Pharmacy School vs Nursing School

[Rlh730]

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Hello!
I just finished my first semester of nursing school. I have found that nursing courses are more than just knowing the material. It's all application questions and there may be more than one right answer, but you have to choose which one is MORE right. I think I prefer a concrete answer, black and white, it's right or wrong and no exceptions. I'm also not very good at guessing. Although i passed, i think that is why I think I've had a difficult time in nursing school. Now that my first semester is over, I am now thinking maybe I should switch my major to pre-pharmacy. The nursing school i'm going to is supposed to be as difficult as medical school because it is very hard and competitive, so I'm wondering if I would be okay in pharmacy school since I've survived a semester of nursing school. So what I'm wondering is, how difficult are the pre-reqs and actual courses in pharmacy school? I know that I would be taking a lot of chemistry, but I have always liked chemistry. Also, is pharmacy more concrete or abstract thinking? Any information about pharmacy at all would be very helpful! Thanks!🙂

 

[dancingallday]

From what I've experienced of pharmacy, there are many instances where things aren't nicely "black and white" like you're envisioning. There are many judgement calls to be made every day; that's why there are pharmacists, not just untrained technicians, staffing pharmacies. So if that's the only reason you're thinking of switching, I'd urge you to reconsider.

As far as difficulty of prereqs/coursework, I'd say pharmacy is of a much higher difficulty level. I have to qualify that with the fact that I've not yet been to pharmacy school, but I know many pharmacy students/pharmacists and many nursing students/nurses, and I base that statement off of their testimony.

 

[ACE Rx]

Hello!
I have found that nursing courses are more than just knowing the material. It's all application questions and there may be more than one right answer, but you have to choose which one is MORE right. I think I prefer a concrete answer, black and white, it's right or wrong and no exceptions. Now that my first semester is over, I am now thinking maybe I should switch my major to pre-pharmacy. The nursing school i'm going to is supposed to be as difficult as medical school because it is very hard and competitive, so I'm wondering if I would be okay in pharmacy school since I've survived a semester of nursing school.

I have no idea whether or not to take this question seriously or not. However, I am going to you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are in a BSN program and not an associate's nursing program.

There are no such thing as a black and white answer in pharmacy or any health professional school for that matter. You aren't paid high 5 figures to 6 figure salaries in any health profession to mindless work.

For example, you have someone administering digoxin for atrial defibrillation to a patient. After a few hours/days, their EKG starts going haywire. If you did not account that this patient was an elderly person that requires different dosing or had previous renal failure, etc., this patient will be dead and YOU will be blamed and then will be on headline prime time news. What works for one person may not work for another person.

Finally, I have no idea if there are many careers that do not require any problem-solving skills i.e. black and white. Last time I checked, flipping burgers at McDonalds is pretty straight-forward. Flip one side, cook, flip on other side, cook, serve.

 

[Pojman]

Finally, I have no idea if there are many careers that do not require any problem-solving skills i.e. black and white. Last time I checked, flipping burgers at McDonalds is pretty straight-forward. Flip one side, cook, flip on other side, cook, serve.

I worked at Taco Bell when I was 16 for about 6 months. I learned how to fold a sweet burrito. My wife actually finds my burrito rolling skills to be very attractive. I just love taco night...

At Taco bell, it is also pretty straight-forward. It goes like this: Squirt, plop, cheese sprinkle, lay flat, fold sides, and finally comes the tuck/wrap. It is all about applying just the right amount of pressure during the tuck/wrap while using the sour cream as a lubricant to allow the tortilla to slide perfectly into place.

In the event that you do not use proper pressure during the tuck/wrap step, you will either explode your burrito and have to start all over again, or you will have a loose and flabby burrito which no one likes..

My goodness - I should at least say one thing on topic here..

My on topic advice would be to understand that pretty much all medical fields are going to be a "best option" decision process. When you are confronted with a problem, there is no such thing as a sudden A-D answer bank that pops up with a certain black/white answer to choose from. It will be all about considering many options, and picking the best option available. If problem solving skills are not for you, I would possibly suggest accounting or something similar?

 

[illegallysmooth]

Any member of health care team in a decision-making capacity is going to have to make those kinds of calls -- this includes physicians, pharmacists, nurses, etc. People are not just black and white. Our situations are not black or white. Most of the time, the possible choices lie on a continuum from "best decision" to "worse decision." Often, there is little distinction between several good choices -- this is why it's called "the art of medicine" -- it's not painting by numbers.

If you are uncomfortable with this, you're going to have to come down a few notches to a position with little to no decision making. Even as a medical assistant, I had to make some decisions on which patients would be seen first, how to deal with various problems, etc. However, that position mostly entails following orders. If I forgot something, there were people above me to tell me what to do. If you want to be near the top of the totem pole, you're definitely not going to be able to work in the medical field with easy black and white decisions.

Making those tough calls is... well, hard... and lives depend on it. That's why a relatively small segment of the population is working in those capacities.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

Hello!
I just finished my first semester of nursing school. I have found that nursing courses are more than just knowing the material. It's all application questions and there may be more than one right answer, but you have to choose which one is MORE right. I think I prefer a concrete answer, black and white, it's right or wrong and no exceptions. I'm also not very good at guessing. Although i passed, i think that is why I think I've had a difficult time in nursing school. Now that my first semester is over, I am now thinking maybe I should switch my major to pre-pharmacy. The nursing school i'm going to is supposed to be as difficult as medical school because it is very hard and competitive, so I'm wondering if I would be okay in pharmacy school since I've survived a semester of nursing school. So what I'm wondering is, how difficult are the pre-reqs and actual courses in pharmacy school? I know that I would be taking a lot of chemistry, but I have always liked chemistry. Also, is pharmacy more concrete or abstract thinking? Any information about pharmacy at all would be very helpful! Thanks!🙂

You chose nursing school as your first choice because that was what you were passionate about, but you found out the coursework was not to your liking. You should not switch just because the work is challenging. In the end, you will be stuck with this career for your whole life so why not do something you can perceive yourself doing?

 

[Rx MPLS]

Hello!
I just finished my first semester of nursing school. I have found that nursing courses are more than just knowing the material. It's all application questions and there may be more than one right answer, but you have to choose which one is MORE right. I think I prefer a concrete answer, black and white, it's right or wrong and no exceptions. I'm also not very good at guessing. Although i passed, i think that is why I think I've had a difficult time in nursing school. Now that my first semester is over, I am now thinking maybe I should switch my major to pre-pharmacy. The nursing school i'm going to is supposed to be as difficult as medical school because it is very hard and competitive, so I'm wondering if I would be okay in pharmacy school since I've survived a semester of nursing school. So what I'm wondering is, how difficult are the pre-reqs and actual courses in pharmacy school? I know that I would be taking a lot of chemistry, but I have always liked chemistry. Also, is pharmacy more concrete or abstract thinking? Any information about pharmacy at all would be very helpful! Thanks!🙂

There is both abstract and concrete thinking in pharmacy school, but the material is generally more straightforward. There of course will always be grey areas, but I find pharmacy to be a lot more straightforward than what they cover in a nursing curriculum. Bonus...there's a lot more chemistry involved, too. 🙂. If you like science a lot, pharmacy may be a friendlier place for you. The prerequisites are hard and the classes are harder, but it's definitely a different beast than nursing...in a good way.

The people blasting you for this question have clearly never looked at nursing class curriculums or tests (I have, and I totally get where you are coming from...the questions are often inane with answers that can be highly debatable in courses like "Therapeutic Communication"). Of course, you are still graded as though the answers are black and white...I believe it's either a form of hazing or preparation for the nursing exam at the end of your schooling.

 

[owlegrad]

I have never looked at any test nurses have to take, but I cannot in any way imagine them being harder than pharmacy school exams.

 

[Rx MPLS]

I have never looked at any test nurses have to take, but I cannot in any way imagine them being harder than pharmacy school exams.

They're not harder, just much more subjective...

 

[Rlh730]

There is both abstract and concrete thinking in pharmacy school, but the material is generally more straightforward. There of course will always be grey areas, but I find pharmacy to be a lot more straightforward than what they cover in a nursing curriculum. Bonus...there's a lot more chemistry involved, too. 🙂. If you like science a lot, pharmacy may be a friendlier place for you. The prerequisites are hard and the classes are harder, but it's definitely a different beast than nursing...in a good way.

The people blasting you for this question have clearly never looked at nursing class curriculums or tests (I have, and I totally get where you are coming from...the questions are often inane with answers that can be highly debatable in courses like "Therapeutic Communication"). Of course, you are still graded as though the answers are black and white...I believe it's either a form of hazing or preparation for the nursing exam at the end of your schooling.

Thank you so much for a helpful answer from someone who actually understands what I'm talking about and doesn't think that I'm looking for an easy, no-thinking career like a burger flipper at McDonalds. I definitely have higher goals set for myself than that. I was just wondering if the way of thinking was different for the two fields. I figured there would be some problem-solving and abstract thinking in pharmacy, but I just figured it would be a different way of thinking and involve having a different mind set than what would be expected for nursing.

And yes, the tests really are something else! Haha And they do say there are a lot of debatable, more than one right answer type of questions on the NCLEX exam to become an RN.

 

[Rlh730]

You chose nursing school as your first choice because that was what you were passionate about, but you found out the coursework was not to your liking. You should not switch just because the work is challenging. In the end, you will be stuck with this career for your whole life so why not do something you can perceive yourself doing?

I actually would not be disappointed if nursing did not work out. I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, but never really knew what to do, so I chose nursing which was conveniently offered at a school near home that is rated as one of the best nursing schools in my state. Im actually excited about the idea of switching to pharmacy, so I hope it works it out. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Pojman]

I actually would not be disappointed if nursing did not work out. I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, but never really knew what to do, so I chose nursing which was conveniently offered at a school near home that is rated as one of the best nursing schools in my state. Im actually excited about the idea of switching to pharmacy, so I hope it works it out. Thanks for the advice!

How similar are the requisite courses from nursing school compared to pharmacy school? Do you have the requisite classes finished?

 

[Rlh730]

How similar are the requisite courses from nursing school compared to pharmacy school? Do you have the requisite classes finished?

Really the only thing they have in common are general ed courses and anatomy an physiology. I already have all of my general Ed courses out of the way, as well as anatomy/physiology, chem 1, and statistics. I THINK I would have my pre-calc and calculus courses, physics, biology, chem 2, and organic chemistry left.

 

[dahwsi]

Staying on topic and TRYING to answer your question here, the pre reqs for pharmacy school are more than nursing a school (in both difficulty and quantity). Meaning, you need more upper division courses than nursing school as you are going to be working towards a doctorate of pharmacy and not just a BSN. This is just a generalization and I urge you to look at the specific courses that you're required to take for each school respectively. 😉