Pharmacy school.. is it more of biology or chemistry?

[jungjh9001]

I'm taking my pre-reqs for pharmacy school.
and I'm a biology major..
I know that pharmacy school is mix of both biology and chemistry..
However, in my school, in order to major in biology, after taking general ed classes, you have to take many more higher biology classes.. (obviously..) but if you want to major in biochemistry, you have to take more higher chemistry classes than higher biology classes.. (majority of the higher level classes that biochemistry majors have to take are chemistry..)
and I'm wondering if the classes that I will be taking in pharmacy school is
related closer to "higher level chemistry classes" or "higher level biology classes."

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[crazybob]

in biology you'll do physiology, molecular biology, and some microbiology. the rest is gen chem, organic, and biochem.

 

[pearljam5a1]

I majored in Biochem for my undergrad and minored in biology. Biochem has been a huge help especially for Medicinal Chemistry. I don't think you can go wrong whether you major in either biology or chemistry but you might as well grab the minor in the other to fulfill the prereqs.

I do think that majoring in chemistry is a more difficult path and if you aren't very adept I would steer clear. Inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry are pretty rough courses and can steal your will to live.

 

[crazybob]

I majored in Biochem for my undergrad and minored in biology. Biochem has been a huge help especially for Medicinal Chemistry. I don't think you can go wrong whether you major in either biology or chemistry but you might as well grab the minor in the other to fulfill the prereqs.

I do think that majoring in chemistry is a more difficult path and if you aren't very adept I would steer clear. Inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry are pretty rough courses and can steal your will to live.

that's true about physical and inorganic chem. i was a chem major before starting pharmacy school, and p chem probably took up more time than any of my other courses. and the only parts of it i will use much is the chemical kinetics and thermodynamics. i doubt we would be doing much of quantum mechanics as pharmacists.

if you do major in chem, take biochem and analytical chem, since those will be more helpful in classes like pharmaceutics and medicinal chem.

 

[JamesL1585]

Its both. Pay attention in all your classes. I would say the most important classes are Physiology, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry... I'm sure many pharmacy students would agree with me on that.

 

[UES Girl]

I'm taking my pre-reqs for pharmacy school.
and I'm a biology major..
I know that pharmacy school is mix of both biology and chemistry..
However, in my school, in order to major in biology, after taking general ed classes, you have to take many more higher biology classes.. (obviously..) but if you want to major in biochemistry, you have to take more higher chemistry classes than higher biology classes.. (majority of the higher level classes that biochemistry majors have to take are chemistry..)
and I'm wondering if the classes that I will be taking in pharmacy school is
related closer to "higher level chemistry classes" or "higher level biology classes."

So far every single class seems either mathy or straight up chemistry during my first quarter. The second quarter will focus on biochem, advanced organic chemistry and finally some biology classes.

At this moment, I'm re-using my old pchem textbook and reading my old notes on the margins, haha.

 

[Cangri One]

WOW GREAT.....CHEMISTRY MY FAVORITE 🙁

i was kind of hoping for more biology.

some pharmacist told me pharmacy school was a breeze, that it was all memorization and that the hardest class he took was undergrad Organic Chem....I guess he was lying then....damn

 

[Passion4Sci]

WOW GREAT.....CHEMISTRY MY FAVORITE 🙁

i was kind of hoping for more biology.

some pharmacist told me pharmacy school was all memorization and that the hardest classes he took was Organic Chem in Undergrad....I guess he was lying then

That's a pretty subjective statement, so it might very well be true for him.

 

[delano2000]

That's a pretty subjective statement, so it might very well be true for him.

^^What P4Sci said.

 

[Cangri One]

but yea but when he said it was mainly memorization I imagined biology, anatomy, learning of medications and what they do and how they react. Chem classes are not just memorization, you gotta really understand every aspect.

 

[JamesL1585]

but yea but when he said it was mainly memorization I imagined biology, anatomy, learning of medications and what they do and how they react. Chem classes are not just memorization, you gotta really understand every aspect.

Exactly. You do have to understand it... and the same with the biology.... or as in pharmacy, the physiology, because you cant just know where the pituatary gland is, but what it secretes, how it secretes, and when it secretes its hormones. And if it obtained some sort of pathophysiologic effect, what happened, why did it happen, and what can we do to treat it now.

^^^^ That doesn't sound much like memorization, especially if you are caught up on making A's.

 

[pearljam5a1]

but yea but when he said it was mainly memorization I imagined biology, anatomy, learning of medications and what they do and how they react. Chem classes are not just memorization, you gotta really understand every aspect.

Being a pharmacist means being a chemist. What are drugs? They are chemicals that affect a biological system in some way to achieve a desired effect. We are the members of the healthcare team that specialize in medications. We should therefore know chemistry and its various forms as they pertain to biological systems.

That being said, a pharmacist also needs to know about the body (biology) through a chemical standpoint. It's all part of the ADME process. Where/how will this drug be absorbed (Is it acidic/basic?) Where will this drug go in the body and what's the best route of administration (is it lipophylic or hydrophylic?) How/where will this drug be metabolized and is that metabolite significant? How will this drug be eliminated from the body?

It's really a union of chemistry and biology that we like to call Biomistry... wait that's wrong... Biochemistry.

 

[Cangri One]

Being a pharmacist means being a chemist. What are drugs? They are chemicals that affect a biological system in some way to achieve a desired effect. We are the members of the healthcare team that specialize in medications. We should therefore know chemistry and its various forms as they pertain to biological systems.

That being said, a pharmacist also needs to know about the body (biology) through a chemical standpoint. It's all part of the ADME process. Where/how will this drug be absorbed (Is it acidic/basic?) Where will this drug go in the body and what's the best route of administration (is it lipophylic or hydrophylic?) How/where will this drug be metabolized and is that metabolite significant? How will this drug be eliminated from the body?

It's really a union of chemistry and biology that we like to call Biomistry... wait that's wrong... Biochemistry.

thanks for clarifying this for me....I guess your right chemistry is involved pretty heavily....so would you guys say biochemistry is the most important undergrad class?

 

[pearljam5a1]

thanks for clarifying this for me....I guess your right chemistry is involved pretty heavily....so would you guys say biochemistry is the most important undergrad class?

It's hard to specify one class that is the most important. I'm only 6 weeks into my first semester so what I say is based off of my limited experience. You really just need to be well-rounded. Pay attention in physiology and grab a general understanding of organ systems in anatomy. Organic/general chemistry is something to know since you need to be able to recognize where drugs will attach to receptors and why the R-isomer is more potent than the S, or vice versa.

Biochemistry was good for me just because it put me in the mind frame of knowing how these abstract structures interact with physiological conditions.

 

[pharmacy85]

WOW GREAT.....CHEMISTRY MY FAVORITE 🙁

i was kind of hoping for more biology.

some pharmacist told me pharmacy school was a breeze, that it was all memorization and that the hardest class he took was undergrad Organic Chem....I guess he was lying then....damn

Im a third year pharm student, and I agree with your pharmacist.

I would also say its mostly biology, very little chemistry (with the exception of biochem and a few exams scattered throughout, mostly P1 year)

also I would like to add, you do have to have some basic understanding of chemistry, however, there is very little material that I learned in my chem classes being replicated in my pharm classes. It is mostly physiology type stuff.

 

[Cangri One]

^^^^ thats what he made it seem like....we'll maybe he was right after all?