PharmD to DPM

[DrgsRmyLife]

Hi,everyone....I am a 2nd year pharm student and have been thinking of podiatry after school. There is nothing wrong with pharm except that we dont have the patient control and interaction that I would like. I have always liked the idea podiaty but I got excepted to pharm school before i had the chance to apply and all that stuff to pod school. I was jsut wondering if I decided to make the switch, would it be worth it int erms of debit, income, stress, and stability or any other factros that i forgot. Any info would be helpful, and what would be the likelyhood of me getting excepted into pod school with a pharmd bachground?

Thanks a lot for the advice.

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[Dr_Feelgood]

Hi,everyone....I am a 2nd year pharm student and have been thinking of podiatry after school. There is nothing wrong with pharm except that we dont have the patient control and interaction that I would like. I have always liked the idea podiaty but I got excepted to pharm school before i had the chance to apply and all that stuff to pod school. I was jsut wondering if I decided to make the switch, would it be worth it int erms of debit, income, stress, and stability or any other factros that i forgot. Any info would be helpful, and what would be the likelyhood of me getting excepted into pod school with a pharmd bachground?

Thanks a lot for the advice.

That would be hard to say. I'm not sure how much debt you have now. Personally, w/ living allowances I'll graduate w/ about 170K in debt. If you have that much from pharm school and another 170K. You'll be paying of school for a long, long time. Pods make more than the average pharmacist. So that is a plus. You could also get a job in a pharmacy during school and that would help defer the cost of living debt. If you did that, you could get out of pod school in the 80-100k range. Then it might be for the time. I would suggest shadowing a lot of pods and figuring out if this is something that you really want to invest another 7 years of time and effort in.

As for getting into school, if your grades are strong and you did well on the MCAT or PCAT, then I think you'll be fine.

 

[rekesk]

That would be hard to say. I'm not sure how much debt you have now. Personally, w/ living allowances I'll graduate w/ about 170K in debt. If you have that much from pharm school and another 170K. You'll be paying of school for a long, long time. Pods make more than the average pharmacist. So that is a plus. You could also get a job in a pharmacy during school and that would help defer the cost of living debt. If you did that, you could get out of pod school in the 80-100k range. Then it might be for the time. I would suggest shadowing a lot of pods and figuring out if this is something that you really want to invest another 7 years of time and effort in.

As for getting into school, if your grades are strong and you did well on the MCAT or PCAT, then I think you'll be fine.

Don't overlook what you already have in your pharm.d, which is a pretty potent degree for getting a variety of interesting positions.

 

[IlizaRob]

Hi,everyone....I am a 2nd year pharm student and have been thinking of podiatry after school. There is nothing wrong with pharm except that we dont have the patient control and interaction that I would like. I have always liked the idea podiaty but I got excepted to pharm school before i had the chance to apply and all that stuff to pod school. I was jsut wondering if I decided to make the switch, would it be worth it int erms of debit, income, stress, and stability or any other factros that i forgot. Any info would be helpful, and what would be the likelyhood of me getting excepted into pod school with a pharmd bachground?

Thanks a lot for the advice.

If you know for sure that you do not want to be a pharmacist and for sure that you want to be a podiatrist, then I would recommend dropping now and focusing on pod school. It will save you time and money. If you havent made up your mind yet, then that should be the first thing on your list to do. Shadow some pods and get a good feel of podiatry until you invest a ton more time and money. Good luck and let us know.

 

[whiskers]

I disagree with iliza, take it from your long-lost, internet uncle whiskers, do yourself a big favor and get your pharm degree regardless of your temporal feelings.

From there you can decide what you want to do next.

Never-ever quit one professional degree program and run to another.

Again, don't degree hop regardless of feelings....

Plus you'll be more of an asset to podiatry as a pharmd with a piece of paper documenting their credentials than a person who took all but one class for their pharmd and doesn't have a piece of paper.

Either way, you waste(d) 2 years.... it's either wasted as 2 years waiting for podiatry school while having a pharmd degree in the end ....

or it's wasted as the two years you've already spent in the pharmd program and you didn't get a degree, that's what I consider a real waste of time....

Get your paper, kin.

 

[IlizaRob]

I disagree with iliza, take it from your long-lost, internet uncle whiskers, do yourself a big favor and get your pharm degree regardless of your temporal feelings.

From there you can decide what you want to do next.

Never-ever quit one professional degree program and run to another.

Again, don't degree hop regardless of feelings....

Plus you'll be more of an asset to podiatry as a pharmd with a piece of paper documenting their credentials than a person who took all but one class for their pharmd and doesn't have a piece of paper.

Either way, you waste(d) 2 years.... it's either wasted as 2 years waiting for podiatry school while having a pharmd degree in the end ....

or it's wasted as the two years you've already spent in the pharmd program and you didn't get a degree, that's what I consider a real waste of time....

Get your paper, kin.

I can see both points. In the end you have to weigh out the pros and cons and decide for yourself. Good luck

 

[Cyrus44]

if it helps at I'm getting a docorate in physical therapy and then im going to go into podiatry. ill have about 70k in loans for 6 years of school. i dont know how busy it is in podiatry school but i plan on using the degree to work part time b/c right now i work 40 hours a week and still keep a 3.6. Plus i figured it would look better than getting a B.S. in something when applying. So, if i were u i would get the degree and work part time.

 

[IlizaRob]

if it helps at I'm getting a docorate in physical therapy and then im going to go into podiatry. ill have about 70k in loans for 6 years of school. i dont know how busy it is in podiatry school but i plan on using the degree to work part time b/c right now i work 40 hours a week and still keep a 3.6. Plus i figured it would look better than getting a B.S. in something when applying. So, if i were u i would get the degree and work part time.

I cant imagine working part-time while in school. I cant speak for others schools but I will assume they are the same. At DMU it is very rigorous. You will have to be someone that is quick to learn and is able to soak up a ton of info in a short amount of time. I guess it can be done but I wouldnt count on it for sure. It also depends on how many hours a week you plan to work.

 

[mountain man]

Yes, Podiatry school as well as allopathic and osteopathic are very demanding according to what I have read. It seems like the average credit load is around 23 credit hours per/sem. Veterinary school is not even as demanding with only 19 credit hours at some places (however that is still a serious workload). I completed 16 credits per/sem in graduate school, plus worked full time while traveling many miles to school each week and that was very hard on me. Do yourself a favor and make the road easy to travel...because there will be enough bumps along the way that you will never see comming. Good luck to you sir!
P.S. there is a great deal of good information in this forum

Mountain Man
(from vet forum)

 

[krabmas]

if it helps at I'm getting a docorate in physical therapy and then im going to go into podiatry. ill have about 70k in loans for 6 years of school. i dont know how busy it is in podiatry school but i plan on using the degree to work part time b/c right now i work 40 hours a week and still keep a 3.6. Plus i figured it would look better than getting a B.S. in something when applying. So, if i were u i would get the degree and work part time.

1st - if getting C's and squeeking by is OK with you then work, work, work , work. If you want to get As or Bs I'd suggest not working. Pod school is not like college where you can plan your schedule to be off on fridays and mondays or have long periods of time to study. if you do not study almost everyday then keeping up is very difficult. if you cram for every test you may do well on the test but what knowledge are you retaining. you'll have to study all over again for the boards instead of a quick review and will you remember anything when it comes time to treat a patient?

2nd - having another professional degree only looks good if you have a plan on how you plan to use them together. As in what advantage or strength it will give you as a podiatrist. If you are just collecting degrees or jumping to change paths they may question your dedication to podiatry - or will you just change your mind again?

General MD schools frown on people having more than one professional degree. it is done that people change from Pharm to med or what have you but it is not the norm.


if you decide to work while in pod school - the best of luck to you. I worked my first semester and only on the weekends like 15-20hrs a week and it was rough.

 

[Cyrus44]

1st - if getting C's and squeeking by is OK with you then work, work, work , work. If you want to get As or Bs I'd suggest not working. Pod school is not like college where you can plan your schedule to be off on fridays and mondays or have long periods of time to study. if you do not study almost everyday then keeping up is very difficult. if you cram for every test you may do well on the test but what knowledge are you retaining. you'll have to study all over again for the boards instead of a quick review and will you remember anything when it comes time to treat a patient?

2nd - having another professional degree only looks good if you have a plan on how you plan to use them together. As in what advantage or strength it will give you as a podiatrist. If you are just collecting degrees or jumping to change paths they may question your dedication to podiatry - or will you just change your mind again?

General MD schools frown on people having more than one professional degree. it is done that people change from Pharm to med or what have you but it is not the norm.


if you decide to work while in pod school - the best of luck to you. I worked my first semester and only on the weekends like 15-20hrs a week and it was rough.[/Q

please enlighten me how a professional degree wouldnt look good. i would have more experience in the medical field than a undergrad that has a B.S. in bio. plus It would be counter productive for MD schools to fown upon applicants that have already proven themselves to succeed in professional school. Your right its not the norm and thats why it would be good. it makes u stand out from the rest. The Pharm degree would help him in the long run b/c he would have a better understanding of drugs, just like my DPT degree in terms of muscloskeletal. how many of u knew all the muscles in the body what nerves innervative them and what artery supples them before u entered school. The more knownledge u have the easier school will be, of course there will always be new things to learn and thats y i want to get into this field to learn new things. Who wants to be stuck with one degree in this field when there is so much we dont know.

 

[whiskers]

1st - if getting C's and squeeking by is OK with you then work, work, work , work. If you want to get As or Bs I'd suggest not working. Pod school is not like college where you can plan your schedule to be off on fridays and mondays or have long periods of time to study. if you do not study almost everyday then keeping up is very difficult. if you cram for every test you may do well on the test but what knowledge are you retaining. you'll have to study all over again for the boards instead of a quick review and will you remember anything when it comes time to treat a patient?

2nd - having another professional degree only looks good if you have a plan on how you plan to use them together. As in what advantage or strength it will give you as a podiatrist. If you are just collecting degrees or jumping to change paths they may question your dedication to podiatry - or will you just change your mind again?

General MD schools frown on people having more than one professional degree. it is done that people change from Pharm to med or what have you but it is not the norm.


if you decide to work while in pod school - the best of luck to you. I worked my first semester and only on the weekends like 15-20hrs a week and it was rough.[/Q

please enlighten me how a professional degree wouldnt look good. i would have more experience in the medical field than a undergrad that has a B.S. in bio. plus It would be counter productive for MD schools to fown upon applicants that have already proven themselves to succeed in professional school. Your right its not the norm and thats why it would be good. it makes u stand out from the rest. The Pharm degree would help him in the long run b/c he would have a better understanding of drugs, just like my DPT degree in terms of muscloskeletal. how many of u knew all the muscles in the body what nerves innervative them and what artery supples them before u entered school. The more knownledge u have the easier school will be, of course there will always be new things to learn and thats y i want to get into this field to learn new things. Who wants to be stuck with one degree in this field when there is so much we dont know.

Well, I'll tell you why. For starters there are tons of egos floating around in this profession with plenty of hot shot profs and students alike who hate anyone who is perceived as an intellectual threat.

In a normal world, academics would not try to discourage questions and intimidate those who have more experience, but this is contrary to what I have personally witnessed. Instead, questions are discouraged (wouldn't want ot look like a hack, huh) and those with prior degrees are castigated as mediocre and not real doctors and their opinions and experiences are quickly made irrelevant because the professor is the top dog and the best there was, there best there is and the best there ever will be.

It's funny to watch these megalomaniacs in action as they project their superior intelligence. The funny thing is that many of these folks only will talk about what's in their lecture, ie what they know well.

many folks have graduate degrees that enter pod school and quickly find out that their prior experience means little. We all have degrees and experience, but try to act like you know something....


As for working while in school, well, I've heard of many at some of the less known schools doing it and doing well. You tell me how one can work full time 40-60hrs and still do a "rigorous" program.

Some of you just don't seem to understand what's normal at some of the schools. If you want to work full time, find a school where there are students doing it and getting through, then ask them their secret.... which really isn't much of a secret to me.

Good day.

 

[DrgsRmyLife]

I would like to say thank you for everyone who replied and those who will in the future. I would first like to say I will not stop getting my pharmd....to me it is very prestigouse and it took a lot to get here. Unfortunately, there are some very intriguing things of pods that I wish I could do, and that is why I was asking for advice. If I do plan on continuing my education, there is no doubt in my mind that my pharmacy degree will be intrigrated into my practice. I will have had 4 to 6 years (depending if I do residency) of training to critically evaluate pharmaceutical therapies and their impacts. I am not talking about every physician DPM, MD, or DO but there are a lot who prescribe the same thing no matter what or make the prescribing mistakes, or who just aren't up to date on whats new. This is type of physician that i dont want to be, and I think that my pharm d will allow me to have an increased ability to evalute a patients pharmaceutical therapy.

When it comes to schooling, I have the utmost respect for the demands of education anddont underestimate the devotion that i need. I do plan on working part time, and fortunately, as a pharmacist I can make good income working part time. I also have the been exposed to many of the same subject matterin pharm school, except for histology and some of those things, so a lot of it will not be foriegn to me. In addition, I will have the discipline to study that a lot of people dont have when they enter a doctorate level education. That is what I hope my collegues and the admission committee will notice, not that I am jumping from one degree to another.

Anyways, thats where I stand for now and i will greatly appreciate all of the new good and bad responses to my question.

Thanks a lot

 

[krabmas]

please enlighten me how a professional degree wouldnt look good. i would have more experience in the medical field than a undergrad that has a B.S. in bio. plus It would be counter productive for MD schools to fown upon applicants that have already proven themselves to succeed in professional school. Your right its not the norm and thats why it would be good. it makes u stand out from the rest. The Pharm degree would help him in the long run b/c he would have a better understanding of drugs, just like my DPT degree in terms of muscloskeletal. how many of u knew all the muscles in the body what nerves innervative them and what artery supples them before u entered school. The more knownledge u have the easier school will be, of course there will always be new things to learn and thats y i want to get into this field to learn new things. Who wants to be stuck with one degree in this field when there is so much we dont know.

I did not say that "I" did not think it would be advantageous or better for the patients...

I said the admissions committees frown upon it. as wiskers said in a perfect world the educators would see it as an advantage. But they obviously see it as a threat.

I have experienced the same thing as wiskers. I have only a BA degree and some research experience (w/ publications). When I ask questions it is purely for me to learn but the profs see it as challenging them most of the time.

you'll find that the people who are secure with what they know will not see questions as a challenge to their intellect. it is the ones who do not think they know enough and feel inferior some how - so in return they belittle you for asking questions.

egos get in the way of government, science, medicine, business - you name it.

so even if in theory more degrees are better it might not be the case in practice.

 

[ProZackMI]

Hi,everyone....I am a 2nd year pharm student and have been thinking of podiatry after school. There is nothing wrong with pharm except that we dont have the patient control and interaction that I would like. I have always liked the idea podiaty but I got excepted to pharm school before i had the chance to apply and all that stuff to pod school. I was jsut wondering if I decided to make the switch, would it be worth it int erms of debit, income, stress, and stability or any other factros that i forgot. Any info would be helpful, and what would be the likelyhood of me getting excepted into pod school with a pharmd bachground?

Thanks a lot for the advice.

As my dear old grandpa used to say, sh|t or get off the pot, but make a decision. Iliza is right, a PharmD really won't help you in podiatry. If you want patient contact, then I suggest finishing your PharmD, doing a post doctoral pharmacy general practice or speciality residency, getting a job in clinical pharmacy at a hospital, and then consider getting a master's in physician assistant, becoming licensed, etc. In a few states, clinical pharms can become licensed CPP (clinical pharmacy practitioners) and have Rx privis, patient contact, and are trained to perform some physical assessments, order labs, etc. They usually work under MD/DOs and work in practice settings, clinics, or hospitals. There are a few PharmD-PAs out there too who do something similar under the pharm and PA license.

Leaving one professional program for another is only a good idea if you know what you want. It sounds to me like you really don't know what you want to do. You need to explore clinical pharmacy more in depth, not retail pharm. Shadow some PharmDs who have done residencies in clinical pharm. Many of these guys know way more than your average pods (not the podiatric surgeons) and they often bring home 100K+ a year without all malpractice insurance. My fiancee is a PharmD with an MPH and works a clinical pharm at UMich Med Center; she did a post PharmD residency (3 years) in hem-onco and works with patients on a daily basis. She's far more clinical than your average pod (the types who treat warts, fungal nails, etc., not the surgeons) and makes about $120,000 per annum plus is on the faculty of the pharmacy school. She loves her job and loves her patient contact, but also loves the fact that she's not in a private office seeing patients and having to worry about billing, etc., and paying outrageous fees for malpractice insurance.

Do some investigating and stick with pharmacy if you can. If you really hate it, and it's not for you, then apply to pod school first, see if you get accepted, and then drop out once you've been admitted into pod school. I would guess that if you got into pharmacy school, you'll be able to get into podiatry school quite easily as it is not anywhere as competitive as medical school.

Another thought, why not go the DO route? They have quite a bit more authority and respect than podiatrists...if you truly want to be an indepent practitioner, consider osteo med.

 

[ProZackMI]

1st - if getting C's and squeeking by is OK with you then work, work, work , work. If you want to get As or Bs I'd suggest not working. Pod school is not like college where you can plan your schedule to be off on fridays and mondays or have long periods of time to study. if you do not study almost everyday then keeping up is very difficult. if you cram for every test you may do well on the test but what knowledge are you retaining. you'll have to study all over again for the boards instead of a quick review and will you remember anything when it comes time to treat a patient?

2nd - having another professional degree only looks good if you have a plan on how you plan to use them together. As in what advantage or strength it will give you as a podiatrist. If you are just collecting degrees or jumping to change paths they may question your dedication to podiatry - or will you just change your mind again?



General MD schools frown on people having more than one professional degree. it is done that people change from Pharm to med or what have you but it is not the norm.


if you decide to work while in pod school - the best of luck to you. I worked my first semester and only on the weekends like 15-20hrs a week and it was rough.[/Q

please enlighten me how a professional degree wouldnt look good. i would have more experience in the medical field than a undergrad that has a B.S. in bio. plus It would be counter productive for MD schools to fown upon applicants that have already proven themselves to succeed in professional school. Your right its not the norm and thats why it would be good. it makes u stand out from the rest. The Pharm degree would help him in the long run b/c he would have a better understanding of drugs, just like my DPT degree in terms of muscloskeletal. how many of u knew all the muscles in the body what nerves innervative them and what artery supples them before u entered school. The more knownledge u have the easier school will be, of course there will always be new things to learn and thats y i want to get into this field to learn new things. Who wants to be stuck with one degree in this field when there is so much we dont know.

Whiskers is correct. Having a graduate degree, such as an MS or MPH, prior to medical school, will not hurt your chances for getting in, but I do know of a few incidents where other professionals were applying into medical school and the admissions committees questioned them. When I was in medical school, we had a guy in our class who had been a vet and had a DVM with 5 years of experience as a vet. He had fantastic grades and did very well on the MCAT, but MSU still hesistated to admit into the MD program because they felt he used his DVM as a stepping stone into medicine, thereby depriving some kid a spot in vet school. He ended up going to MSU's osteo med school (MSU has an MD and DO school) and finishing top of his class. Since MD and DO students took the same first year and second year classes, I got to know him and remembered his story about not getting into the MD program despite his grades and DVM.

Another student at MSU was a guy who got his dental degree, but never became licensed or practiced. He ended up applying to MSU CHM without revealing he had a DDS, which was stupid. He knew it would hurt him.

A few folks in our class had PhDs, but it didn't seem to hurt them. Another woman had a JD (law degree), and it did not hurt her at all since she was not leaving one health profession for another.

So, yes, it can hurt you. You will be seen as being "disloyal" to one profession in order to get into another profession. Admissions committees really don't like that. Furthermore, it's also a fallacy to assume that a DPT or PharmD degree will help your career as a podiatrist. To be honest, I can see an overlap between a PharmD and DPM, but a DPT degree has absolutely no relation to a DPM and will be a complete waste.

If you REALLY want to be a podiatrist, then got to pod school. If you really want to be a PT, then get your DPT and pull your head outta your ass and move on with your life. Know what you want and go for it. Don't be like me. I went to medical school, did my residency, and still hated what I was doing. I worked hard and accumulated a ton of debt, but went to law school afterwards, graduated with a JD, passed the bar, and am now transitioning into law. My MD never hurt me getting into law school, but many fellow doctors thought I was being disloyal to medicine and some even stopped talking to me. I'm happy with my decision, but it's a little different as I left one profession for another that was completely different.

In your case, and in the case of the OP, you are leaving one health care profession for another without a valid reason and without exploring all of your options. If you're a DPT and want more clinical contact, maybe, just maybe, you should consider getting a PA credential rather than do 4 years of pod school and rack up more debt. A DPT/DPM will not make any more money than a regular DPM, but you will make more than most PTs. With all those student loans, though, plus malpractice insurance, you'll never break even. So much for a future mortgage or nice cars.

The PharmD-DPM might be a great combo if you wish to go into pharm or pod academia. A clinical or regular prof in pharm or pod school, who is an expert on pod pharm, might be a great asset, but in private practice, no, it won't matter.

 

[ProZackMI]

I would like to say thank you for everyone who replied and those who will in the future. I would first like to say I will not stop getting my pharmd....to me it is very prestigouse and it took a lot to get here. Unfortunately, there are some very intriguing things of pods that I wish I could do, and that is why I was asking for advice. If I do plan on continuing my education, there is no doubt in my mind that my pharmacy degree will be intrigrated into my practice. I will have had 4 to 6 years (depending if I do residency) of training to critically evaluate pharmaceutical therapies and their impacts. I am not talking about every physician DPM, MD, or DO but there are a lot who prescribe the same thing no matter what or make the prescribing mistakes, or who just aren't up to date on whats new. This is type of physician that i dont want to be, and I think that my pharm d will allow me to have an increased ability to evalute a patients pharmaceutical therapy.

When it comes to schooling, I have the utmost respect for the demands of education anddont underestimate the devotion that i need. I do plan on working part time, and fortunately, as a pharmacist I can make good income working part time. I also have the been exposed to many of the same subject matterin pharm school, except for histology and some of those things, so a lot of it will not be foriegn to me. In addition, I will have the discipline to study that a lot of people dont have when they enter a doctorate level education. That is what I hope my collegues and the admission committee will notice, not that I am jumping from one degree to another.

Anyways, thats where I stand for now and i will greatly appreciate all of the new good and bad responses to my question.

Thanks a lot

I'm a psychiatrist by training. Your post above tells me that you're probably young and very naieve in terms of what clinical pharmacists and podiatrists actually do. You made some valid points, but keep these things in mind:

1) Your training as a pharmacist will definitely help you in podiatry school (unlike the PT poster), but to what end? If you don't want to be the kind of doctor who makes prescribing mistakes (who does?), and you don't want to Rx the same thing all the time, then you, personally have the choice to make informed decisions about what/when/and how you Rx. A PharmD degree will make you more informed, but will it really help you make professional medical decisions? No, this is something that you will learn as you acquire practice experience as a doctor. When you see a cluster of symptoms, or maybe just one symtom, you formulate a differential dx and begin to plan your tx strategy. You have a series of drugs in mind and then once you've settled on a good dx, you prescribe accordingly based on your clinical experience and recommendations from the PDR (if need be).

2) A doctorate level education (PharmD) will certainly help you in terms of studying in podiatry school by providing you with an established pattern of academic discipline, but realistically, if you're a good student in undergraduate, you can adjust to the rigors of grad/professional school. Good study habits are learned, but often are more intrinsic and not acquired from previous extrinsic experiences. However, you are right and I think my patterns of studying from medical school helped me a lot in law school. It's more of an individual factor than anything else though.

3) I don't think a pod admissions panel will look down on you for having a PharmD. MD or DO committees may question you, but I don't think a pod school admissions committee would as there aren't that many applicants to pod school. You just better be able to explain yourself if they question you. You also better be able to pay off those loans when you're done. There's a cap on federal unsub/sub loans. I believe it's somewhere around $180,000. Once you've gone beyond this cap, you will have to get private loans, which are based on your credit and debt-to-income ratio. Since you're a student, you won't have an income, so your debt will exceed your income, and your ratio will be skewed and adverse to private lenders. You might be able to finish a PharmD and residency on your unsub/sub cap, but it's doubtful you'll be able to finish all 4 years of pod school, plus the year after to study for the licensing exam, with your unsub/sub allotment.

In addition, in most professional school programs, including pod school, you CANNOT work. They make you sign a statement saying you will not work. You cannot work as a pharmacist while going to pod school full-time. So, unless you have rich parents paying your way, a sugar mamma footing the bill, or you've found a part-time DPM program, your ONLY source of funding is student loans, which you will not be able to receive since you will have received the most you can.

 

[DrgsRmyLife]

Hey everyone, many of you made very valid points and this is exactely why I asked the question in the first place. I currently have a very good (probably one of the best in southern cal) pharmacy intern position at a hospital that is truely top notch. I am exposed everyday to clinical pharmacy ( AC clinics, peds, critical care, HEMOC, ID, you name it) and will be trained in all those aspects. So I have and will continue to have exposure to clinical pharmacy. I will probably stay in pharm for awhile but I am just trying to way out the options and investigate new opportunities and pod is just an area that has always intrigued me.

I know what i want in life and want to experience all that i can before the end. Whether it is going to pod school or buying that ferrari (with the money for pod school), living a fullfilling life is all that I want. I just so happens that something like pod school is something that may fill a part of life that i may not get from pharm is the future. Unfortunately, we cant do everything but we do the ones that I we hope will be fullfilling. On that note, life is great either way. I have the utmost respect for you pods and I hope that you have the same respect for pharmers. If i decide to in the future to go to pods school i also hope that the profession will welcome another collegue that brings new and different experiences to podiatry. I cant wait to read all the new replies.

laters

 

[krabmas]

In addition, in most professional school programs, including pod school, you CANNOT work. They make you sign a statement saying you will not work. You cannot work as a pharmacist while going to pod school full-time. So, unless you have rich parents paying your way, a sugar mamma footing the bill, or you've found a part-time DPM program, your ONLY source of funding is student loans, which you will not be able to receive since you will have received the most you can.

untrue.

There are plenty of people in my school that work.

1) a nurse that moonlights and she has kids and a husband at home.

2) a manager at McDonald's - very true, but he just gets by with his grades.

3) another nurse that moonlights

4) an EMT

5) we had a student that was going to Law school at the same time but since transferred to the MD school where he is in Law school to do a joint MD JD

and the list goes on.

SO you can work but it is not encouraged, and you will probably not be at the top of your class even at a crappy pod school

 

[krabmas]

Any degree that you have that you could have gotten from a joint program with a MD or DO will not hurt your chances of getting into any medical school. But you do still have to know what you want to do with all these degrees.

so MBA/MD - offered at RWJ in NJ

MD/JD - Columbia and others offer this which is pretty common to use for patent law, or malpractice type things

MPH/MD

Phd/MD

and I am sure there are more.

I have not heard of any programs offering joint PT/MD, MD/DO, MD/DDS, MD/optometry, Pharm/MD- see the pattern here? these are all double medical degrees.

I think the theory might be that once you start getting MDs with other medical degrees it makes the MD or ther other degree look like less. As in it would be necessary to have more than one degree to practice effectively and make either degree seem like not enough.

It happens with podiatry when some people have Pharm/DPM, or even go for DO after DPM.

 

[whiskers]

untrue.

There are plenty of people in my school that work.

1) a nurse that moonlights and she has kids and a husband at home.

2) a manager at McDonald's - very true, but he just gets by with his grades.

3) another nurse that moonlights

4) an EMT

5) we had a student that was going to Law school at the same time but since transferred to the MD school where he is in Law school to do a joint MD JD

and the list goes on.

SO you can work but it is not encouraged, and you will probably not be at the top of your class even at a crappy pod school

"SO you can work but it is not encouraged, and you will probably not be at the top of your class even at a crappy pod school"

Except for moon boot university... I've seen them cash in on those old exams after a 24 hr shift. Cha-ching!

Get your degree while working full time as a single martian with martianettes the best part is that you can do it in another galaxy!

Just like winning the lotto.

This is exactly the crap that I hate to hear about our podiatry universities. It makes them look like big jokes to the the rest of the professional school world. And we pods want our programs to be respected like the MD/DO programs? Not with crap like this going on at some of our esteemed universities. I won't argue for our being on par as a profession with this type of education being rendered.

You might have gone to moon-boot university if 10% of your class was working full time and passing and esp if any were on the dean's most martian list...

I bet they really know their stuff inside and out $@!

 

[whiskers]

BTW, are you working 40 hrs a week during your pharm schooling? Maybe you heard about some of our part time schedules and decided to paly that podiatry lotto and cash in them old "chips" while advancing your own degree collection?

It wouldn't suprise me, get them while they don't cost much.

 

[ProZackMI]

untrue.

There are plenty of people in my school that work.

1) a nurse that moonlights and she has kids and a husband at home.

2) a manager at McDonald's - very true, but he just gets by with his grades.

3) another nurse that moonlights

4) an EMT

5) we had a student that was going to Law school at the same time but since transferred to the MD school where he is in Law school to do a joint MD JD

and the list goes on.

SO you can work but it is not encouraged, and you will probably not be at the top of your class even at a crappy pod school

I suggest you get your facts straight before proferring advice such as this.

First, other than law school and PT school, there are very few professional schools that let you go part-time. Nursing school and EMT programs DO NOT count. We're talking dental, pod, pharm, med, etc. Getting a nursing degree is not professional school. EMT is not even graduate level college!!!!!!!

Second, a dual degree (MD/JD, MD/PhD, etc.) is NOT the issue. Those programs combine degree programs into one in order to save time to earn both degrees. The OP is talking about completing a PharmD and then going on to a DPM degree. While this is doable, it's not sensible and he's not even sure what his possibilities are with a PharmD + residency.

I'm not sure if you're in professional school or not, but if you are, where? A manager at McDonald's who's in pod school? It's possible to work while in school, but often, it's not allowed, and often, if you do work, it's a few hours at best -- otherwise no time.

I don't think your post was topical or relevant.

 

[ProZackMI]

Any degree that you have that you could have gotten from a joint program with a MD or DO will not hurt your chances of getting into any medical school. But you do still have to know what you want to do with all these degrees.

so MBA/MD - offered at RWJ in NJ

MD/JD - Columbia and others offer this which is pretty common to use for patent law, or malpractice type things

MPH/MD

Phd/MD

and I am sure there are more.

I have not heard of any programs offering joint PT/MD, MD/DO, MD/DDS, MD/optometry, Pharm/MD- see the pattern here? these are all double medical degrees.

I think the theory might be that once you start getting MDs with other medical degrees it makes the MD or ther other degree look like less. As in it would be necessary to have more than one degree to practice effectively and make either degree seem like not enough.

It happens with podiatry when some people have Pharm/DPM, or even go for DO after DPM.

You have missed the entire point here. We're not talking about getting a second degree after pharmacy school or podiatry school. There is nothing wrong with getting an MBA after a PharmD or DPM -- lots of peoople do it. However, getting a PharmD and then a DPM is like getting a DPM and then going to school to get an MD.

Let's use the DPM --> MD as an example. John finishes his BS degree and wants to go to medical school. His grades are okay and he does okay on the MCAT. He applies to many MD schools but gets rejected. So, John, not wanting to give up, applies to optometry school and podiatry school. Podiatry school accepts him and gives him excellent medical training. John, however, is unhappy with podiatry as he is not a complete physician, so once he graduates, rather than pursue his options in pod med, he uses his DPM as a stepping stone and applies to medical school, where he gets in.

Is that right? Is that the best choice John could have made? HELL NO. First, it deprives a student who really wanted to be a pod of a spot in pod school. There are many folks out there who want to be podiatrists, not allo or osteo docs. The DPM to MD deprives one person from doing this.

Second, if you really want to be a physician, then try the osteo med route. Try med school in the Carribean. Do something other than settling for another health care career. If, however, you are happy with a DPM, then stay in pod medicine.

If, after practicing for a while, you decide you want to be a lawyer, or investment banker, or something else, then fine, you've saved money, you've done your research, etc., go for it. Switching careers is not a bad thing if it's done properly.

However, if you're in pharmacy school, spending that much money and time getting a PharmD, but you really want to be a podiatrist, then drop out of pharmacy school and enter podiatry school. Having a PharmD and DPM is unncessary, stupid, and will make you look like a degree stepper.

 

[capo]

ProZack, just a point of note... could you possibly have more initials behind your name or write any longer replies here? I can't even get through your 1st post today, let alone the last. Do you have 'cliff notes' or a Reader's Digest version for what's really important in them?

PS - Was it Hemingway or Twain that got paid "by-the-word'?

 

[AZPOD Rocks]

Let's use the DPM --> MD as an example. John finishes his BS degree and wants to go to medical school. His grades are okay and he does okay on the MCAT. He applies to many MD schools but gets rejected. So, John, not wanting to give up, applies to optometry school and podiatry school. Podiatry school accepts him and gives him excellent medical training. John, however, is unhappy with podiatry as he is not a complete physician, so once he graduates, rather than pursue his options in pod med, he uses his DPM as a stepping stone and applies to medical school, where he gets in.

Is that right? Is that the best choice John could have made? HELL NO. First, it deprives a student who really wanted to be a pod of a spot in pod school. There are many folks out there who want to be podiatrists, not allo or osteo docs. The DPM to MD deprives one person from doing this.

Second, if you really want to be a physician, then try the osteo med route. Try med school in the Carribean. Do something other than settling for another health care career. If, however, you are happy with a DPM, then stay in pod medicine.

However, if you're in pharmacy school, spending that much money and time getting a PharmD, but you really want to be a podiatrist, then drop out of pharmacy school and enter podiatry school. Having a PharmD and DPM is unncessary, stupid, and will make you look like a degree stepper.

Hi,

I agree with your posts. I am someone who knows right off I am not meant to be a "whole physician." There are many who desire this but I don't. I don't want to be a generalist. I wouldn't be happy doing this. I will be happy as a specialist. Many others feel the same way I do.

When I began investigating, I realized there were very few specialties I would be pleased with. Even now, about to begin AZPOD in August, I know that I would rather have become an otolaryngologist or a kidney transplantation urologist than a podiatrist. *GASP!!!* However, those routes would have taken me 3-4 years longer and would have been preferential only marginally. Was that slight margin grounds for pursuing 3 or 4 more years of education and debt? I decided against it because I know I will love the practice of podiatry. In fact, I love the field! In the back of my head I know I love the anatomy of the head and neck slightly more but in practice, I will find at least as much personal fulfillment in podiatry.

So, when people decide to pursue professional education in fields they aren't sure they will like just as a stepping board to what they really wanted to do in the first place, it seems poor decisions have been made and they would have benefited more from taking time off, working, or pursuing post-bac options.

If you can find just as much fulfillment in one field as another, do that, even if you had marginally enjoyed another field more. Of course this rule only applies when the more enjoyable field's doors are harder to open.

AZPOD Rocks

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Back to the PT and Pharm posters, anything is possible. I know of many students at DMU that worked in their first year and second year. You both have been exposed to many of the classes that you will be taking in those parts of your education. I would dare to say one of you will do very well in pharm and the other will do really well in anatomy, probably w/o studying.

Opinions are like rear ends, we all have them and most of them stink. Shadow a pod. If you like what you see go for it, if not you've got a degree to fall back on. Heck you could get into school and drop b/c you changed your mind; then you've got a career to fall back on. That to me is very superior to some turd that has to go back to working in the warehouse.

Again, shadow a pod and make your own decisions. Most of the people here (myself included) are full of a brown smelly substance found in the lower digestive tract.

 

[AZPOD Rocks]

Dr. Feelgood... hooking it up with the visceral!!!

 

[whiskers]

Prozackmi has lots of good ideas that we may or may not agree with, but I hope he continues to post on our forums and offer his/her valued opinion.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Prozackmi has lots of good ideas that we may or may not agree with, but I hope he continues to post on our forums and offer his/her valued opinion.

I'm not trying to say not to post but this guy/gal must live with the decision, we all get to continue giving adivce from our offices/study rooms (again I am included in this comment)

 

[Cyrus44]

Is that right? Is that the best choice John could have made? HELL NO. First, it deprives a student who really wanted to be a pod of a spot in pod school. There are many folks out there who want to be podiatrists, not allo or osteo docs. The DPM to MD deprives one person from doing this.

Wouldnt it be worst to flat out quit b/c he really did take a spot from someone and never got the degree in the first place? If he gets the degree at least the spot wasnt wasted because Johny got his education. Plus wouldnt a drop out show u are scared and u are more likely to drop out of med school or pod school, thus the college wasted money by letting u in b/c u never finished? Cause if they let a student in that already completed grad school it shows they are likely to go through the whole program or are willing to challenge themselves to a higher level. Running a school requires money and the students pay that money, unless of course they force students to pay the full amount up front and that would sux ass. I just hope johny gets what he wants

 

[MD2b20004]

Is that right? Is that the best choice John could have made? HELL NO. First, it deprives a student who really wanted to be a pod of a spot in pod school. There are many folks out there who want to be podiatrists, not allo or osteo docs. The DPM to MD deprives one person from doing this.

Wouldnt it be worst to flat out quit b/c he really did take a spot from someone and never got the degree in the first place? If he gets the degree at least the spot wasnt wasted because Johny got his education. Plus wouldnt a drop out show u are scared and u are more likely to drop out of med school or pod school, thus the college wasted money by letting u in b/c u never finished? Cause if they let a student in that already completed grad school it shows they are likely to go through the whole program or are willing to challenge themselves to a higher level. Running a school requires money and the students pay that money, unless of course they force students to pay the full amount up front and that would sux ass. I just hope johny gets what he wants

I dont know about all these posts, but i am rooting for Johny all the way, go Johny!!!!

 

[MD2b20004]

As my dear old grandpa used to say, sh|t or get off the pot, but make a decision. Iliza is right, a PharmD really won't help you in podiatry. If you want patient contact, then I suggest finishing your PharmD, doing a post doctoral pharmacy general practice or speciality residency, getting a job in clinical pharmacy at a hospital, and then consider getting a master's in physician assistant, becoming licensed, etc. In a few states, clinical pharms can become licensed CPP (clinical pharmacy practitioners) and have Rx privis, patient contact, and are trained to perform some physical assessments, order labs, etc. They usually work under MD/DOs and work in practice settings, clinics, or hospitals. There are a few PharmD-PAs out there too who do something similar under the pharm and PA license.

Leaving one professional program for another is only a good idea if you know what you want. It sounds to me like you really don't know what you want to do. You need to explore clinical pharmacy more in depth, not retail pharm. Shadow some PharmDs who have done residencies in clinical pharm. Many of these guys know way more than your average pods (not the podiatric surgeons) and they often bring home 100K+ a year without all malpractice insurance. My fiancee is a PharmD with an MPH and works a clinical pharm at UMich Med Center; she did a post PharmD residency (3 years) in hem-onco and works with patients on a daily basis. She's far more clinical than your average pod (the types who treat warts, fungal nails, etc., not the surgeons) and makes about $120,000 per annum plus is on the faculty of the pharmacy school. She loves her job and loves her patient contact, but also loves the fact that she's not in a private office seeing patients and having to worry about billing, etc., and paying outrageous fees for malpractice insurance.

Do some investigating and stick with pharmacy if you can. If you really hate it, and it's not for you, then apply to pod school first, see if you get accepted, and then drop out once you've been admitted into pod school. I would guess that if you got into pharmacy school, you'll be able to get into podiatry school quite easily as it is not anywhere as competitive as medical school.

Another thought, why not go the DO route? They have quite a bit more authority and respect than podiatrists...if you truly want to be an indepent practitioner, consider osteo med.

No offense intended because I like your intelligent posts and replies for you seem to be mature and educated, not everyone who has letters behind there name fill the role all the time. But not to disrespect your career plan, but isn't a waste of time and money to do what you did, I mean you could of went just 3 years of law school and did what your doing and saved 7 years of your life and all the money that comes with it, heck you could of retired in those 7 years used. I know your going to say you wanted to have the clinical side and etc... but really if you have a passion for a certain career should not just full hearted pursue that career and due it 100% to your best ability, I mean if you wanted to be a kick butt Lawyer you could of done it without the JD behind your name and I am sure you would of made a great MD without the JD letters and years lost. Share with us why you took the route you did other than ego or prestiege (not saying thats why you did pursue the route you did, but curious what you were thinking).