Teaching Options with your PharmD

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I searched for this answer but couldn't find anything specific. What kinds of teaching jobs exactly could you do your PharmD? Could you teach Bio or Chem at a state or university? How about a community college? Or are you just relegated to teach at pharmacy schools?

Thank you!

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I searched for this answer but couldn't find anything specific. What kinds of teaching jobs exactly could you do your PharmD? Could you teach Bio or Chem at a state or university? How about a community college? Or are you just relegated to teach at pharmacy schools?

Thank you!

I highly doubt you could teach at a stage college or university- you would need a PhD.

You need a PhD to teach at a pharmacy school.

JC's it might be possible - not sure though
 
I wouldn't say you have to have a PhD to teach at a pharmacy school. Most of the professors at my school and other schools around the state of Texas don't have PhD's, but they have done specialized residencies and become experts in a field, some becoming board certified.

I don't know if you would be able to have a full professorship with a PharmD, but you most likely would be able to be an adjunct prof. I would ask at some universities you were thinking of teaching at later on in life and see what they say about it.

I highly doubt you could teach at a stage college or university- you would need a PhD.

You need a PhD to teach at a pharmacy school.

JC's it might be possible - not sure though
 
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you would be an assistant professor for the rest of your life and never see the light of tenure.
 
I bet you could teach at a CC. The ones around here on require a Masters degree. I don't think the pay is that great though and I think they typically start you as part time. It would be tough to pay off student loans like that.
 
no no no. you don't need a PhD to teach at the university level - junior/community college, any regular university, or even pharmacy school. It is referred to as a lecturer rather than a professor. Professors are PhD's. You can teach at any of the university levels at almost any school as a course lecturer meaning you just teach and don't conduct research. This of course also comes with a significant paycut and less benefits. Most of these positions are called part-time faculty, i.e. you don't work or get paid during summers and school breaks.

I've had a Pharm.D. teach my Physiology course in undergrad (sophomore level) and also TONS of Pharm.D.'s come in and out in a team-teaching style in Pharmacy school at Ohio State during the first year. They are somewhat like guest lecturers but get paid for their time whether they teach 1 or 5 class periods during the quarter.

Another option to think about - You can get a dual Pharm.D./Ph.D. degree at a lot of universities now. This takes 4+3 years typically but varies by school. This empowers you to teach just about everything within your field (chem/bio/pharmacy).

Ph.D.'s typically take 4-6 years to comeplete so this is a modified approach for Pharm.D.'s.
 
My friend's sister lectures with a PharmD degree. I'm not sure where or what she lectures, but I know that she also works at a VA hospital part time also.

If you really want to go into academia, you should try to do a PharmD/PhD, or you can just do a PhD in Bio, Chem, or pharmaceutical sciences.
 
At Xavier all you need is a one year residency to teach with your PharmD.
 
A lot of plain untrue things said in this thread.

Would you be able to teach biology or chemistry at a university with a PharmD? Not unless they were really, really desperate. Which is highly unlikely, given that there are plenty of biology and chemistry PhD graduates who want a job.

Would you be able to teach such courses at a community college? Maybe. If they were getting pretty desperate. But then, you would need to be desperate too, because you can make a lot more money using your PharmD in almost any other way.

Would you be able to teach at pharmacy school? YES. And yes, you can get full professorship, tenure, blah blah blah. There are two types of faculty at pharmacy schools: clinical faculty, and all others (basic sciences + maybe some other random people for ethics, or electives, or what have you). Clinical faculty are all either PharmD or RPh, they are the people who teach practical applied pharmacy courses (therapeutics, most electives, pharmaceutical care type courses, etc.), and they are also the faculty for the students on rotation. There is A LOT of research they can do, or if they opt not to do research, they can hold a clinical position at the university hospital or equivalent, depending on the particular institution's policy. The non-clinical faculty are your basic sciences professors (pharmacology, pathology, physiology, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and they are typically PhDs with the expertise in their subject area.

There are some faculty who have both PharmD and PhD but I would say it is rather unusual. It doesn't really affect the salary all that much, or improve chances of getting a particular position in most cases. I would only recommend getting a PhD on top of PharmD for people who have a strong interest in a particular area and what to have more research expertise. But again, there is plenty of research which is being done by PharmDs, not just clinical but also laboratory.
 
Well I didn't expect so many different answers to my same questions 🙂. I was really hoping to get my pharmD and teach at a state college. I had a bio professor at my state college who only had his MD but got sick of being a doc and wanted to teach. I was hoping to do something similar with my PharmD but judging from all the posts that may not be very realistic.
 
Well I didn't expect so many different answers to my same questions 🙂. I was really hoping to get my pharmD and teach at a state college. I had a bio professor at my state college who only had his MD but got sick of being a doc and wanted to teach. I was hoping to do something similar with my PharmD but judging from all the posts that may not be very realistic.

Just check with the school that you wish to teach at and ask what are their requirements, like I said at Xavier, you only have to do a one year residency, so it is possible don't give up so easily 🙂
 
Well I didn't expect so many different answers to my same questions 🙂. I was really hoping to get my pharmD and teach at a state college. I had a bio professor at my state college who only had his MD but got sick of being a doc and wanted to teach. I was hoping to do something similar with my PharmD but judging from all the posts that may not be very realistic.
One simple question: why the hell do you want to waste time, money, and spot in pharmacy school that would better serve someone who might actually, you know, use his/her education on obtaining a PharmD? Why not get a master's in whatever subject you want to teach?

As far as the different answers, please do yourself a favor and don't listen to pre-pharmacy/pre-health people. The ones who actually are pharmacy students (and myself, who has actually taught at a pharmacy school as adjunct faculty, and have friends who taught at community colleges both full-time and part-time) are all pretty much in agreement.
 
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A lot of plain untrue things said in this thread.

Would you be able to teach biology or chemistry at a university with a PharmD? Not unless they were really, really desperate. Which is highly unlikely, given that there are plenty of biology and chemistry PhD graduates who want a job.

Would you be able to teach such courses at a community college? Maybe. If they were getting pretty desperate. But then, you would need to be desperate too, because you can make a lot more money using your PharmD in almost any other way.

Would you be able to teach at pharmacy school? YES. And yes, you can get full professorship, tenure, blah blah blah. There are two types of faculty at pharmacy schools: clinical faculty, and all others (basic sciences + maybe some other random people for ethics, or electives, or what have you). Clinical faculty are all either PharmD or RPh, they are the people who teach practical applied pharmacy courses (therapeutics, most electives, pharmaceutical care type courses, etc.), and they are also the faculty for the students on rotation. There is A LOT of research they can do, or if they opt not to do research, they can hold a clinical position at the university hospital or equivalent, depending on the particular institution's policy. The non-clinical faculty are your basic sciences professors (pharmacology, pathology, physiology, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and they are typically PhDs with the expertise in their subject area.

There are some faculty who have both PharmD and PhD but I would say it is rather unusual. It doesn't really affect the salary all that much, or improve chances of getting a particular position in most cases. I would only recommend getting a PhD on top of PharmD for people who have a strong interest in a particular area and what to have more research expertise. But again, there is plenty of research which is being done by PharmDs, not just clinical but also laboratory.

I agree with your statement. You can teach and do research with a PharmD. Pharmacy is divided into two components... physical pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Why get a PharmD/Ph.D? Well, I work with clinical pharmacists doing a clinical study on Daptomycin/Dialysis, I've been told that by getting your Ph.D... your chances of getting your studies funded go from about 30% to 60%, granted anyone can apply for research (not just those with doctorates).
 
One simple question: why the hell do you want to waste time, money, and spot in pharmacy school that would better serve someone who might actually, you know, use his/her education on obtaining a PharmD? Why not get a master's in whatever subject you want to teach?

As far as the different answers, please do yourself a favor and don't listen to pre-pharmacy/pre-health people. The ones who actually are pharmacy students (and myself, who has actually taught at a pharmacy school as adjunct faculty, and have friends who taught at community colleges both full-time and part-time) are all pretty much in agreement.

Yes yes, listen to Hels. She may bite, but she is correct. You can teach pharmacy practice with a PharmD but will need a Ph.D. to teach the basic or social sciences.
 
FREEDOM....thats why. And because I want to make the most out of life. If pursuing a PharmD can offer me clinical, retail, research, non-profit, AND academic opportunities then why would I just get my masters in something and be stuck teaching for the rest of my life? I appreciate your informed response to my question but IMO, it is not a "waste" of time and money to get my PharmD and then really take advantage of everything the PharmD has to offer.
 
😀 How's residency treating you? Did you get to teach some? I did find I like classroom teaching, but full-time academia is not my cup of tea. 🙂 Too much politics and squabbling for money going on in... 😳

Residency is quite hectic! At least it is halfway over... I actually did get to teach a seminar course at one of the local colleges of pharmacy. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time doing it. Students are so funny when they try to pull stuff with you...its like "No no, I was in this spot less than a yr ago. I know all the tricks." We'll see what I end up doing. Some of the local pharmacy schools are willing to hire me after a PGY1 to be internal medicine faculty.
 
I highly doubt you could teach at a stage college or university- you would need a PhD.

You need a PhD to teach at a pharmacy school.

JC's it might be possible - not sure though

No you can teach one just need to done some clinical after school
 
I searched for this answer but couldn't find anything specific. What kinds of teaching jobs exactly could you do your PharmD? Could you teach Bio or Chem at a state or university? How about a community college? Or are you just relegated to teach at pharmacy schools?

Thank you!

Here is the list of people in my pharmacy school with their degrees (most have only pharmd!)

http://www.uchsc.edu/sop/faculty/Dept._of_Clinical_Pharmacy/
 
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A lot of plain untrue things said in this thread.

Would you be able to teach biology or chemistry at a university with a PharmD? Not unless they were really, really desperate. Which is highly unlikely, given that there are plenty of biology and chemistry PhD graduates who want a job.

Would you be able to teach such courses at a community college? Maybe. If they were getting pretty desperate. But then, you would need to be desperate too, because you can make a lot more money using your PharmD in almost any other way.

Would you be able to teach at pharmacy school? YES. And yes, you can get full professorship, tenure, blah blah blah. There are two types of faculty at pharmacy schools: clinical faculty, and all others (basic sciences + maybe some other random people for ethics, or electives, or what have you). Clinical faculty are all either PharmD or RPh, they are the people who teach practical applied pharmacy courses (therapeutics, most electives, pharmaceutical care type courses, etc.), and they are also the faculty for the students on rotation. There is A LOT of research they can do, or if they opt not to do research, they can hold a clinical position at the university hospital or equivalent, depending on the particular institution's policy. The non-clinical faculty are your basic sciences professors (pharmacology, pathology, physiology, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and they are typically PhDs with the expertise in their subject area.

There are some faculty who have both PharmD and PhD but I would say it is rather unusual. It doesn't really affect the salary all that much, or improve chances of getting a particular position in most cases. I would only recommend getting a PhD on top of PharmD for people who have a strong interest in a particular area and what to have more research expertise. But again, there is plenty of research which is being done by PharmDs, not just clinical but also laboratory.

re: community colleges, I don't believe they would hire PharmD's only in the case of dire need. Many of them hire MSc grads and having applied to them, and knowing several people teaching at community colleges (some without even a Master's), I know of several comm. colleges in my area which would be ecstatic to hire PharmD's. I know some other healthcare professionals teaching at these schools. But I agree, you would also have to be desperate to work there, unless it is something on the side, as a hobby.
 
A lot of plain untrue things said in this thread.

Would you be able to teach biology or chemistry at a university with a PharmD? Not unless they were really, really desperate. Which is highly unlikely, given that there are plenty of biology and chemistry PhD graduates who want a job.

Would you be able to teach such courses at a community college? Maybe. If they were getting pretty desperate. But then, you would need to be desperate too, because you can make a lot more money using your PharmD in almost any other way.

Would you be able to teach at pharmacy school? YES. And yes, you can get full professorship, tenure, blah blah blah. There are two types of faculty at pharmacy schools: clinical faculty, and all others (basic sciences + maybe some other random people for ethics, or electives, or what have you). Clinical faculty are all either PharmD or RPh, they are the people who teach practical applied pharmacy courses (therapeutics, most electives, pharmaceutical care type courses, etc.), and they are also the faculty for the students on rotation. There is A LOT of research they can do, or if they opt not to do research, they can hold a clinical position at the university hospital or equivalent, depending on the particular institution's policy. The non-clinical faculty are your basic sciences professors (pharmacology, pathology, physiology, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and they are typically PhDs with the expertise in their subject area.

There are some faculty who have both PharmD and PhD but I would say it is rather unusual. It doesn't really affect the salary all that much, or improve chances of getting a particular position in most cases. I would only recommend getting a PhD on top of PharmD for people who have a strong interest in a particular area and what to have more research expertise. But again, there is plenty of research which is being done by PharmDs, not just clinical but also laboratory.


This is a very harsh response. There are a lot of good responses in this thread and I do not believe most people are simply lying about their bio or chem professors having just their Pharm.D. As stated previously, my undergrad physio teacher had his Pharm.D. and as not stated previously, he also had a DDS degree (dental). Yes, I agree it is somewhat of a waste to earn both of those degrees but he got bored and had a change of career plans; life is not always planned 10 years in advanced. To each his own opinion, but facts are facts and the fact is that PharmD's are hired for teaching positions in undergraduate schools. Maybe this is unheard of where you're from but the practice does exist. Please respect the opinions of others and act professionally. As a pharmacist you are looked up to by every person in this blog aspiring to become one. Pre-pharms are no more inferior than pharmacists or pharmacy students. They are looking for direction and help; it is, I hope, your intent as a member of SDN, to aid them in any way you can.
 
re: community colleges, I don't believe they would hire PharmD's only in the case of dire need. Many of them hire MSc grads and having applied to them, and knowing several people teaching at community colleges (some without even a Master's), I know of several comm. colleges in my area which would be ecstatic to hire PharmD's. I know some other healthcare professionals teaching at these schools. But I agree, you would also have to be desperate to work there, unless it is something on the side, as a hobby.
Yes, I know that they don't require PhD. It's just that subjects that are being taught at community colleges do not generally align with pharmacists' area of expertise. Unless, I guess, there are some healthcare assistant programs, nursing programs, etc. - those could be a good fit for a pharmacist to teach some basic medication knowledge, or general healthcare system courses...
 
This is a very harsh response. There are a lot of good responses in this thread and I do not believe most people are simply lying about their bio or chem professors having just their Pharm.D. As stated previously, my undergrad physio teacher had his Pharm.D. and as not stated previously, he also had a DDS degree (dental). Yes, I agree it is somewhat of a waste to earn both of those degrees but he got bored and had a change of career plans; life is not always planned 10 years in advanced. To each his own opinion, but facts are facts and the fact is that PharmD's are hired for teaching positions in undergraduate schools. Maybe this is unheard of where you're from but the practice does exist. Please respect the opinions of others and act professionally. As a pharmacist you are looked up to by every person in this blog aspiring to become one. Pre-pharms are no more inferior than pharmacists or pharmacy students. They are looking for direction and help; it is, I hope, your intent as a member of SDN, to aid them in any way you can.

Rule #1. If someone doesn't know what they are talking about (i.e. the "you need PhD to teach at a pharmacy school" response) they should keep their incorrect thoughts to themselves and not mislead others. I don 't belive in allowing idiocy to propagate just to spare someone's feelings.

Rule #2. Pre-pharmacy students knowledge about pharmacy schools, pharmacy education, and pharmacy profession is limited compared to pharmacy students and especially pharmacists. Just the natural order of things, and that should be kept in mind when evaluating different people's opinions. Yes, if asked about what kind of apples are best for an apple pie, all three would be on equal footing. No, when asked about pharmacy-specific knowledge, they aren't. Am I making myself clear?

And to your example: when someone with a healthcare degree (and DDS probably has a better physiology class than PharmD, though I don't know much about DDS education) teaches physiology - that's halfway understandable (though it shows staffing problems at the university, it's obviously not a top-noth university and/or the departments is not a priority area for the university, otherwise it would be someone with PhD in Physiology teaching the course). Pharmacists are not well qualified to teach basic sciences, period. Just like having, for example, Spanish as one's native language doesn't qualify one to automatically teach Spanish. That probably can be remedied through additional coursework, otherwise, even if you manage to get the job, you aren't doing your students any favor.

And where did you see anybody saying anything about having PharmD teaching biology or chemistry? Quote, please.
 
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Rule #1. If someone doesn't know what they are talking about (i.e. the "you need PhD to teach at a pharmacy school" response) they should keep their incorrect thoughts to themselves and not mislead others. I don 't belive in allowing idiocy to propagate just to spare someone's feelings.

Rule #2. Pre-pharmacy students knowledge about pharmacy schools, pharmacy education, and pharmacy profession is limited compared to pharmacy students and especially pharmacists. Just the natural order of things, and that should be kept in mind when evaluating different people's opinions. Yes, if asked about what kind of apples are best for an apple pie, all three would be on equal footing. No, when asked about pharmacy-specific knowledge, they aren't. Am I making myself clear?

And to your example: when someone with a healthcare degree (and DDS probably has a better physiology class than PharmD, though I don't know much about DDS education) teaches physiology - that's halfway understandable (though it shows staffing problems at the university, it's obviously not a top-noth university and/or the departments is not a priority area for the university, otherwise it would be someone with PhD in Physiology teaching the course). Pharmacists are not well qualified to teach basic sciences, period. Just like having, for example, Spanish as one's native language doesn't qualify one to automatically teach Spanish. That probably can be remedied through additional coursework, otherwise, even if you manage to get the job, you aren't doing your students any favor.

And where did you see anybody saying anything about having PharmD teaching biology or chemistry? Quote, please.


Did we ever find out opportunities to parlay the pharmD into CC and secondary school work?
 
A lot of plain untrue things said in this thread.

Would you be able to teach biology or chemistry at a university with a PharmD? Not unless they were really, really desperate. Which is highly unlikely, given that there are plenty of biology and chemistry PhD graduates who want a job.

Would you be able to teach such courses at a community college? Maybe. If they were getting pretty desperate. But then, you would need to be desperate too, because you can make a lot more money using your PharmD in almost any other way.

Would you be able to teach at pharmacy school? YES. And yes, you can get full professorship, tenure, blah blah blah. There are two types of faculty at pharmacy schools: clinical faculty, and all others (basic sciences + maybe some other random people for ethics, or electives, or what have you). Clinical faculty are all either PharmD or RPh, they are the people who teach practical applied pharmacy courses (therapeutics, most electives, pharmaceutical care type courses, etc.), and they are also the faculty for the students on rotation. There is A LOT of research they can do, or if they opt not to do research, they can hold a clinical position at the university hospital or equivalent, depending on the particular institution's policy. The non-clinical faculty are your basic sciences professors (pharmacology, pathology, physiology, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and they are typically PhDs with the expertise in their subject area.

There are some faculty who have both PharmD and PhD but I would say it is rather unusual. It doesn't really affect the salary all that much, or improve chances of getting a particular position in most cases. I would only recommend getting a PhD on top of PharmD for people who have a strong interest in a particular area and what to have more research expertise. But again, there is plenty of research which is being done by PharmDs, not just clinical but also laboratory.


👍👍 !! 😍
 
Did we ever find out opportunities to parlay the pharmD into CC and secondary school work?
My understanding was that someone with a masters in chemistry would be hired before a PharmD for a science course (for non-adjunct position). There's always the tech programs (some at CC) that could use a PharmD instructor.

Anecdote: I have one friend who plans to be adjunct faculty at a CC for the summer after graduation and prior to licensure.
 
when you guys are talking about PhDs, is it the equivalent of PharmD? (silly question but I like to clarify stuff)
 
PhD is not the equivalent of a Pharm.D.
PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy and is generally a degree needed for major research/higher education. It is an educational doctorate (requires a thesis) instead of a professional doctorate (MD, JD, PharmD)
 
when you guys are talking about PhDs, is it the equivalent of PharmD? (silly question but I like to clarify stuff)


PhD is not the equivalent of a Pharm.D.
PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy and is generally a degree needed for major research/higher education. It is an educational doctorate (requires a thesis) instead of a professional doctorate (MD, JD, PharmD)


KidPharmD is right.

google "doctorate" bro 🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorate

in my opinion, college or universities would like to hire people that are the experts/specialists in the fields/subjects. MDs/PharmDs would be more appropriate for clinical teaching/training as they are experts/specialists in the application of medical/pharmacy science. PhDs would be more appropriate for academic teaching and research as they are trained entirely for this purpose. MDs/PharmDs could be hired to teach (theoretical) science and/or research, but I agree that a master would probably be more appropriate for the jobs than a MD or PharmD for teaching science courses and got hired before a MD or PharmD.

I did see a MD teaching biology courses before. So a PharmD teaching science courses might be as well possible.
 
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KidPharmD is right.

google "doctorate" bro 🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorate

in my opinion, college or universities would like to hire people that are the experts/specialists in the fields/subjects. MDs/PharmDs would be more appropriate for clinical teaching/training as they are experts/specialists in the application of medical/pharmacy science. PhDs would be more appropriate for academic teaching and research as they are trained entirely for this purpose. MDs/PharmDs could be hired to teach (theoretical) science and/or research, but I agree that a master would probably be more appropriate for the jobs than a MD or PharmD for teaching science courses and got hired before a MD or PharmD.

I did see a MD teaching biology courses before. So a PharmD teaching science courses might be as well possible.
I had an MD teach an undergrad A&P course.
 
There are a lot of pharmd's ive met who teach pharma at nursing or allied health schools .. as adjuncts. I think this would be pretty fun , you can focus on teaching skills since you'd likely already have the material down cold.
 
There are a lot of pharmd's ive met who teach pharma at nursing or allied health schools .. as adjuncts. I think this would be pretty fun , you can focus on teaching skills since you'd likely already have the material down cold.
Yea I know of some who teach pharmacology for the nursing program at a local state college. I think this sounds fun.
 
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