pharmacist going back to be an M.D.

[Coolguy]

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I am a Pharm.D. and I am thinking about going to medical school, but I was wondering, does anyone know if any of my previous courses that I took in pharmacy school will take the place of some of those that I would need in medical school? I know that this is the case for PAs.

Or to put it simply, will I still have to spend four years in medical school like most other students?

Thanks

 

[calliMD]

Why don't you email some schools and ask? Don't be disappointed if they don't transfer though. The MD curriculum and the PharmD curriculum don't have that much in common. You learn some of the same subjects (ie: Renal, CV systems, etc.) but you go into different levels of depth & understanding. The only class that might be comparable would be Pharmacology, but most med schools only cover 1 semester of it.

 

[Taurus]

I highly doubt it. You can have a Ph.D. in a certain area (some people in my class do) and you still have to take the class. Medical schools are not flexible with requirements. Why would you want to give up pharmacy to go into medicine? Think about it very carefully.

 

[Dr Trek 1]

It depends on the school.

Med schools with pharm. schools tend to be a bit more liberal with allowing some classes to transfer in theory, but I don't know how true that is. I think some people have done this at LECOM since they also have a pharm. school- if you are interested in being a DO.

 

[Ndcyciv]

Wow, for awhile I thought I was the only pharmacist wanting to go back to medical school!! I don't feel so alone now!! Going through pharmacy school made me realize I just want more patient interaction on a higher level than "this is an antibiotic called amoxicillin. Take three times a day, blah blah blah, Any questions?"
As far as the transfer over credits, I did some digging and yes, you become just like every other medical student and taking all of the classes. However, with the background that was taught to you in pharmacy school, most subjects should come with ease (probably except for anatomy and histology). Doctors and other people in medicine tend to think that pharmacists really don't learn much in school because the job opportunities for them aren't really utilizing the knowledge that we learned.
Good luck in pursuing medical school. I won't be applying till Class of 2008. (Got some loans to bring down before I go)

 

[Scottish Chap]

I highly doubt it. You can have a Ph.D. in a certain area (some people in my class do) and you still have to take the class. Medical schools are not flexible with requirements. Why would you want to give up pharmacy to go into medicine? Think about it very carefully.

The answer is generally no, but it really does depend on the school and how they view your previous work.