pharmacy vs. medical? - thanks in advance!!!

[premed_81]

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I am currently a Senior but considered a Junior in my Biotechnology degree since I changed my major. I changed from Comp. Sci. to Pre-Med. because of a strong desire to help people and because I am a cancer survivor at 16. I thought being an oncologist was what I was called to do in life but now I am having second thoughts. It's a huge commitment and I don't know if I want to sacrafice things like time with the family. I know I want to work in the health field and I just recently started considering pharmacy as a career. I'm interested in drugs and how they interact with our body. I just don't know if I'm taking the easy way out on this or not. I really enjoy working with people and ultimately want to have a positive impact on their lives.

Has anyone else gone through a similar situation and if so, how did you decide what was right for you??? Any help or advice on my situation would be much appreciated!!! Thanks.

 

[tupac_don]

I am currently a Senior but considered a Junior in my Biotechnology degree since I changed my major. I changed from Comp. Sci. to Pre-Med. because of a strong desire to help people and because I am a cancer survivor at 16. I thought being an oncologist was what I was called to do in life but now I am having second thoughts. It's a huge commitment and I don't know if I want to sacrafice things like time with the family. I know I want to work in the health field and I just recently started considering pharmacy as a career. I'm interested in drugs and how they interact with our body. I just don't know if I'm taking the easy way out on this or not. I really enjoy working with people and ultimately want to have a positive impact on their lives.

Has anyone else gone through a similar situation and if so, how did you decide what was right for you??? Any help or advice on my situation would be much appreciated!!! Thanks.

You seem like you are interested in the health field, but it's not all consuming. Another words you want to have a life and have time to spend with your family. I think pharmacy would be a good career for you. You could become an oncology specialist. Medical school is very long and can be rewarding for those who can withstand it, since it is emotionally, physically (you have to be healhty) and mentally challenging. Pharmacy is a nice option, b/c it give you more time for yourself. You can leave home and do other things. But as a doctor, you would be more intricately involved in patient care. Its your call. No that oncologist is 6 years post med school. So ~10 years of medically related schooling. Keep that in mind as well. Pharmacy is 4 years + 2 years residency for specialty in oncology. But keep in mind, even though # of years is still quite a bit 6, it is easier than medical school. B/c you never do on-call in pharmacy, unless you specifically pick that type of a position. Good luck.

 

[Ivorymist]

This topic's been discussed before on this forum, but I'll give my two cents.

I was in a similar situation 4 years ago trying to decide between medicine and pharmacy. They were dead even for me, but in the end I chose pharmacy mainly by balancing what's important to me in life.

It would be nice being a doctor, but it's living like a doctor that turned me away from the profession. Many doctors work many long hours during the week and don't have much time for other things in life, especially the residency years where residents typically log in 70-100 hours per week for 3 to 7 years. On top of that, the mental/emotional stress level is extremely high. That price was just too high to pay for me. I wanted to do other things in life too. That being said, being a pharmacist doesn't let you direct the care in the way a doctor can, but you are still doing something worthwhile and are involved in helping people live healthier and longer lives too.

At the hospital where I'm working at, the medical residents and doctors do really interesting work - they admit, diagnose, treat, operate, and devise a comprehensive care plan for patients. Those are things that you can't do as a pharmacist. But you can see the fatigue in their eyes and the lack of rest they endured, the time they missed while they're young and the time they missed with their family, and the emotional burden of knowing that life and death decisions are made with your hands every single day. It is a noble cause, but in the end you just have to ask yourself is it worth it to YOU. Some will say yes, some (including myself) will say no.

If you're looking to have a positive impact on people's lives, either profession will do. Pharmacy gives me the balance between that and a more normal lifestyle and that's why I chose it. Now that I'm inching toward graduation, I would be lying if I said I don't ever think about what could have been if I followed medicine. However I do know that 4 years ago, I did make the right choice. Hope you will make the right choice for yourself too.

 

[IDPHARM]

This topic's been discussed before on this forum, but I'll give my two cents.

I was in a similar situation 4 years ago trying to decide between medicine and pharmacy. They were dead even for me, but in the end I chose pharmacy mainly by balancing what's important to me in life.

It would be nice being a doctor, but it's living like a doctor that turned me away from the profession. Many doctors work many long hours during the week and don't have much time for other things in life, especially the residency years where residents typically log in 70-100 hours per week for 3 to 7 years. On top of that, the mental/emotional stress level is extremely high. That price was just too high to pay for me. I wanted to do other things in life too. That being said, being a pharmacist doesn't let you direct the care in the way a doctor can, but you are still doing something worthwhile and are involved in helping people live healthier and longer lives too.

At the hospital where I'm working at, the medical residents and doctors do really interesting work - they admit, diagnose, treat, operate, and devise a comprehensive care plan for patients. Those are things that you can't do as a pharmacist. But you can see the fatigue in their eyes and the lack of rest they endured, the time they missed while they're young and the time they missed with their family, and the emotional burden of knowing that life and death decisions are made with your hands every single day. It is a noble cause, but in the end you just have to ask yourself is it worth it to YOU. Some will say yes, some (including myself) will say no.

If you're looking to have a positive impact on people's lives, either profession will do. Pharmacy gives me the balance between that and a more normal lifestyle and that's why I chose it. Now that I'm inching toward graduation, I would be lying if I said I don't ever think about what could have been if I followed medicine. However I do know that 4 years ago, I did make the right choice. Hope you will make the right choice for yourself too.

Great Post. Let me just add that it can be difficult to make that choice. I would suggest talking to and if you can shadow both professions. Only you can make the decision on whether you will enjoy either profession based on your personality. For me, I did enjoy pharmacy but I felt that I needed to explore medicine because I really enjoyed the process of diagnosing patients and treating them.

 

[bessem0822]

I second that...it's a tough call but it all comes down to what ends up being more fulfilling to you as an undividual.

@IDPHARM, I take it you are a PharmD turned MD. I just finished my PharmD and am planning to apply to medical school (2006 incoming class). I'd appreciate any impt feedback. What prompted you to go back to med school? Do you feel like your pharmacy degree gave your med school application an extra boost? How do you fell your background in pharmacy prepared you for med school (did it give you a good base)? How long did you work as a pharmacist? Did you enjoy it? Was the aspect of "why MD after your PharmD" brought up at any interviews? What was your justification?

I hope I'm not bombarding you with too many questions. I'd appreciate whatever info you got!

Great Post. Let me just add that it can be difficult to make that choice. I would suggest talking to and if you can shadow both professions. Only you can make the decision on whether you will enjoy either profession based on your personality. For me, I did enjoy pharmacy but I felt that I needed to explore medicine because I really enjoyed the process of diagnosing patients and treating them.

 

[LoneCoyote]

I was trying to decide between the two and ended up applying to both medical and pharmacy schools in the last cycle. From my signature you can see where I am headed. It was a tough decision to make because both fields are really interesting and share some similarities. They also have some significant differences, and lifestyle is an issue. Both fields have pros and cons and you need to weigh what is most important to you. I would second the advice of the other poster to do some shadowing and try to get a sense for what a day in the life of each professional is like. Try to see a number of settings since both medicine and pharmacy can be very different, depending on where you practice.


For me what clinched it, I guess, was going to all of the interviews for the various programs and just feeling more of a "click" at the medical schools than I did at the pharmacy programs. I also worked and volunteered in both fields and found that ultimately I saw myself more in the role of the physician making the diagnosis, than that of the pharmacist. In the end I felt that the MD was a better fit for me and for my future goals than the PharmD was. I had a lot of questions about the lifestyle of physicians and whether it was a commitment I wanted to make. For me it is because I think that I will ultimately be the happiest as a doctor. Good luck with the decision and I truly think that both professions have a lot to offer.