Please help ASAP about dilemma

[Rabbit99]

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[prok]

It seems you clicked on the wrong forum (this is psychiatry, not pharmacy). Regardless, are you still in undergrad? Most schools have career counseling services that are designed specifically for this sort of thing.

 

[Apples2Oranges]

I had been pre-med for a long time since undergrad. My grades were good but I had to work super hard and I wasn't doing well in parts of the MCAT - maybe too much information for me to read in and digest. However, I do still enjoy various parts of the medical profession.
Here is the question. Recently I'm about to try pharmacy. But I get nervous with lab work and making mistakes and am preoccupied by this flaw. Should I still pursue it or should I look into another degree with less critical responsibility? I want to try my best at things but also need to cope with some barriers. It's been some time after undergrad already and I hope to make the decision soon; I'm bothered by it psychologically. I thought about PA but it seems like I need to do better on my standardized tests no matter what. I've spent years in the pre-med route so switching to something completely not related is very hard for me.
Thanks!


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A PA is the closest you will get to practicing like a doctor with less debt and time. It has become an attractive field for a lot of people these days. The GRE should not be difficult if you study enough. It is easier than the MCAT by a long shot. I took it and did well by studying for a month, and I'm a horrible test taker.

If you have made good grades but possibly not too hot on the MCAT, I would suggest either taking it again or applying to a DO school. A pharmacist's job is completely different from a physician's job. You will not be happy in it if you enjoy the idea of speaking with patients and making the diagnosis yourself. Many people also take a gap year to improve their scores and allow them to apply more broadly. That is also an option. If you want to a be a doctor, do it first. You don't want to be that kid who thought he/she couldn't make it to med school, go into a different field, then realize they hate it and wasted time/money/effort.

Good luck

 

[Rabbit99]

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[Mao263]

Choosing the right place in the medical field can be challenging. If you put aside thoughts about money and job availability aspects aside, than keep in mind that any jobs there are stressful and have fears. For example: choosing MD can stop from fear of blood; being nurse - fear of shots and other work, pharmacy- fear of missing the expiration date, mistake of preparation of med. this is just simple approximate examples, anesthesia- fear to kill by accident by giving more than suppose to.

For that reasons they do pay malpractice insurance. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful and think you are always protected.

But anyway, you need to think that in any choice you can't get away from the responsibility. You may be afraid now, by who knows when you will be trained and experienced, this fear will go away.

Btw, I asked one of the pharmtech in the hospital why they don't want to go further in their career, he simply said he doesn't want the responsibility, he said if pharmacist pay malpractice let him worried about. in a way he is right, at least he is honest

 

[Apples2Oranges]

Thanks! This post is intentionally posted in the psychiatry forum because I've been changing my mind among careers and it is bothering me. I think in pharmacy you can deal more with life and death than medicine when you practice; isn't that true ? ( depending on the specialty )

If it offers you any insight, my brother went to med school and my cousin went to pharmacy school. He's doing a residency in IM (wants to specialize in nephrology), and he says it's not too often that he sees someone dies. Most of the time, it's a lot of routine work and people come in with the same problems. However, not all specialities are like that. When he was in med school in some clinical rotations, he saw some cases where death was inevitable. He saw people die, but he eventually got over it. It's not cruel, but you have to become slightly detached in order to perform your job. A lot of doctors may feel this.

Pharmacy school is slightly different. Yes, they teach you clinical skills and round with patients. But a lot of those patients aren't in a life/death situation. If they are, you aren't exposed to it in the same degree as a doctor/nurse. For many cases (like myself), it's better that way. I'm not comfortable being in the front line. If you like that, then med school/PA school may be more for you. You get the full experience with patients. You may be able to save someone's life. In pharmacy, you can prevent an accidental Rx from killing someone, but you won't be given a lot of credit for it.

 

[Rabbit99]

Thanks


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[Rabbit99]

So as a technician how often do you do compounding and calculations while working in a community pharmacy- is it maybe 30% of the time? Is there much less compounding nowdays? Just wondering


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[Mao263]

So as a technician how often do you do compounding and calculations while working in a community pharmacy- is it maybe 30% of the time? Is there much less compounding nowdays? Just wondering

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In my hospital they don't do calculations. They make simple syringes like magic mouth wash.
Also I don't know about programs in the other state, but in NY together with Naplex and law exam there is a 3rd part is making IV. You are given bunch of chemicals and you have to make some IV.