Pharmacy school or nursing school

[grapefruit 77]

Hi! I am a girl who will be graduating from high school soon, and I got into 5 year accelerated program for pharmacy and UC nursing school.
pharmacy school is $150,000 more expensive than nursing school.
So for this pharmacy school, after 5 years, I will become a pharm D graduate. people say pharmacists are super saturated and hard to find jobs, but others say nursing is a hard job.
My head hurts so much from thinking, and I wanted to hear other's opinions
Please help me!!!!

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[SpartanWolverine]

I would say nursing... if only because you will have much less debt and more potential future directions. I don't particularly like accelerated bachelors --> doctoral programs because I find they end up pushing people in directions that don't always truly understand.

If you think you really understand what pharmacy entails and really have a passion for it, then go for it.

 

[awval999]

Nursing.

 

[Auriel619]

If Pharmacy is > $150,000, Nursing is definitely the way to go. That's a small house you could be buying instead of going into pharmacy. Earning potential is similar with both positions, depending on nursing specialty.

 

[Digsbe]

Isn't nursing saturated too? A lot of my nurse friends are having trouble finding jobs and say the market isn't great either. Healthcare in general is kinda screwed and has been slow to recover after the economic downturn.

 

[confettiflyer]

Isn't nursing saturated too? A lot of my nurse friends are having trouble finding jobs and say the market isn't great either. Healthcare in general is kinda screwed and has been slow to recover after the economic downturn.

I'm finding that nursing is saturated for anyone with <2yrs experience but employers will throw out the red carpet for experienced nurses. So all nurses currently need to do is get their minimum BSN and work at a crappy place for a few years.

With pharmacy, even the crappy places are saturated.

 

[radio frequency]

I would get the BSN, then decide. But really...shadow both before you decide. Nursing isn't a cakewalk job.

Ideally -- do a BSN. Then spend 2 years in PA school so you can get out of direct bedside nursing, but also get a better education than an advanced nursing degree.

 

[gwarm01]

It's hard to recommend pharmacy to anyone these days. The pay is still nice and most jobs, even the stressful ones, are still going to be a cakewalk compared to being an ICU nurse. Still, underemployment is a reality and will probably continue to grow. If you do get a job, you may be bound by golden handcuffs and find yourself unable to leave when you want to.

 

[Lnsean]

Nursing all the way. Do the crappy ICU nurse job fora 2-3 years. Apply to CRNA program and come out making 160k+. Don't like CRNA? No problem, specialize into something else. So much more flexibility.

 

[dread090]

Nursing all the way. Do the crappy ICU nurse job fora 2-3 years. Apply to CRNA program and come out making 160k+. Don't like CRNA? No problem, specialize into something else. So much more flexibility.

Yeah no, you greatly underestimate the difficulty of getting into a crna program after all of that icu work. It's more competitive than medical school solely due to the very limited amount of openings each year. Youll work 3-7 years of icu and the maybe get in, then attain crna in 2.5 years just to make 1/3 of what an MDA makes without the title and with the lack of respect you deserve. You could be done with medical school AND by that time you finish a crna, if not sooner.

 

[Dred Pirate]

I would get the BSN, then decide. But really...shadow both before you decide. Nursing isn't a cakewalk job.

Ideally -- do a BSN. Then spend 2 years in PA school so you can get out of direct bedside nursing, but also get a better education than an advanced nursing degree.

this makes no sense - if you are going to go that route - do a NP degree - they have more autonomy than a PA

 

[radio frequency]

this makes no sense - if you are going to go that route - do a NP degree - they have more autonomy than a PA

You're right on autonomy, but after seeing both in practice, the PAs I've met seem to have a better grasp of medicine than most NPs I've met. I think it helps that their training is overseen by MDs.

It appears they bring in the same salary, too.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Bedside nursing is difficult - you have to do some crappy things, literally. Giving enemas, having bloody stools splash in your eyes, giving CPR and having blood come out of a chest tube and cover you, debriding a wound and having puss go everywhere, having patients and/or family punch you - I have seen all of these just in the past week. I could not do it. They are massively underpaid.

 

[Dred Pirate]

You're right on autonomy, but after seeing both in practice, the PAs I've met seem to have a better grasp of medicine than most NPs I've met. I think it helps that their training is overseen by MDs.

It appears they bring in the same salary, too.

similar salary, and probably depends on the schooling/training. Where I work, they essentially do the same thing. In a clinic setting, the NP's can do more. Plus it is more continuous for a NP. If you want to be a PA - go do an undergrad degree in something else, at least that is what I normally see.

 

[radio frequency]

similar salary, and probably depends on the schooling/training. Where I work, they essentially do the same thing. In a clinic setting, the NP's can do more. Plus it is more continuous for a NP. If you want to be a PA - go do an undergrad degree in something else, at least that is what I normally see.

Sure, sticking with nursing is more continuous, but there's no reason not to do an undergraduate degree in nursing. It will get you the direct patient care experience required to apply to PA school. That's not usually obtainable in other programs.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Sure, sticking with nursing is more continuous, but there's no reason not to do an undergraduate degree in nursing. It will get you the direct patient care experience required to apply to PA school. That's not usually obtainable in other programs.

true - just never say anyone do that before