Pharmacy to Med-school

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Medrx

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10+ Year Member
Hey all,

Sorry to bring up a subject that I have seen on here before but I want to get your opinion for my situation.


I am currently a second year pharmacy student at a top university. My undergrad GPA is a 3.7 with a drastic upward curve. Basically 4.0 after first year. I am really involved and have some really good leadership experience. In general, I am pretty outgoing and relate to others well.

So here I am in pharmacy. I am doing pretty well and have found a significant interest in a family medicine type setting. Increasingly pharmacist are being hired in a primary care clinic to help the physicians choose medications and in some cases independently managed chronic conditions. The only problem is that these positions in pharmacy are some what rare and I think it could be hard to find one in my state. There are only 10-20 of these guys in the entire state! Now, I think it's probably possible for me to get one of these spots as I am a pretty outgoing guy and have never really had a problem relating to others and getting a job. The thing is I worry about location and if I will be satisfied completely in a position like this. In someways I think being a clinical pharmacist would be really fun and I would really enjoy it. On the other hand, I don't want to spend the same amount of time getting a pharmD as a doctor spends getting his md and get paid 3/4 and have to fight for my scope of practice. So I am thinking about applying to a DO program because I like the philosophy better than allopathic and the school nearby offers a full scholarship for someone willing to comitt to family medicine.

I haven't taken the MCAT but I imagine I won't do awesome. I have never done very well on standardized tests.

Do you think I am crazy for wanting to switch? Pharmacy really does have some great qualities, I just don't want to spend my life asking what if?

Do you have any advice? I never really considered medicine before because I honestly was pretty intrigued by biochemistry and understanding drug mechanisms. I feel experiences on rotations has somewhat opened my eyes to the role a physicians plays and has given me a desire to be apart of it.

Thanks in advance for advice.
 
If you search for this, I'm sure you'll find threads from others who were in your same predicament. The big thing will be explaining to the committee why you went to pharmacy school and then decided on medicine. You essentially took a spot away from someone who probably would've stayed in pharmacy and wasn't able to because of you and now you're throwing that away.

I don't want to spend the same amount of time getting a pharmD as a doctor spends getting his md and get paid 3/4 and have to fight for my scope of practice.
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^ I don't think this is right. PharmD's education can be 2 undergrad plus 4 pharm or 4 undergrad and 4 pharm. MDs/DOs have 4 undergrad, 4 medical school, + residency ranging from 3-7 years. Therefore as a PharmD you won't be spending the same amount of time getting your degree as a physician.
 
Cuongoff said:
If you search for this, I'm sure you'll find threads from others who were in your same predicament. The big thing will be explaining to the committee why you went to pharmacy school and then decided on medicine. You essentially took a spot away from someone who probably would've stayed in pharmacy and wasn't able to because of you and now you're throwing that away.



^ I don't think this is right. PharmD's education can be 2 undergrad plus 4 pharm or 4 undergrad and 4 pharm. MDs/DOs have 4 undergrad, 4 medical school, + residency ranging from 3-7 years. Therefore as a PharmD you won't be spending the same amount of time getting your degree as a physician.
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It's true, I did take a spot away from someone else (which I do feel bad for), but I think it's foolish to continue on if I am not certain I am going to love my job. I have to do this for the next 40 year or so.

In my case (and most people in pharm school) I did four years undergrad. That is followed by four years of pharmacy school. (Three of which are didactic classes, 1 more than med school btw). Then in order to specialize and do a position like family medicine or critical care you have to do at minimum a PGY1 and probably a PGY2 residency (pgy=post graduate year). These residencies are becoming more competitive as well. So all in all getting a D.O. takes and extra year of time/ residency with one less year of didactic (classroom) work.

At this point I am two years into my pharmacy school. So it would be two more years of didactic as opposed to one. Rotations would be really enjoyable compared to the test game of the first two years, so I think I could get through without going crazy with so much school. Residency is going to be work, but at least you are getting paid. With the scholarship I am thinking about I wouldn't be accruing anymore debt, so I would only be loosing a year or two of pharmacists salary if I switched at this point. I did the math in the long run and it still makes sense for me to do DO over PharmD economically. It's not all about money though. I want to make sure being a physician would actually be satisfying. I am looking for a response from someone who has been in a similar situation as me and how they handled the situation.
 
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ah sorry I didn't know that pharmacy students go through residency. But you're right, if this new path is what you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life and enjoying it by all means. Just be able to articulate it well.
 
Are you saying you can get a guaranteed, full ride scholarship if you commit to FP? I bet it's competitive and limited
 
Mosonik said:
Are you saying you can get a guaranteed, full ride scholarship if you commit to FP? I bet it's competitive and limited
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No, nothing is guaranteed when you are talking about admissions. In my state though this program is probably less competitive than others because it's less desirable to live here. This scholarship has certain stipulations. One being you have to live in a rural area....and practice primary care....

Not something that a ton of people are willing to commit to right at the beginning of school because they don't want to regret it later. I on the other hand already know I want to do family medicine in a rural setting, so i can commit to it right off the bat.
 
Oh, gotcha. I know exactly where you are referring to... I grew up there myself haha
 
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