Please advise! Switching from pharmacy to physical therapy

[Blueflower1]

Long story short, I'm a 22 year old student currently in first year pharmacy who is looking to switch to physical therapy.
I did 3 years in undergrad and entered pharm without fully understanding what the career entailed. I know now that I despise working in a hospital setting and retail pharmacy is a soul-crusher. When I volunteer at the pharmacy, I have absolutely no passion for the job and have to talk myself into doing the work because it's a ''well paying, stable job'' (which is debatable as well at this point in time. My family has told me that no one really likes their job but I've come to realize that fortunately, this isn't true.

I have always loved anatomy and fitness, I don't play any sports but I love running/weight lifting/hiking etc. I have always wanted to be a personal trainer but realistically I know how difficult it is to make a living off of that. I have no clue why I didn't think of physical therapy sooner, I wish I had, but it is what it is I guess and am looking for any and all advice.

90% of people I talk to about this have been telling me what an idiot I am to drop out of pharmacy and I feel demoralized. The issue is that I don't have a undergrad degree yet and therefore I can't apply to physical therapy now. I will need to transfer back into science (probably exercise science) and do 2 and a half years of undergrad courses, get my bachelor's and apply to a master's in physical therapy. And there is also the chance that I won't get into physical therapy. Some friends have advised me to just stay in pharm and then apply, but I know I will not be able to get a 3.5+ gpa in pharmacy, I am struggling to study in the first year of a 4 year program that will only get more rigorous. Because I don't like the school material (drug chemistry, etc) or the job, I have no motivation to study and I'm not doing well in the courses.

What I'm hoping to know is, are you happy you chose to do PT? And what do you think about the pharmacy to pt switch?
Lastly, how realistic is it to enter pt with the intention of working in a clinic and not in a hospital setting? As much as I love older people, from what I've heard of hospital pt, therapists are mostly dealing with the geriatric population, I'm really interested in the all ages accident/injury rehabilitation aspect of pt that mainly happens in clinics and not hospitals. Thanks in advance for reading

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[jdaniels360]

I'll try and respond in full later today, but you should know that ALL PT programs have switched to the DPT and that masters programs no longer exist. So be prepared for an action packed 3 years of doctoral level study.

 

[Azimuthal]

You should probably shadow a few PTs in different settings, including in-patient, before making that decision.

 

[hopefulapplicant]

I think it's smart for you to decide to follow your heart in this scenario. You will need to get a bachelors and do all the prereqs. If you go to http://www.ptcas.org/ptcas/public/allprograms.aspx?listorder=state&navID=10737426784
There is the list of all the programs in each state that uses the PTCAS. If you click on certain programs you can see what each school's prereqs are. Most schools require shadowing hours and it is a good idea to do them regardless. I did 25 hours in outpatient and 200 in inpatient working with the geriatric population. Hospital setting could also cover the ICU which is not necessarily geriatric. You will undoubtly have to work with the population at some point during your schooling but you do not have to pursue that as a career. My advice would be to go for that undergrad (you can apply the summer before you actually recieve your undergrad if you want) and get all your prereqs. Study like crazy because gpa is a big factor for PT schools. Take the GRE and if you don't like your scores you can always retake them. If you have anymore questions feel free to start a conversation with me through here and I'll have no problem answering any more questions. Keep in mind that the above is true, there are no more masters programs in PT. Good luck to you!

 

[stam19]

Wow this is exactly like my story last year! I was a P1 up until May 2013 when I took my leave of absence from my PharmD program and started to observe in PT clinics. I was so disinterested in pharm curriculum that I stopped going to class except for exams, and my pharm school GPA definitely reflected that! After doing my IPPE at Wags, hating the work, feeling very isolated, and observing how cold and impersonal my preceptor was, I knew I really couldn't continue with this path. I just had an immense feeling that pharmacy was a big mistake. If you are feeling demoralized now, I'm not sure I can say that it will get any better. It is getting saturated in pharmacy, and for me at least, it is not worth going $100k+ in debt just to fight for a float job in a retail setting that I'd dread going to!

I think you really have to evaluate for yourself what you want in your life and career. This is one of those things you have to be selfish about. My family begged me to stick it out in pharm school. Let me tell you, it doesn't help when you have an older sibling currently in pharm school and pharmacists in the family!

Since May of 2013, I have observed in several settings, realized I really love PT and can see myself practicing in several settings. I am now waitlisted at the only program I applied to (I am prepared to apply again this coming cycle). I am extremely glad that I left pharm school to go the PT route. I initially thought of PT because of my own sports interest and past injuries (very common in people that eventually go into PT) but after volunteering/observing in several clinics and now about to start an acute care rehab aide job, I can say that I truly enjoy inpatient side of PT. I like volunteering as an aide at an inpatient rehab clinic where I have the opportunity to assist with therapies for patients that suffered spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. For me, I realized I really like motivating and bonding with people and the physical/active nature of the job (I've seen PTs deadlift 300lb pts). These patients tend to be great storytellers. Not to mention that it's highly rewarding to see a patient you've helped progress quickly from being barely able to do a sit-to-stand to walking with minimal assist in a short period of time. From what I've seen, it's not quite true that most PTs are dealing with geriatric populations. The most common PT setting is actually general outpatient ortho where PTs tend to treat a fairly diverse patient population, a big part of it being middle-aged persons with stiffness or overuse injuries. There are also pediatric specialties; PTs can work in elementary and pre-K schools working with patients with neuro-developmental conditions. At present, I am volunteering at a Sports PT clinic in a Children's hospital, and I love it! In addition to having great PT mentors that love what they do and giving me honest insight about what they know, I get to see a lot of interesting Dx's: lots of post-op ACL reconstruction pts, pts with post-op ortho surgeries, pts rehabbing from concussions. My point from saying all this is that PT is broad, and you might be surprised that you actually enjoy a completely different setting than you thought.

Anyway, before you make any rash decisions, talk to a counselor and maybe even the dean of your pharmacy program. Mine was very understanding and recommended that I take a leave of absence for a year. If you can, I would say that you may even consider this option; because if you decide PT isn't for you, you can still go back to pharm school.

I highly recommend shadowing in as many different settings as you can. Ask PTs questions, do your own research about the profession, and most importantly, decide for yourself if you can really see yourself as a PT for 40 yrs.

Yes, you would need to go back to get a bachelor's to apply to DPT programs, but I am guessing that you probably already have most of the pre-reqs done. I would even suggest getting the fastest bachelor degree you can get just to expedite the process.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[a7rcana]

After getting my undergraduate degree in a non-related field, these were my steps to acceptance to PT school.

1) - I worked in a related area of PT, as an aid for physically disabled elementary students. There are many places that have available PT Aid/tech jobs. The hours I spent taking the kids to PT sessions counted towards my pediatric observation hours. If you work as an aid you will be able to count these hours as observation. If you don't have the opportunity to work, find a place you are interested in volunteering at and make it happen. A few hours a week will go a long way. The application requires observation hours recorded and reviewed by a licensed PT - get started now some people applying have 400+ hours.

2) -Figure out the programs you would want to apply for and make sure you have the requirements. Here is a list of accredited universities:

http://www.capteonline.org/apta/directories/accreditedschools.aspx?navID=10737421958&site=capte

Program prereqs:

http://www.ptcas.org/ProgramPrereqs/

If you have a school in state you might have a better chance of being accepted as a resident of that state and might have a lower tuition rate.

3) -Sign up for missing prerequisites and get as close to straight A's as possible. The pool of entering students gets more and more competitive each year. Having a high prereq GPA and high cumulative GPA will make you more competitive in the long run. Most programs have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0

4) Study for and take the GRE. I actually just found out that the program I was accepted to changed their weighting and heavily weighted the GRE this application cycle. It's important to get above average on this test.

The biggest thing I can tell you is to get a variety of observation experience and do research on the profession. Comb through these forums. You may think you have a preconceived notion of where you want to go in PT (sounds like acute, orthopedic, or sports), but you haven't even started the program yet let alone experienced the clinical classes. You have no idea what working in a hospital or in a SNF (skilled nursing facility) as a PT really entails. Volunteering will help you understand what a day in the life looks like. Don't limit yourself by trying to narrow what you are interested in before even beginning the journey. The PT education in the US is now a DPT and requires 3 years of hard work - studying ALL areas of PT, including geriatrics. Everyone goes into PT thinking they want to work with athletes or do sports PT but that's only one part of the entire scope of a PT's knowledge. You will probably end up seeing a lot of regular joes who might not want to get on the exercise bike or do their exercises properly - it's not all akin to personal training. It sounds like you didn't have enough knowledge of pharm before making the decision to leap into it. If you want to be a PT, make sure you are fully aware of the profession, in and out, before you completely commit to it.

 

[longhornPT373]

I also recently switched my career plans from Pharmacy to Physical Therapy. I knew I wasn't interested in working in retail pharmacy and ended up doing an internship in a pharmacy hospital setting. I really didn't like it at all and during my time there many employees (pharmacists, pharmacy supervisors, etc.) in the pharmacy department strongly advised against going into the field due to saturation, overwork, and overall dissatisfaction for their jobs. During that internship I researched other health professions and I finally realized physical therapy was way more up my alley/something I could feel passion for.

Don't listen to all those people telling you it's stupid for you to drop out of pharmacy school. It's your life and, as cliche as it sounds, you need to do what makes you happy. I used to think that I wouldn't care if I hated my job as long as I made 6 figures, but it truly isn't worth it. I am so much happier now that I have decided to apply to physical therapy school instead of pharmacy, and observing in PT clinics/talking with PT's has only increased my excitement for the field. I definitely encourage you to go for it!

 

[Blueflower1]

Wow you guys are awesome... thank you for your replies, I wish I could hug all of you, seriously. To be honest I didn't think I would get much feedback because my post was very personal and unrelated to admissions/interviews/etc ...so a world of thanks. I was really encouraged when I read that some of you had switched from pharmacy to PT as well. "many employees (pharmacists, pharmacy supervisors, etc.) in the pharmacy department strongly advised against going into the field due to saturation, overwork, and overall dissatisfaction for their jobs." I agree with this..what I've also found though is that some pharmacy students/instructors/even some pharmacists are aware of this predicament but react very bitterly when other students decide to switch out of the faculty or change careers. As if there's some kind of pity party we should all be apart of as a team, if that makes any sense. Some people are very encouraging too so I can't speak for everyone.
Thanks for all your guys' encouragement, and longhorn and stam I'm glad to hear you guys are happy about the switch you made
Despite the rough time/internal conflicts I've been having and the cold shoulder from my family I went to a few physiotherapy clinics and express my interest in shadowing, I will have to keep at it until I can get at least a couple shadowing experiences!
"It sounds like you didn't have enough knowledge of pharm before making the decision to leap into it. If you want to be a PT, make sure you are fully aware of the profession, in and out, before you completely commit to it."
You're completely right, thanks for your honesty. I dove into pharmacy without careful consideration and I cannot do the same for PT.
What are your guys' favorite and least favorite part of being a PT and given the choice again would you become a physical therapist all over again?

 

[markelmarcel]

I think my favorite part of being a PT (I am also a career changer, but I came from the education field) is the ability to help people experience a better life. I know that seems silly, but honestly, when I'm treating someone and they tell me they can do things they couldn't do before, it's really rewarding. Plus, I love the body and how it works- it's really great, and I'm finally getting to use two of my passions together- I am very passionate about the heart/cardiac issues because I had open heart surgery at a young age and I do love to teach-- I work in an out patient facility that has cardiac/pulmonary rehab, so I get to be involved with people who have cardiac issues and I get to educate my patients about a lot of different things.

My least favorite part?- having to go through school to get to this point (haha!) and impending student loans! Honestly, I can't think of any cons, I feel like I finally found my place in the world!