Pharmacist to medical student?

[MedicalStudent8]

Let's say I did a 6 year PharmD program and was a pharmacist... now would I have to re-take 4 years of undergraduate study to qualify for medical school? Or would the classes that I took during PharmD meet the pre-reqs? Or do I still need to do 4 years of undergraduate in order to obtain a Bachelor's?

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[okgo2503]

I don't know what classes are required for Pharmacy but if they don't require Bio, Physics, Chem, and Orgo you would have to take all of those if you wanted to apply for med school. You wouldn't have to do four years of undergrad just to do those, though, as you could just do a post-bacc program. As for the Bachelors, I would assume a six-year PharmD program means you get your Bachelors and PharmD both in that six year time frame. Hope this helps.

 

[MedicalStudent8]

As for the Bachelors, I would assume a six-year PharmD program means you get your Bachelors and PharmD both in that six year time frame. Hope this helps.

I'm pretty sure that you only get your Doctor of Pharmacy, but correct me if I'm wrong -- isn't a Doctor of something better than a Bachelor's of something? lol

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Yes, pretty much to get into pharm school you need orgo, gen chem, bio, and atleast one semester of physics, so prettymuch you would just need to take an extra physics course, But why would you do 6 years to become a Pharm D, if your goal was to become a MD?

 

[MedicalStudent8]

Yes, pretty much to get into pharm school you need orgo, gen chem, bio, and atleast one semester of physics, so prettymuch you would just need to take an extra physics course, But why would you do 6 years to become a Pharm D, if your goal was to become a MD?

Well, to be honest (and I know that I am going to get yelled at by all of you for this!!!), I don't know if I'll be able to afford medical school after my undergraduate... So, if I could go to a 6 year PharmD program right out of high school and then work as a pharmacist for a few years to save up some money, I would eventually like to go back to medical school. I have never even considered another profession (other than a physician), but unfortunately I think that the financial constraints will set me back a bit. I would just rather not have to do another 8 years of school (4 undergrad + 4 medical school) on top of my 6 years of PharmD if it's possible to just go to medical school after my 6 years in Pharm D. It would be a difference of another 4 years of school!

 

[thedelicatessen]

You can take out loans for undergrad and med school. Most people have loans for med school.

 

[Bacchus]

Here is the problem (if you consider it one): You will have a professional degree (terminal, too) and it may raise some flags to the adcoms of schools. You will most likely be asked why did you train as a pharmacist and decide to go to medical school? If you're doing the 6 year direct program I want to congratulate you for making a great decision, no worries besides a GPA req. Also, are you going to school on the east coast (just wondering, haha since I go to a pharm school)? You should get your pre-reqs in the program. You'll graduate with a PharmD and I don't think a bachelor's is ever awarded for the 6 year program. Overall, you need to either get an internship or tech somewhere to decide if its for you. I wouldn't waste five years of your life, just to get to rotations 6th year, and find out you don't want to do this.

 

[combatmedic]

Let's say I did a 6 year PharmD program and was a pharmacist... now would I have to re-take 4 years of undergraduate study to qualify for medical school? Or would the classes that I took during PharmD meet the pre-reqs? Or do I still need to do 4 years of undergraduate in order to obtain a Bachelor's?

I personally know two pharmacists who took their MCAT and got in Medical Schools. Of course when you apply your GPA is taken in to consideration so if you have any C's or D's you might want to retake them.

But to answer your question, no you don't need to retake any classes.

 

[Blade28]

I don't understand...you're going to school for 6 years to make money in a field you don't even like?

Why not just finish undergrad in 4 years and get a similar job that way?

Or, as the above people have posted, go straight to med school and rely on financial aid? That's what most of us do.

 

[sle3pyguii]

I don't understand...you're going to school for 6 years to make money in a field you don't even like?

Why not just finish undergrad in 4 years and get a similar job that way?

Or, as the above people have posted, go straight to med school and rely on financial aid? That's what most of us do.

The opportunity cost would be huge. That's roughly $720k+ for primary care physician.

 

[Blade28]

The opportunity cost would be huge. That's roughly $720k+ for primary care physician.

What opportunity cost?

Seems like the plan to go to school for 6 years, THEN work for a few years, THEN go back and finish pre-med pre-reqs, then finally go to med school...wouldn't that delay your potential earning years later as an attending?

 

[shawn829]

It all depends what pharmacy program you're talking about. If you want to, you could finish the pre-reqs during the 6 years, but you might have to take extra courses.

 

[MedicalStudent8]

I personally know two pharmacists who took their MCAT and got in Medical Schools. Of course when you apply your GPA is taken in to consideration so if you have any C's or D's you might want to retake them.

But to answer your question, no you don't need to retake any classes.

Okay.... so I don't need to go back for another 4 years of undergraduate (to get my bachelors) to get accepted into medical school? The PharmD degree qualifies you for medical school (as long as you took all of the med school prereqs)?

Here's my plan (unless my financial situation changes)...

PharmD degree (NOTE: This will NOT be a 4 year undergraduate degree and then 2 years of pharmacy school... it's one of those programs where you go all at once for 6 years and you do not receive a bachelors... only your pharmD) = 6 years
Work as a pharmacist = as long as necessary, hopefully not more than 5 years
*
Go back to medical school = 4 years



*My question is specifically, where I put that little asterik, would I need to go back to a regular undergraduate college and get a bachelors degree? Or is the PharmD degree adequate for admission to a medical school?


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[combatmedic]

Okay.... so I don't need to go back for another 4 years of undergraduate (to get my bachelors) to get accepted into medical school? The PharmD degree qualifies you for medical school (as long as you took all of the med school prereqs)?

Here's my plan (unless my financial situation changes)...

PharmD degree (NOTE: This will NOT be a 4 year undergraduate degree and then 2 years of pharmacy school... it's one of those programs where you go all at once for 6 years and you do not receive a bachelors... only your pharmD) = 6 years
Work as a pharmacist = as long as necessary, hopefully not more than 5 years
*
Go back to medical school = 4 years



*My question is specifically, where I put that little asterik, would I need to go back to a regular undergraduate college and get a bachelors degree? Or is the PharmD degree adequate for admission to a medical school?


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Dude its preety damn simple.

A pharm D. = 4 years BS in Pharmacy + 2 years of Pharm D.

Which means you automatically have a BS after 4 years and in addition to that you are continuing past four years to finish your PHARM D. which BTW is a requirement to be a Registered Pharmacist in the US of A.

Pre- Pharmacy requisites are the same as Pre- Med so you are straight.Now stop sweating and start preparing for your MCAT.

 

[combatmedic]

Pharmacists make excellent Physicians. Don't let anyone here bring you down.

 

[MedicalStudent8]

Dude its preety damn simple.

A pharm D. = 4 years BS in Pharmacy + 2 years of Pharm D.

Which means you automatically have a BS after 4 years and in addition to that you are continuing past four years to finish your PHARM D. which BTW is a requirement to be a Registered Pharmacist in the US of A.

Pre- Pharmacy requisites are the same as Pre- Med so you are straight.Now stop sweating and start preparing for your MCAT.

But if it is a combined 6 year program, don't you skip the BS all together?

 

[Canadian Premed]

Pre- Pharmacy requisites are the same as Pre- Med so you are straight.Now stop sweating and start preparing for your MCAT.

I don't know about the rest that you wrote, but the above statement is wrong. Pre-pharm students don't have to take Physics 2. Also, they only take 2 Biology courses instead of the standard 3 for most pre-meds (not including Biochem which many schools require, but that could be a chemistry based course). Also, many pharmacy schools don't require analytical chemistry (gen. chem 2). You can't say the requirements are the same, every pharmacy schools requires slightly different courses.

Edit: To answer the OP's question...

I know of someone who applied to medical school after graduating from pharmacy school. In short, he was told that if he went to a grad program like pharmacy for four years and he didn't like it at the end, what makes him think that medical school is what he wants. He was rejected but he was told to go back to undergrad for a year, take upper level classes that are offered in medical school (ie. histology, neurobio, etc...), and reapply.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

Dude its preety damn simple.

A pharm D. = 4 years BS in Pharmacy + 2 years of Pharm D.

Which means you automatically have a BS after 4 years and in addition to that you are continuing past four years to finish your PHARM D. which BTW is a requirement to be a Registered Pharmacist in the US of A.

Pre- Pharmacy requisites are the same as Pre- Med so you are straight.Now stop sweating and start preparing for your MCAT.

This is untrue. Getting a BS in Pharm is getting phased out because you need a Pharm D to practice (as you stated). A Pharm D is a four year program (sometimes three if you attend an accelerated program). The first two years of the six are doing pre-reqs in order to get into pharm.

In regards to the OP, how are you going to pay for pharm school if you can't pay for med school? Granted med school (I think) is more expensive, but for pharm you will easily generate 100k debt. Obviously when you graduate med school you would be making a lot less than a pharm grad, but still. Really you would end up paying more because you would incur 4 more extra years of schooling with debt and 4 more years of lost wages.

 

[sle3pyguii]

I don't know about the rest that you wrote, but the above statement is wrong. Pre-pharm students don't have to take Physics 2. Also, they only take 2 Biology courses instead of the standard 3 for most pre-meds (not including Biochem which many schools require, but that could be a chemistry based course). Also, many pharmacy schools don't require analytical chemistry (gen. chem 2). You can't say the requirements are the same, every pharmacy schools requires slightly different courses.

Err....

1. Two semesters of Biology are required with labs.
2. Analytical Chemistry and Gen Chem 2 are two completely different courses. Gen Chem 2 is required by all schools, but analytical is not.

 

[Canadian Premed]

Err....

1. Two semesters of Biology are required with labs.
2. Analytical Chemistry and Gen Chem 2 are two completely different courses. Gen Chem 2 is required by all schools, but analytical is not.

Analytical is the same as Gen. Chem 2, well it is at my school. I think you need a bit more than two semester of Bio for medical school for most schools...

 

[DeadCactus]

I had a long post written out explaining exactly why adding two years of school and 5 years of work makes no sense financially. But I changed my mind and this is all you get...

 

[combatmedic]

I don't know about the rest that you wrote, but the above statement is wrong. Pre-pharm students don't have to take Physics 2. Also, they only take 2 Biology courses instead of the standard 3 for most pre-meds (not including Biochem which many schools require, but that could be a chemistry based course). Also, many pharmacy schools don't require analytical chemistry (gen. chem 2). You can't say the requirements are the same, every pharmacy schools requires slightly different courses.

Edit: To answer the OP's question...

I know of someone who applied to medical school after graduating from pharmacy school. In short, he was told that if he went to a grad program like pharmacy for four years and he didn't like it at the end, what makes him think that medical school is what he wants. He was rejected but he was told to go back to undergrad for a year, take upper level classes that are offered in medical school (ie. histology, neurobio, etc...), and reapply.

http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/general/pharmdcurriculum.html

Check the above link out pal...Biochem/Immuno is required for Pharm School....

 

[ladyluck3]

Analytical is the same as Gen. Chem 2, well it is at my school. I think you need a bit more than two semester of Bio for medical school for most schools...

uhh no you don't--not for any school (well, maybe some backwards school in some backwards place). everyone at my undergrad took general biology I and II and some took biochem as a bonus, but like you said previously, that would fall under chemistry.

 

[PharmDFisher]

schools will accept a pharmd as equivalent bachelors degree... thats why you can take a masters program with a pharmd 6 year program.... so no you just have to do the medical school part... but ive only ever met 1 pharmd/md

 

[Canadian Premed]

http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/general/pharmdcurriculum.html

Check the above link out pal...Biochem is a required for Pharm School....

The link you posted shows the courses you take during pharmacy school. They are not courses that you need in order to get into pharmacy. Enough said...

uhh no you don't--not for any school (well, maybe some backwards school in some backwards place). everyone at my undergrad took general biology I and II and some took biochem as a bonus, but like you said previously, that would fall under chemistry.

backwards schools?? backwards palce?? Honestly, what are you saying?

okay lets take a look at U of M's Medical School requirements (http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/admissions/process/requirements.htm)

"Biology: 6 semester hours (including laboratory work). This requirement may be satisfied by six semester hours in either general biology or zoology, or by courses of three semester hours each in zoology and botany, but not botany alone. Some exposure to genetics is recommended."

For pre-pharm, you only needs 3 general bio credits (it's four at my undergrad). and microbio (again some schools require more, like anatomy and phys).. So as you can see, you would need 3 more creds in general bio or botany. Since I'm pre-med, I took Botany and zoology, and if you don't have genetics, hmm well it's even harder. Again these are the minimums anyway.

Having talked to the Dean of admissions of a medical school not so long ago. He said if your major is not biology (or any other science), then just taking the 3-4 biology classes required by medical school doesn't really look good. You can't take the minimum sciences and apply. I mean people do get accepted but he said they would be at a much bigger advantage if they took more science classes.

Anyway, I don't want to waste my time here anymore. As you can see, I rarely post on these forums. Good luck...

 

[combatmedic]

The link you posted shows the courses you take during pharmacy school. They are not courses that you need in order to get into pharmacy. Enough said...



backwards schools?? backwards palce?? Honestly, what are you saying?

okay lets take a look at U of M's Medical School requirements (http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/admissions/process/requirements.htm)

"Biology: 6 semester hours (including laboratory work). This requirement may be satisfied by six semester hours in either general biology or zoology, or by courses of three semester hours each in zoology and botany, but not botany alone. Some exposure to genetics is recommended."

For pre-pharm, you only needs 3 general bio (it's four at my undergrad). and microbio (again some schools require more, like anatomy and phys).. So as you can see, you would need 3 more creds in general bio or botany. Since I'm pre-med, I took Botany and zoology, and if you don't have genetics, hmm well it's even harder. Again these are the minimums anyway.

Having talked to the Dean of admissions of a medical school not so long ago. He said if your major is not biology (or any other science), then just taking the 3-4 biology classes required by medical school doesn't really look good. You can't take the minimum sciences and apply. I mean people do get accepted but he said they would be at a much bigger advantage if they took more science classes.

Anyway, I don't want to waste my time here anymore. As you can see, I rarely post on these forums. Good luck...

whatever dude. You are annoying.

 

[Premed04]

A lot of the schools I applied to required only 90 semester hours of credit, not a bachelor's. So I think you're okay.

 

[eddie13231]

I'll take the troll bait.

Wow you will be extremely educated by the time you are done (is that a good thing to you?), but I am wondering about burnout? That is a FREAKING long schooling and it is one thing to consider it but another thing to complete it. I have friends who are in PharmD programs are they are tough. I don't know you, but I doubt that I would complete the MD once I had the PharmD. You may want to buy stuff (ie be in more debt), have a family, and start your life.

I also agree with the above posters. If you were to submit an app to a medschool, all they have is your application to gauge you by. It will be EXTREMELY difficult to convince someone that an MD is what you always wanted to be. It would bring up sooo many questions because the fields are pretty different, money is not the reason to pursue the pharmD even if it is an excellent job.

 

[C. LaRue]

Think of how much ass a pharmacist must kick in pharmacology. God, it would be sweet to not have to worry about that as a med student. Pharm is and seemigly always will be the bane of my existence. Go ahead and get a PharmD and an M.D. if you want to! It seems a little silly to me, because you could just get the M.D. if that's all you want. But if for some reason, you want to use both somehow, then absolutely. You'll be knowledgeable as HAYELL, and you will be worshipped as a god by all who encounter you.