Question

[MomMD2Be]

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I have always wanted to be a doctor since I was a child. I got married young to my high school sweet heart. I have a BS in Health and I currently am a high school science teacher. My husband and I have 2 children a 3 and 5 year old. My husband is a Veterinarian student and he and I have an agreement that we are going to take turns going to graduate school. He still has three years of school left and I hope to have my mind made up by then about which career path is right for me. About 2 years ago I began to feel guilty anytime I thought about how much time I would be spending away from my children if I wanted to go to medical school. I am sure I could tough it out and work part-time as a MD in the long run but the residency really worries me. I hear a lot of horror stories from people I know who are doctors, they say depending on the specialty you can work up to 100 hrs per week as a resident. I can see myself being a Psychiatrist or Dermatologist since those careers seem more family friendly. I originally wanted to be an OB-Gyn doctor but after working in OB-Gyn for 2 years and hearing the docs complain about the call schedule this worries me. (Although I am passionate about the field of Ob-Gyn and I think about it everyday.) Anyways, I am considering all of my options before I take the plunge and begin studying for the MCAT. I had the chance to take a 12 week internship within a Physician Assistant program last summer and I ruled this career out completely since 50% of the students told me they wished they had folowed through with medical school! Some of them were in my situation and had children so they went the PA route others did not get into medical school so they went the PA route. I do not want this to be me is 10 years thinking I should have gone to medical school!

I want to explore alternative allied health fields to insure I slect the right career choice for me. My next option to explore is Pharmacy. I think the career sounds appealing, I have an aunt who is a Pharmacist who works 7 days on and 7 days off (She lives far away or I would shadow her). She has two small kids and she says her career is balanced well with her family life. I am sure the hours for a pharmacist can be long and standing on your feet all day is tough. Please give me your honest feedback.... Did you always know you wanted to be a Pharmacist? Anyone originally want to be a doctor and then went the pharmacy route instead? (I have heard of a lot of pharmacist who go to medical school.) Is the pharmacy schooling stressful causing you not to have a family life? How did you know you chose the right career for you? I personally like patient care and contact. Do you get a lot of patient care for example I think I read some where that Pharmacist can give injections such as flu vaccines? Thanks for the feedback

 

[omnione]

There is a movement to incorporate a residency for every pharmacy student post-graduation, but that probably won't happen in the short-term.

Do note that though regardless of the debates between which type of school is more time-demanding and difficult, there is an agreement that both pharmacy and medical school are demanding. Courseloads tend to range from 17 to 20 credit hours and it's recommended that you at least work in a pharmacy sometime during your pharmacy school. As a former pre-med and aspiring physician, I can tell you that both pathways are demanding. In my honest opinion though, the studying for pharmacy school is more flexible than med school where pharmacy schools don't require those long hours in the tissue and anatomy labs.

I transitioned out of going the physician route. It was my main route going into college. Then after experiencing emotional issues during college, I felt like I didn't like my job running my life while adding drama 24/7. I still wanted to pursue a route that allowed for patient contact without being on call and on edge. My volunteering at the hospital ruled out PT and nursing, nursing because the constant caretaking didn't appeal to me (I had an incident with fecal matter, don't ask me about the details🙂) and I've never been gentle enough to handle the therapy portion of the job. I ruled out PA simply for similar reasons like you where I didn't want to feel that I was doing "physician lite" (It's just a perception so don't attack me PAs🙂).

Pharmacy was always an option during my undergraduate years. My pre-pharmacy friends and pharmacy contacts gave me information about the profession that I acted upon in the second half of my undergraduate work when I felt that I couldn't continue. I applied to pharmacy schools in my last year of undergraduate time and that was my priority throughout that year. I got into a favorable school as well as two other great schools. I never looked back.

I'm now a P1 in pharmacy school and having a fun time with the prospects of the profession. As for you, I'd research the pharmacy profession and at least volunteer in a pharmacy so your decision will be as confident as mine was.

 

[CaliCPhT]

GREAT advice Omnione, as always! 👍

 

[binghamkid]

Yea, what he said. 👍

 

[futurerxguy]

I am/was pretty much in the same boat as you are, minus the family aspect. I am currently a high school math teacher with 43 hours of graduate credit for a Masters in School Counseling. Go figure, I decided to pursue the field of pharmacy about a year ago.... after working with many unique kids on a day to day basis with numerous disabilities in which many different drugs are given.

I have come to find it interesting to learn about the body, how it works, and how the medications and prescriptions given to my students affect them. That all being said, I decided to shadow a local phamacist in the area for a day, and I have researched the field thoroughly. To be honest with you, I do still want to work with kids (I would not be a teacher otherwise), but I would like to advance professionally for the remainder of my career(s). I hope to someday work in a childrens hospital as a pharmacist (hopefully, on a medical team), and I would like to pursue teaching college students in the area of pharmacy as well.

On a side note, it may seem like a long and tedious process, but if it is something you want to do, I say go for it! That being said, I am 30 years old, and as of yesterday, I was ACCEPTED to pharmacy school! I feel the best I have ever felt in my life to this point! I forsee it will only get better (and more stressful) from here on out 🙂 Best of luck in what you choose to do!

As for the school I have been accepted to, they actually integrate the pharmacy and medical students together. I have heard that the future of pharmacy may hinge on a medical team approach to patient therapy, and NEOUCOP is setting their curriculum up this way. Any questions, feel free to respond here, or send a private email.

Sincerely,
Shawn (futurerxguy)

 

[rphchase]

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Congrats on being accepted into Creighton's program - I graduated in 2003 - I enjoyed my time there - good luck!

 

[rphchase]

Thanks for the feedback

I agree with the great advice already given. Here are my two cents. I was a flight medic in the Air Force and really had myself convinced I wanted to become a flight nurse either in the military, or in the civilian sector. While I was doing additional training for the military I met a guy who was training to be a pharm tech. We struck up a friendship and as time went by I realized I was more interested in what he was learning than what I was there for. After I finished my time in the military I decided I really wanted to go to pharmacy school. I had no pharmacy experience whatsoever but I just knew it was what I wanted to do. I was a single parent but I made it work - graduated in 2003 from Creighton University in Omaha,NE.

If you can do any shadowing/volunteering in a pharmacy it may help you decide if it's what you really want. Obviously you don't want to spend the time and money and then realize it's not for you.

I believe that pharmacy is what you make of it and that it is very diverse - you can take it in many different directions (one of the reasons I chose it). The amount of patient care/contact you have as a pharmacist will very much depend on what environment you work in. One of my instructors at school set up and ran a diabetes clinic at a local hospital. I have done a lot of Indian Health Service work and the staff pharmacists I have worked with have run the lipid, diabetes and coumadin clinics. It really just depends on where you work and how much you want to get involved. There are those pharmacists that really don't like the patient contact and thrive on sitting behind a computer and entering orders all day. It's different for everyone.

Hope this helps, good luck

 

[rphchase]

Thanks for the feedback

double post- sorry