pharmd/phd or just phd?

[Tatodotcom]

hey everybody, so im interested in doing pharmaceutical research/drug development. with that being said, should i just get my bs and then go into a phd program, or should i get into a pharmD program right now(im a sophmore) then get my phd? all the pharmacist i work with say get the pharmd then if you want go get your phd...i'm interested in doing the pharmd/phd combined but most schools require you to get your bs. im a little lost about what to do.....and help is greatly appreciated

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[UES Girl]

hey everybody, so im interested in doing pharmaceutical research/drug development. with that being said, should i just get my bs and then go into a phd program, or should i get into a pharmD program right now(im a sophmore) then get my phd? all the pharmacist i work with say get the pharmd then if you want go get your phd...i'm interested in doing the pharmd/phd combined but most schools require you to get your bs. im a little lost about what to do.....and help is greatly appreciated

I've done some research on this program as I am interested in it myself. It seems that you would apply for your Pharm.D, then start doing research with one of the faculty, then take the GRE and whatever else needed and apply into a Ph.D program. I'm not sure about the BS requirement as I will have it.

I can't help to notice that you are a sophomore and to suggest that you do some research, hopefully your own project, if you haven't done already. Try to explore different setting to - bench vs. computational and see how you really like it. If you have no experience or little experience, it may actually surprise you how different research be from the mental perception you may have formed.

 

[mike36]

I would recommend doing the PharmD/PhD combined program. Getting a PharmD will give you a lot of really good background information for drugs that can give you a better appreciation for what you are doing as a researcher. It will also expose you to pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry that traditional B.S. graduates lack before grad school.

As mentioned before, you need to get some research experience so you know what you're getting into. Research is very rewarding, but it can lead to long hours and endless frustration as well. You should know what you are getting into before commiting yourself to a PhD program.

 

[rxlynn]

One other thing to consider - the pharmaceutical industry in general has been a very unstable employer in the last few years. If you go and read a bit about the industry, you will see that nearly all the major companies have had large layoffs of their R&D staff. So, if you do the combined pharmd/phd program you would at least have the option of pursuing the pharmacist side of things if you had difficulties getting or keeping a purely research job.

 

[cdpiano27]

That being said, if one gets a PhD in pharmaceutics and pursues research in pharmacokinetics, one will always easily find a job. I am a PhD candidate in statistics and many people go into that field from statistics as well. So if you do a PhD, I highly recommend going into pharmaceutics/pharmacokinetics. I think actually you can do PhD first, and then pay no tuition. And then later do PharmD. But keep in mind that a PhD requires sometimes even more commitment than PharmD, as the research may or may not go smoothly, whereas in PharmD if you pass the courses, rotations, and NAPLEX/MPJE you are fine.