Stay in Pre-pharm? Or switch to Pre-med

[JJPanda]

Hi all,

I am facing a quite difficult decision to make and have come across this forum yesterday. I am posting here for the first time and hope someone can give me some advice.

I am currently a 2nd year student in a six-year pharmacy program, and after this Spring semester, I will be heading to Midwestern University (CCP) if I am to stay; however, I have had some doubts concerning whether I should continue this path or not since September, 2011.

But it wasn't until November that my advisor brought up that she thinks I should go to med school instead of taking the easy way out by sticking to the program. She thinks that the pharmacy program gives me comfort, safety, and stability since I do not have to worry about the PCAT and applying to schools (apparently my friends think the same way).

I have no disrespect to pharmacy or any health-related professions because my mind was set while I was in high school that I would definitely be a pharmaceutical pharmacist. I am a hard-working person, and I am sure everyone else on the forum is. It is just that I do not want to regret after 4 years of pharmacy school and thinking to myself that, "I should have stayed, taken the MCAT, and applied to med schools."

I am not a smart person, but I work as equally hard as anyone else who wants to achieve their goals with no regrets. I am sure a list of pros and cons will not easily make the decision for me (although I have two lists for it XD)

What should I do? Should I stay in my pharmacy track? Or should I stay, finish my undergrad degree in chemistry while preparing for MCAT?

I appreciate all your time and opinions in advance.

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[tydt]

So far you haven't said anything about why you want to stop pharmacy or go into pre-med. If you haven't done it yet, I would suggest that you start making up a list of pros and cons about pharmacy and another for med school. I think from there you might can find a more resolute answer.

 

[HolySmokes]

Decide whether you want to practice pharmacy or practice medicine for a career. Don't worry about the MCAT or applications or any of that. First you have to decide if the end result is what you want, then deal with all the stuff in between. I started off pre-pharmacy and ended up switching to pre-med. I don't regret my decision. But you have to be the one to make that call.

 

[JJPanda]

So far you haven't said anything about why you want to stop pharmacy or go into pre-med. If you haven't done it yet, I would suggest that you start making up a list of pros and cons about pharmacy and another for med school. I think from there you might can find a more resolute answer.

I picked pharmacy while I was in high school because I have always enjoyed chemistry, and pharmacy gives me the least amount of patient interaction.

But now pharmacy seems to limited in terms of what a pharmacist can do, and I feel that I can do more as a doctor. I can learn more and apply what I learn every single day. It's quite exciting for me.

 

[JJPanda]

Decide whether you want to practice pharmacy or practice medicine for a career. Don't worry about the MCAT or applications or any of that. First you have to decide if the end result is what you want, then deal with all the stuff in between. I started off pre-pharmacy and ended up switching to pre-med. I don't regret my decision. But you have to be the one to make that call.

Thanks. Maybe I have put too much thinking into all the stuff I have to deal with after switching. What I truly want to do is probably the most important factor.

 

[JJPanda]

Do you mind telling me the reason why you made the switch?

 

[CareDD]

Hey JJPanda,

I have never been a physician before, so I don't know if a physician is applying what they learn in medical school every single day. Same thing for a pharmacist. I only know that for a biologist, I only use less than 5% of what I learn in school and sometimes it does not depend on me to say what I can do, it depends on what my position is.

 

[JJPanda]

Hey JJPanda,

I have never been a physician before, so I don't know if a physician is applying what they learn in medical school every single day. Same thing for a pharmacist. I only know that for a biologist, I only use less than 5% of what I learn in school and sometimes it does not depend on me to say what I can do, it depends on what my position is.

It's okay. I really appreciate your response. I think what I really need to dig into is what the two professions really do in practice.

 

[Corpseman]

Hey JJPanda,

I have never been a physician before, so I don't know if a physician is applying what they learn in medical school every single day. Same thing for a pharmacist. I only know that for a biologist, I only use less than 5% of what I learn in school and sometimes it does not depend on me to say what I can do, it depends on what my position is.

I think you are going to find that in 90+% of professions.

Maybe not less than 5%, but probably close to it.

 

[Rouelle]

I picked pharmacy while I was in high school because I have always enjoyed chemistry, and pharmacy gives me the least amount of patient interaction.

But now pharmacy seems to limited in terms of what a pharmacist can do, and I feel that I can do more as a doctor. I can learn more and apply what I learn every single day. It's quite exciting for me.

If you wish to avoid patient interaction, being a physician does not seem like the way to go. There are only a very limited number of medical specialties where patient interaction is minimal.

 

[JJPanda]

If you wish to avoid patient interaction, being a physician does not seem like the way to go. There are only a very limited number of medical specialties where patient interaction is minimal.

That was my initial intention; however, I think patient interactions are great for me.

 

[Student 1]

Same question running in my head ! Thank you JJpanda
But the different is that I am between two choices, studying medicine in non-accredited university in other state or studying pharmacy in better university in my hometown ? I love medicine and just hate to leave such a chance to study in a accredited university.. What do you think guys ?

 

[Kwiz]

Med school requires a bachelors degree as a pre req and it's a about 15 month admissions process. Hard work will get you into med school, being smart will make you a great doctor. If you feel you really want to be a great doctor, then go for it. There's no "easy way out." It just depends on one's abilities, and what you are best equipped for. The MCAT is more difficult for most people who have taken the PCAT and the MCAT that I have talked to. MCAT is basically three main sections, as opposed to 5 or w.e. on the PCAT. I personally struggle with verbal sections despite English being my native language (probably BECAUSE English is my native language or maybe because the passages are so dry I fall asleep). I found that studying for the MCAT yielded me approximately the same results as not studying on the PCAT. That is, low verbal percentiles, and above 90th percentiles on physical and biological sciences. There's no math section on the MCAT, no calculus, but there is physics which requires math. Lately there's been a lot of genetics kind of questions on the MCAT and a few doctors I know with kids in med school suggest taking genetics, microbio (less so), and biochem, even though it's not a pre-req. Also, there was recently a proposition to change the format of the MCAT around 2015. It discussed eliminating the writing section, and incorporating psychology and biochemistry. These are things that may be advantageous to know when considering making a switch. I made the switch from pre-pharm to pre-med three years ago when an advisor told me I had no chance at getting accepted into pharm (never ended up applying) with a 3.3, then I got a 4.0 taking o chem calc stats etc. and she asked me the next semester why I didn't apply for pharm school. I made the switch in part due to resentment. I wouldn't suggesting letting that kind of stuff a role in YOUR decision, but if it ends up being the right choice then so be it. Good luck, PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[oktobre21]

Med school requires a bachelors degree as a pre req and it's a about 15 month admissions process. Hard work will get you into med school, being smart will make you a great doctor. If you feel you really want to be a great doctor, then go for it. There's no "easy way out." It just depends on one's abilities, and what you are best equipped for. The MCAT is more difficult for most people who have taken the PCAT and the MCAT that I have talked to.

I took both the MCAT and the PCAT last year, and I personally thought that MCAT is much easier -they give you more than half the info you need in a text anyway; so I think that really depends on the person.

OP, as some other posters have mentioned, decide on what you want to do in the future, worry about the requirements later.

 

[Kwiz]

I took both the MCAT and the PCAT last year, and I personally thought that MCAT is much easier -they give you more than half the info you need in a text anyway; so I think that really depends on the person.

OP, as some other posters have mentioned, decide on what you want to do in the future, worry about the requirements later.

Which did you take first? Which did you study for more?

I personally studied more for the MCAT but even that wasn't much studying. I mostly studied/re-learned physics and that was all I needed to relearn. The general bio was pretty similar on both for me. The one had about 5 genetics problems on it. O-chem was harder on MCAT only bc it was substantially different than what I learned in school. In the end, I think a lot of people would agree that you need more info in your head for PCAT, but less critical thinking skills. Whereas on the MCAT, it is possible to know just about the bare minimum (101 classes), but you absolutely need more critically thinking.

Like oktobre21 said, you ARE presented with info and you make a decision from there. If you are really good at that and you read quick and are not held up by reading boring passages about Icelandic wooden stools and other boring things, you can get all 5 passages, or about 35 questions out of 52 (approx) on bio sci section and physical sci questions. Then you can get all 40 (?) questions correct on verbal reasoning section. In other words, you can have just about no memory at all, and get above a 35 on MCAT (MCAT is out of 45, which no one has ever got as of the last time I checked). 30-31 is avg matriculate at Univ. at Buffalo. Somewhere like Hopkins is usually between 37-40 or so I hear. Syracuse and Albert Einstein I have friends with 35s getting in there. One friend with a 31 got an interview but did not matriculate at Boston U. A 36 at Stanford. 18 in Guadalajara (idk if that's the avg). 22 and 24 at Meharry if want to attend a historically black institution (I've heard of white ppl going there but idk know any).

 

[oktobre21]

Which did you take first? Which did you study for more?

I personally studied more for the MCAT but even that wasn't much studying. I mostly studied/re-learned physics and that was all I needed to relearn. The general bio was pretty similar on both for me. The one had about 5 genetics problems on it. O-chem was harder on MCAT only bc it was substantially different than what I learned in school. In the end, I think a lot of people would agree that you need more info in your head for PCAT, but less critical thinking skills. Whereas on the MCAT, it is possible to know just about the bare minimum (101 classes), but you absolutely need more critically thinking.

I absolutely agree with Kwiz. I thought O-Chem was indeed harder on the MCAT, but I did graduate with a degree in Chemistry, so it'd have been sad if I hadn't gotten those questions right. Though I believe OP does not need to bother with the PCAT at all if (s)he chooses to stay in the 0-6 track.

 

[stellar33]

You should go with what you reallly feel like doing and what your see yourself doing ultimately. I liked the idea that was previously mentioned about making a list of pros and cons though you did mention that you already have two of these. In the end, you need to have one or two sufficient reasons for taking one path or the other, and unfortunately some pros or cons may overlap in both professions which makes things more confusing. Until last year, I was pre-med then switched to pre-pharm and recently got accepted to UNMC.For me, the deciding factor was less stress involved being a pharmacist generally speaking with set hours as compared to a medical doctor whose hours are not as set in stone (except maybe family physicians!). I also talked to a pharmacist and a doctor about both sides of the coin as well as other people who encouraged me to keep looking into it. I really enjoy reading about drug interactions in patients on the biochemical side of things and I like more social interaction with patients (Yes we see our patients more than doctors from 11-15 times a year on average). These were my main reasons when I switched to pharmacy from medical views.

 

[Nelcovp]

But it wasn't until November that my advisor brought up that she thinks I should go to med school instead of taking the easy way out by sticking to the program. She thinks that the pharmacy program gives me comfort, safety, and stability since I do not have to worry about the PCAT and applying to schools (apparently my friends think the same way).

Your "advisor" is telling you to that going to pharmacy school is taking the easy way out? Tell your advisor to stop projecting his/her career failure on to you because your advisor took the easy way out with their career choice. Seriously, wtf. If you found a way around the two toughest obstacles (PCAT and Interviews) to acceptance into pharmacy school, I find that to be smart ....... not taking the easy way out.

 

[JJPanda]

Don't EVERR EVERRR go to a non-accredited college..... it will ruin your life!!! (it's a bit exaggerated... but don't do it)

 

[JJPanda]

Same question running in my head ! Thank you JJpanda
But the different is that I am between two choices, studying medicine in non-accredited university in other state or studying pharmacy in better university in my hometown ? I love medicine and just hate to leave such a chance to study in a accredited university.. What do you think guys ?

I was in a hurry earlier. Now I will try my best to answer your question (with very limited knowledge).
As far as accreditation, I would not suggest going to a school with no accreditation for the field that you want to study. Normally their classes aren't good enough to prepare you for, let's say, being a pharmacist (well, you won't get a Pharm.D to begin with without the school being accredited). On top of that, those schools normally lower their the GPA threshold just so they can get more students in the transition phase.

I actually asked my friend about it, and he said accreditation for dental school does NOT really matter; however, it matters for med schools and pharm schools.

 

[JJPanda]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I thought my post was slowly dying.... ^.^

Well, for those who want to know, I made my decision earlier this year that I would stick with my 6-year pharm program. What interests me is the residency program that my school offers after getting a Pharm. D degree. Although it will take an additional 4 to 5 years, I think I will like it and work my hardest to get the most out of it.

I thought to myself how likely it is that I will still come back to undergrad and start fresh on a pre-med track after all these things... well... I can't answer that. All I know is that I am putting all my passion in pharm and I can't afford to lose at this point.

 

[pharm B]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I thought my post was slowly dying.... ^.^

Well, for those who want to know, I made my decision earlier this year that I would stick with my 6-year pharm program. What interests me is the residency program that my school offers after getting a Pharm. D degree. Although it will take an additional 4 to 5 years, I think I will like it and work my hardest to get the most out of it.

I thought to myself how likely it is that I will still come back to undergrad and start fresh on a pre-med track after all these things... well... I can't answer that. All I know is that I am putting all my passion in pharm and I can't afford to lose at this point.

It's a 4-5 year pharmacy residency? Are you sure it's not a fellowship or some kind of post-doc position for a new PharmD? Residencies are basically universally 1-2 years.

 

[ImmunoPharmD]

I picked pharmacy while I was in high school because I have always enjoyed chemistry, and pharmacy gives me the least amount of patient interaction.

But now pharmacy seems to limited in terms of what a pharmacist can do, and I feel that I can do more as a doctor. I can learn more and apply what I learn every single day. It's quite exciting for me.

NOT TRUE! On any given time you may have a cust..er, patient, who will ask you what otc do you recomend for their itch. I can give you from a pharmacy perspective that pharmacists has to deal with insurance issues, recommend medications, order medication, and many things. As a medical doctor, I can say for sure that you don't apply what you learn every single day. Your evaluation of diagnosis and therapy are based from empirical observation, which is obtained from your rotations.