PharmD vs. PharmD/PhD

[tackett26]

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After reading your post I immediately have several questions that are not asked to pick on you but with genuine curiosity.

Why do you want to pursue a Ph. D program ?

As I just said to someone today in a nearly identical thread people that pursue Ph. D do so because they are interested in pharmaceutical research. Since you said you you are a 2nd year student I assume you are not very far in your studies and have not taken majority of upper division classes or labs that usually lead people to become interested in research.

Do you have any research experience ?

I don't mean the tube cleaning kind where you work in the lab and perform basic duties for your PI. I mean have you actually worked on a project or finished a project that lead you to become interested in pursuing a Ph. D ?

Have you worked in Biotech ?

Again I am not giving you a hard time but you need to tell us more about your background.

I'm a first year but I'm planning to do a PharmD/ PhD. Honestly I have learned more through the work experience I've had than I ever would have in any classroom. That's what's lead to my interest in PharmD/ PhD.

 

[tackett26]

They push this really hard at our school too, but in reality you can only do one job when you graduate. If your true goal is research only, don't waste your time doing a Pharm.D., just go straight to a Ph.D. The only way I would say to do both is if you are very interested in performing clinical trials down the road, but thats about the only benefit I would see to having both degrees

Its not as difficult as you might think. It just depends... There are some very unique practice settings, and pharmacy has plenty of part time opportunities. The clinical experience in pharmacy lets you see what issues need to be addressed by research. The research experience in turn makes you a better clinician.