prepared to answer why the career switch + PGY-1...

 

[nontraditionalpharmd]

Out of curiosity, did your pharm program include a bachelor’s degree step?

No bachelor's 🙁

 

[nontraditionalpharmd]

I know plenty that made the switch and were happy (one that’s miserable but n=1 for him).

I’ll echo the question: During your pharmD, did the program allot you a bachelors coupled with your prerequisites?

If so, study that MCAT and after your residency, focus on part-time work while taking one or two pre-reqs necessary for most MD / DO programs. I can see this as 1 year for courses + MCAT and go from that point. Just be prepared to answer why the career switch + PGY-1...

Nope no bachelor's. I know some MD schools don't require one from what I understand as long as the prereqs are completed. The only prereq I know I would have to take is physics 2 and the lab.

 

[RNthenDoc]

Nope no bachelor's. I know some MD schools don't require one from what I understand as long as the prereqs are completed. The only prereq I know I would have to take is physics 2 and the lab.

Which ones don’t require a bachelor’s?

Never heard of that; even Caribbean schools require one as far as I’ve heard...

 

[ribdon]

Nope no bachelor's. I know some MD schools don't require one from what I understand as long as the prereqs are completed. The only prereq I know I would have to take is physics 2 and the lab.

I echo what @RNthenDoc said! I haven't heard of any medical schools not requiring a bachelors degree for their medical school programs. A medical degree is a graduate degree by definition and as such requires a bachelors degree at the minimum for entry. Call some of the schools that you are interested in to confirm what their prerequisites are then go from there. You can also speak with an premed advisor to see the best bachelors program to complete with the 2 years coursework that you already have under your belt. If you really want it, you can make it happen. Very best wishes

 

[BC_89]

I know some MD schools don't require one from what I understand as long as the prereqs are completed.

I'd sternly cold call the programs that claim no-bachelors as a mandated requirement. Unless a new Caribbean School awaiting regional accreditation has popped up, I'm not tracking any institute that has that waiver.

 

[Rph2MD]

PharmD turned medical student here. You should not need a bachelor's degree as your PharmD trumps that (applied to 15 MD schools and all accepted the PharmD over bachelor's) but you DO need to make sure you completed all pre-med classes (physics, biology, etc.) of which some are not included in the PharmD curriculum. Do well on the MCAT (510+) to be competitive and apply as early as you can! Get a lot of shadowing experience so admissions knows you understand what a physician does. Also try to get a letter of recommendation from a physician if possible.

 

[penicillinman]

ER pharmd here, applying this cycle. If MD is what you want, go for it! I was in your shoes 10 years ago and that desire did not go. As far I know, pharm D does not satisfy the requirements for a bachelor so I had to take some more classes to get a bachelors - take the plunge now rather than later since it appears you have nothing else holding you down.

 

[Goro]

So I'm a PGY-1 clinical pharmacy resident and I've been thinking about this since my second year of pharmacy school but decided to stick it out and at least get my pharmacy license and pursue a pharmacy residency to see if it would "do it for me" before I get serious about this MD thing.

I have reasons for why I think this is in my best interest and why I don't think I'll be happy even as a clinical pharmacist but mostly it's my experiences in a multidisciplinary team and seeing how much I just wish I can have as much reach and impact as the physician. I don't want to be in my 30s-40s and wish I would've just taken my shot when I had the chance.

My undergrad GPA which was 2 years since that's all I needed for pharmacy school was a 4.0 with all the general science classes (physics, bio, orgo, etc.)
My pharmacy school GPA is a 3.91

I was on several research projects and poster presentations. President and President-Elect of a pharmacy organization. I did a lot of extracurricular activities in pharmacy school.

I haven't taken the MCAT either but I'm looking at studying this upcoming year once I finish my residency in June. I only have about 30k worth of loans from pharmacy school and will be making a pharmacist's salary once I finish residency.

I have nothing tying me down such as family, spouse, or financially which is why I feel so pressed now to get the ball rolling on this career change.

Does anyone know of a pharmacist that ended up being a doctor or went to med school? Any tips if possible? Any direction/feedback would be appreciated thanks 🙂

One of your biggest challenges is to be able to demonstrate that you running TO medicine, and not merely running AWAY from Pharmacy.

 

[nontraditionalpharmd]

ER pharmd here, applying this cycle. If MD is what you want, go for it! I was in your shoes 10 years ago and that desire did not go. As far I know, pharm D does not satisfy the requirements for a bachelor so I had to take some more classes to get a bachelors - take the plunge now rather than later since it appears you have nothing else holding you down.

What other classes did you have to take?
From what I know to meet the pre-req requirements for most schools I'm only missing physics 2 and physics 2 lab.

 

[RxRyanM]

What other classes did you have to take?
From what I know to meet the pre-req requirements for most schools I'm only missing physics 2 and physics 2 lab.

Also PharmD that's likely applying this cycle. I personally won't have to take any more prereqs since my pharmacy school required pretty much all the med school requires. I'm going to take maybe 2 science courses this summer, maybe 1 in the fall (full-time employee, so they'll be paid for ), to reintroduce myself to the classroom and get an upward GPA trend going. I anticipate the PharmD taking care of the bachelors requirement and the pharm classes (biochem mainly) to take care of any other prereqs, but going to try to talk to someone in admissions today at my preferred school to figure it out.

 

[penicillinman]

What other classes did you have to take?
From what I know to meet the pre-req requirements for most schools I'm only missing physics 2 and physics 2 lab.

Yup thats it, 8 credit hours of physics + lab was a requirement. However, the texas schools i am applying to clearly state they need 90 credit hour of undergrad courses and nothing from professional courses (pharmacy, nursing, etc) would satisfy the 90 credit hours. I have two year of pre pharmacy only, so i needed to supplement with a few more courses that I took online to make up 90 credit hours. I took psychology, sociology, biochemisty since those also help for the mcats....oh boy, that biochem most certainly helped !