Pharm career advice please...

[az1987]

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Short background; last semester student in dietetics. I will be an RD (registered dietitian) by the time I apply to whichever professional program I choose. Every pre req is complete minus the entrance exam, volunteer experience, work experience, abroad missions, blah blah blah.

How do you feel as a pharmacist, or future pharmacist, about a world where you focus more on quickly dispensing toxins rather than natural healing for obvious symptoms that can go without pharmaceuticals? How do you feel about over medicating people (don't pawn it off on the physicians), and pharm companies waving a few bucks around to get what they want?

What options are there for someone possibly interested in pharmacy who can't live with the guilt of piling a ton of medications on someone? What options are there for maybe a more natural, but not opposing to western medicine, person possibly considering the field?

Basic question: How are people getting creative with pharmacy?

 

[EBT12]

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[UES Girl]

Short background; last semester student in dietetics. I will be an RD (registered dietitian) by the time I apply to whichever professional program I choose. Every pre req is complete minus the entrance exam, volunteer experience, work experience, abroad missions, blah blah blah.

How do you feel as a pharmacist, or future pharmacist, about a world where you focus more on quickly dispensing toxins rather than natural healing for obvious symptoms that can go without pharmaceuticals? How do you feel about over medicating people (don't pawn it off on the physicians), and pharm companies waving a few bucks around to get what they want?

What options are there for someone possibly interested in pharmacy who can't live with the guilt of piling a ton of medications on someone? What options are there for maybe a more natural, but not opposing to western medicine, person possibly considering the field?

Basic question: How are people getting creative with pharmacy?

Most people in pharmacy practice what is known as evidence-based medicine, we go by guidelines and scientifc research that demonstrates benefit to our patients/reduction in morbidity/mortality. With your biased POV and pre-existing personal ideals, your career options would be severely limited since clinical pharmacy and hospital practice would probably be entirely out of the questions.

 

[CareDD]

Short background; last semester student in dietetics. I will be an RD (registered dietitian) by the time I apply to whichever professional program I choose. Every pre req is complete minus the entrance exam, volunteer experience, work experience, abroad missions, blah blah blah.

How do you feel as a pharmacist, or future pharmacist, about a world where you focus more on quickly dispensing toxins rather than natural healing for obvious symptoms that can go without pharmaceuticals? How do you feel about over medicating people (don't pawn it off on the physicians), and pharm companies waving a few bucks around to get what they want?

What options are there for someone possibly interested in pharmacy who can't live with the guilt of piling a ton of medications on someone? What options are there for maybe a more natural, but not opposing to western medicine, person possibly considering the field?

Basic question: How are people getting creative with pharmacy?

dont feed the troll 👍

 

[2instigator]

Short background; last semester student in dietetics. I will be an RD (registered dietitian) by the time I apply to whichever professional program I choose. Every pre req is complete minus the entrance exam, volunteer experience, work experience, abroad missions, blah blah blah.

How do you feel as a pharmacist, or future pharmacist, about a world where you focus more on quickly dispensing toxins rather than natural healing for obvious symptoms that can go without pharmaceuticals? How do you feel about over medicating people (don't pawn it off on the physicians), and pharm companies waving a few bucks around to get what they want?

What options are there for someone possibly interested in pharmacy who can't live with the guilt of piling a ton of medications on someone? What options are there for maybe a more natural, but not opposing to western medicine, person possibly considering the field?

Basic question: How are people getting creative with pharmacy?

I feel this type of absolute bias as expressed here can actually harm the profession of what the contributor is trying to support. Dieticians do have a role to play and must be seen as complimentary to pharmacology. Health and wellbeing is a phenomenon with many disciplines playing there part. Eliminating elements is irresponsible, ill concieved and potentially dangerous. A good example is the recent Food hospital as seen on Channel 4- http://foodhospital.channel4.com/ a well balanced "all encompassing" approach by traditional & complimentary therapies.

 

[deleted205891]

You can be a long term care consultant pharmacist. One of their job duties is to get the nursing home residents to be on as few medications as possible while still treating all their disease states. Not too many job opportunities in this unless you open up your own business, but they exist. The people you care for will still be getting meds, just less of them.

 

[Jackie B]

My friend went to a dietician who sold her a bogus $500 hair test that "analyzed elements and imbalances" in the body and told her to take a bunch of supplements and eat this food and that food. I was curious what this test was and read about it online - the quack doctor was a good source and he wrote an article on it.

Pharmacy has good intentions but when a jillion things are dispensed to one person it is harmful.

Dietetics has good intentions but selling people BS vitamins that you mainly pee out, lab tests, and telling them to eat a certain berry one day and then swearing by consuming a type of nut another day is frivolous and BS too.

Basically as long as you sincerely try to help your patient and have their well being in mind you will be doing your job.

I agree with the other posters that you're a little cynical and condescening about the career...and somehow show interest in it...?😕

How to get creative? Do things outside of your job duties like suggesting to your hypertension patients to try some garlic with their meds. In a retail setting it would be hard to find time to chit chat but if you work in an independent pharmacy you can really combine your knowledge of diet with pharmacy and make an impact on your patients who are willing to listen.

 

[PocketAces5]

My friend went to a dietician who sold her a bogus $500 hair test that "analyzed elements and imbalances" in the body and told her to take a bunch of supplements and eat this food and that food. I was curious what this test was and read about it online - the quack doctor was a good source and he wrote an article on it.

Pharmacy has good intentions but when a jillion things are dispensed to one person it is harmful.

Dietetics has good intentions but selling people BS vitamins that you mainly pee out, lab tests, and telling them to eat a certain berry one day and then swearing by consuming a type of nut another day is frivolous and BS too.

Basically as long as you sincerely try to help your patient and have their well being in mind you will be doing your job.

I agree with the other posters that you're a little cynical and condescening about the career...and somehow show interest in it...?😕

How to get creative? Do things outside of your job duties like suggesting to your hypertension patients to try some garlic with their meds. In a retail setting it would be hard to find time to chit chat but if you work in an independent pharmacy you can really combine your knowledge of diet with pharmacy and make an impact on your patients who are willing to listen.

👍👍👍 Couldn't have said it better. Excellent Post.

 

[Verte]

As a future pharmacist, and good advice to anyone in a medical field, if you choose to go the holistic method, and you are not fully aware of all the research in that field, be prepared for a malpractice lawsuit. There's a lot of information out there on beneficial vitamins and diets, but just don't go for anything you find info off the internet.

 

[az1987]

I figured it out! The residencies, especially in nutritional support, are quite appealing. Thank you so much for all of your help!

 

[riggylou]

I figured it out! The residencies, especially in nutritional support, are quite appealing. Thank you so much for all of your help!

Curious if anyone has any input on this in terms of the OPs interest in dietetics...I am under the impression that nutritional support is mostly parenteral nutrition.

 

[dancingallday]

I figured it out! The residencies, especially in nutritional support, are quite appealing. Thank you so much for all of your help!

You do realize that "nutrition support", in this case, means a big bag of liquid nutrients given intravenously (also known as Total Parenteral Nutrition, or TPN)?

 

[conperk]

My view is not quite as extreme, but with my experience as a pharmacy technician I have noticed that a lot of people purchase medications without even knowing the drug name or the condition they are taking it for.

This can probably be traced to many causes: apathy on the patient side, "trusting" the prescriber, not asking the right questions, the prescriber being rushed or not being clear, and many others I'm sure.

As a prospective pharmacist, I think it's essential for the patient to know the basics, especially why they are taking specific drugs. I also think the boundaries of pharmacy are continually expanding, giving way to much opportunity in specialty areas. You may find one, such as the nutritional support one you mentioned, in which you can incorporate drug and nutrition knowledge to help patients optimize their health while managing their conditions with (as bacillus1 stated) as few medications as possible.