Too much criticism

[shaq786]

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I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

I think whomever that thinks you will get respect going into this field needs to re-evaluate. Even for me in my younger days, as I get out of the doctor's office with my presciption, I would never have listened to what the pharmacist had to say.

I am just venting here. So what are your thoughts? Did you pursue pharmacy becuase you "didnt make it" in med-school, dental school, etc? And if so, how are you liking it?

 

[Caverject]

I couldn't hack semi tractor-trailor truck driving school so I decided to go into pharmacy

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I really don't care if they are condescending. I get condescending right back in their faces. After all of the idiotic, ******ed things I've seen these 'practitioners' do in the real world, it is evident to me that being a guy who has the ability to jot down words on a piece of paper in exchange for certain goods and services doesn't make you intrinsically any smarter than a common light switch. If they are, than that's something they've done on their own merit, because obviously the means by which they've reached what they've reached is flawed if some of their colleagues let some hobag in a miniskirt convince them to write for brand Synthroid or Xopenex.

I never wanted to be a physician, personally. I think biology is boring as hell. Pharmacy school is boring enough as is. I'm a chemistry nerd. Year 2 in pharmacy school was the **** for me because it was all medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. I couldn't imagine having to go through it without the med chem but adding a bunch of boring ass physical diagnosis stuff. It's like watching paint dry, I'd commit suicide. I know what specefic chemical structures on drugs make people have anticholinergic side effects. That's cool to me. Plus I don't have to touch the people who present with explosive diarrhea. Bonus.

 

[Requiem]

Studying for a field you don't respect. Congrats, tool!

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

I think whomever that thinks you will get respect going into this field needs to re-evaluate. Even for me in my younger days, as I get out of the doctor's office with my presciption, I would never have listened to what the pharmacist had to say.

I am just venting here. So what are your thoughts? Did you pursue pharmacy becuase you "didnt make it" in med-school, dental school, etc? And if so, how are you liking it?

I understand where you are coming from, but you should do what YOU want to do.

Some of my friends and family have asked why I did not try to become a doctor. The easy answer is that I didn't want to.

It's just silly to think that everyone in the vast field of healthcare (who isn't a doctor) only chose their field because they weren't able to become a doctor. That's assuming that being a doctor is the highest calling in the world and something everyone wants. Not true.

 

[prairie42]

I never figured on getting a great deal of respect in the first place. I have friends who are dentists and physicians (family practice) and they have days when their titles don't mean as much either. I think society as a whole has become more desensitized. Too much reality tv watching probably.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Plus I don't have to touch the people who present with explosive diarrhea. Bonus.

No kidding.

I have been through two pregnancies and the birth of one child. I have seen and had things done to me that I would NEVER EVER want to do to someone else.

Nope, I don't wanna look at your 'roids!
Got a yeast infection? I'll take your word for it!
Need a giant weeping boil your a** lanced? Not by me.


Pharmacy suits me just fine.

 

[shaq786]

I know what specefic chemical structures on drugs make people have anticholinergic side effects. That's cool to me.

Me too!!! 🙂 Do you think pharmacy school is more entertaining for a chemist than med school for a chemist?


I guess one thing I will come to learn is not to care what other people think. And just relax and be happy 🙂 🙂

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Me too!!! 🙂 Do you think pharmacy school is more entertaining for a chemist than med school for a chemist?


I guess one thing I will come to learn is not to care what other people think. And just relax and be happy 🙂 🙂

Oh God yes. If you dig drugs from a chemistry standpoint, run far away from medicine and join me on the dark side.....

 

[AngelEyes82]

I somehow (quite miraculously) got into med school but decided not to go because I didn't feel that my heart was completely in it and so I figured it was a bad idea to push through with it just for the heck of it.

Am currently burning out a little bit in my first year of pharmacy school right now, but here's hoping that it all works out. 😛

Waiting for finals to be over... 😱

 

[mph2pharm]

I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

I think whomever that thinks you will get respect going into this field needs to re-evaluate. Even for me in my younger days, as I get out of the doctor's office with my presciption, I would never have listened to what the pharmacist had to say.

I am just venting here. So what are your thoughts? Did you pursue pharmacy becuase you "didnt make it" in med-school, dental school, etc? And if so, how are you liking it?

I too have felt the medical school pressure. I considered medical school at one point because I was coming out of undergrad with a science degree, decided that I didn't want to get a PhD and people thought that because I was "smart" that maybe I should go to medical school. I was young and the idea sounded good at the time so on a whim, I took the MCAT (didn't really study for it at all). Needless to say the results weren't good BUT now that I think back on that experience, I am glad that it happened that way because it caused me to really reflect on what I truly wanted to do (or rather not do) with my life and how I allowed other people to convince me of something that my heart wasn't really into. Needless to say I never attempted the MCAT again nor did I ever attempt to apply to medical school.

To be honest, when I was coming out of undergrad (wow it's almost been 10 years!) I didn't give any thought to pharmacy. I really didn't appreciate the complexities of the job nor did I truly understand the depth of their knowledge and training. I was shocked when I started seriously looking into the field and realized that my CVS pharmacist could very well have a doctoral degree! I may get blasted here but I truly believe that the environment in which many pharmacists work doesn't help the public's perceptions. I don't know of any other health professional trained at the doctoral level (optometrist, dentist, podiatrist, chiro, etc.) where there is an issue around referring to them as "doctor", a title that they have earned, in their workplace. I also think that the whole "drive-thru" and go fetch a bag of chips and some tampons while you're at it mentality in the retail setting doesn't help either. My next door neighbor who is a lead pharmacist at our local CVS refuses to get people's personal items when she is working the drive-thru.

As I have shared in a few other posts, my sister is a physician and it has been a little tough when I tell people that I am going to pharmacy school. I have heard the ooohs and ahhhs when she tells them what she does for a living and I have also heard the "oh that's nice" when people hear that I am pursuing pharmacy. BUT you have to pursue the career that is best for you regardless of what people may think. You will be the one having to do that job day in and day out, not them. I know of physicians who pursued medicine not so much because that was what they wanted to do, but rather for the money and the prestige. Needless to say they are getting paid very well but they are also very unhappy. I am going to try and focus on the value that I will bring to the health care system and the difference that I will make in the lives of those that I encounter. For me, ultimately that is what really matters.

 

[DownonthePharm]

👎 Blegh... some people are just critical by nature and arent ever happy with other peoples decisions. If your a pharmacist they want to know why your not a doctor, if your a doctor they want to know why your not a surgeon, if your a surgeon they want to know why you havent donated a wing to the local library...on and on and on....

I had a experience similar to what mph2pharm said above. I didnt even really know anything about pharmacy until I started working for a while and began investigating jobs in healthcare. I dont remember ever seeing a pharmacist or even really comprehending what they did until I started looking for them. Most people only interact with the pharmacy techs, so they probably think thats all there is.

As a profession in general, we enjoy being "behind the camera" making things work rather than talking about it, so the general public isnt really educated on being a pharmacist. A TV show about pharmacists would be nothing near as exciting as ER, nothing flashy about checking for drug interactions or calling to verify insurance, but what we do is important work and doctors (and patients!) wouldnt function quite so well without us.

Overall...I think you should be happy doing what your happy doing and tell everyone else to shove it. Let them go to med school if its so great.

 

[VCU07]

I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

I think whomever that thinks you will get respect going into this field needs to re-evaluate. Even for me in my younger days, as I get out of the doctor's office with my presciption, I would never have listened to what the pharmacist had to say.

I am just venting here. So what are your thoughts? Did you pursue pharmacy becuase you "didnt make it" in med-school, dental school, etc? And if so, how are you liking it?

I have gone through the exact same situation when I was an undergrad. I was always pre-med, but after shadowing a MD and volunteering in the ER I realized that medicine wasn't for me. However, I still wanted to deal with patients...so, I decided on pharmacy. Could I have gone to medical school or dental school? I am pretty sure my research, volunteer experience, and GPA would have looked good to medical school committes. When it comes down to it, you got to be happy doing what your doing. It is your life, not the people who are critizing your decision. I believe part of pharmacy respect stems from the old BS degree that was once offered, which was 5yrs of schooling. Today, all schools mandate the PharmD that is a min. of 6 yrs (8 for me). Also, pharmacy schools are becoming more and more competitive with many schools looking to mandate a BS/BA degree before admission. I believe that the public's view of pharmacy will change as more PharmDs come out into practice. In regards to PhDs belittling pharmacy, it also happened to me as a biology major. We all know that graduate programs, esp. those in the science field are hurting for well trained students. Professors will do anything it takes to help move their profession forward.
As a P4 here is my experience going through pharmacy school:
1. Pharmacy is def. moving forward expanding their scope of practice. I do believe the future for Pharmacists is great with expanding roles in patient care.
2. With the rising costs of health care there will have to be a move to lower costs. Pharmacists have been implicated in lowering the costs associated with AE of medications---> saving multi millions of dollares yearly. Point in case: VA system and hospitals Kaiser.
3. Most importantly, you have to look at your situation and do what makes you happy. You cannot live your life based upon the opinions of other people. Pharmacists save lives on a daily basis, although much of it goes unnoticed by our patients. We are integral in the health care system and we def. are the most accessable health care providers.

Sorry for any typos, but I wrote this as quick as possbile during my lunch break. GL

 

[Shizelbs]

It will never be the profession of respect. Respect is earned, these days, in some pretty stupid ways. I swear, if you don't live in the biggest house, drive the nicest car, have the prettiest wife, rub elbows with the richest people, etc... you won't get people's respect. But those are pretty trivial ways to earn respect. The way I see it, the only truly earned respect you will get in this career is by being the best pharmacist you can and earning the respect of your coworkers and colleagues. Thats it.

People don't understand that the so called pride and prestige of being an MD might not get you going, get you motivated, 'float your boat.' For example, and this still cracks me up, I worked with a tech for a while who had her accounting degree, CPA and all that, but dropped that job and its much higher salary, to be a tech, because she liked it better. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Watching the MDs in the hospitals I've been in, in the communities where I live and work, I can honestly say that if I had the smarts to get into and make it though med school (pretty sure I do), I would not want to be an MD.

Screw other people and their opinions. Bottom line. Tell them to mind their own business.

 

[AtomicLuv]

wow, the same thing has been happening to me! I get this all the time from my boyfriend because I was pre-med for 2 years and I recently decided pharmacy is a better idea!

It just became clear to me that being a doctor is not for me because I couldnt even bring myself to volunteer in a hospital! (but when I realized I could volunteer in pharmacy...I was totally for it.. 😀 )

I think people that are close to you may think you're wasting your future by not becoming a doctor if you have the ability and intelligence, but some people do not realize that you are wasting your happiness by not doing what you want to do...

pharmacy seems very interesting to me, and just because some feel that I have the grades/intelligence to make it to med school does not mean I want to go through a four year residency and work insane hours, especially since its not something I love! learning about medicine/human body falls into the same category for me as learning about gardening...its very interesting but I would not want to do it all the time!!

I hope this made sense..
I feel so much better to know that you all have struggled with this, its true that so many people think that pharmacists simply package pills all day! 🙁

 

[htyotispharm]

Today was the first day of my 4th year clinical intro rotation. My friend and I were sitting at a table in the cafeteria for lunch when a physician walked up to us to introduce himself. Once he found out that we were pharmacy students, he said "Oh, you guys are in pharmacy, the people that make all the money and don't do anything". I thought he was joking but after he said it he just walked away from our table. He had thought we were med students.

 

[prairie42]

Today was the first day of my 4th year clinical intro rotation. My friend and I were sitting at a table in the cafeteria for lunch when a physician walked up to us to introduce himself. Once he found out that we were pharmacy students, he said "Oh, you guys are in pharmacy, the people that make all the money and don't do anything". I thought he was joking but after he said it he just walked away from our table. He had thought we were med students.

I just graduated from pharmacy school a couple of weeks ago so perhaps I can offer a little input here. From my experiences, most of the physicians I dealt with were very nice. The ones you will be rounding with on your hospital-based rotations will more than likely be "hand-picked" by your pharmacy school. Hopefully, dealing with those physicians will be a good experience. When I encountered a Dr. like the one wrote about in your post, I usually just ignored them. Sometimes that is their way of joking, sometimes not. There will be Dr.'s who may not have much time for pharmacy students or even pharmacists for that matter. There are many reasons for this. In addition, they all have different personalities. Try to make the most of your rotations by seeking out those that you can learn from and of course, don't forget to have some fun in the process.

 

[DownonthePharm]

Today was the first day of my 4th year clinical intro rotation. My friend and I were sitting at a table in the cafeteria for lunch when a physician walked up to us to introduce himself. Once he found out that we were pharmacy students, he said "Oh, you guys are in pharmacy, the people that make all the money and don't do anything". I thought he was joking but after he said it he just walked away from our table. He had thought we were med students.

That just begs for a smart ass reply: "Yep, now dont you feel stupid for going to med school for 8 years...."

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Once he found out that we were pharmacy students, he said "Oh, you guys are in pharmacy, the people that make all the money and don't do anything". I thought he was joking but after he said it he just walked away from our table. He had thought we were med students.

I would have gotten up and followed him.

 

[bananaface]

If someone disrespects anyone not going into medicine, they are going to respect very few people overall.

Seriously, you get respect by behaving personably and professionally. You can win most people over that way. And, if you can't, at least you are the bigger person.

 

[rx4beauty]

I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

I think whomever that thinks you will get respect going into this field needs to re-evaluate. Even for me in my younger days, as I get out of the doctor's office with my presciption, I would never have listened to what the pharmacist had to say.

I am just venting here. So what are your thoughts? Did you pursue pharmacy becuase you "didnt make it" in med-school, dental school, etc? And if so, how are you liking it?

I completely understand the way you feel. I, honestly, cannot count the number of times a friend or family member has asked me why I didn’t go to medical school. It bothers me that people don’t respect the field of pharmacy. Just because pharmacist aren’t present on hit TV shows like E.R, Grey’s Anatomy, etc. doesn’t make their impact on healthcare any less substantial than a physician or a nurse. I feel that pharmacist fulfill a necessary requirement that exceeds “counting and pouring.” Pharmacists are our neighborhood healthcare professionals. When a patient leaves the chaotic and frightening environment of a hospital or the intimidating environment of a doctor’s office, they can go see the pharmacist in their neighborhood, a comfortable and familiar environment. In the community pharmacy, a patient can receive clarification on any subject they didn’t quite understand or were too intimidated to ask while in the hospital. The average person does not understand how much of an integral part a pharmacist plays in healthcare because they take pharmacists and all their knowledge for granted.

Too make a long story short, if you’re looking for a profession in which you’ll receive praise and recognition every time you walk into a room, pharmacy is not the career for you. But, if you genuinely desire to help and serve your community, then stick with it, regardless of the hypocrites. 😉

 

[imperial frog]

I am a pre-pharm student (was a former pre-med student), and it seems I get put on a guilt trip for not pursuing medicine. I quit pursuing medical school for my own reasons, and didnt take my mcats. But the criticism I get is..."oh everyone applies to pharmacy school when they dont make it to other higher professions". I've gotten similar criticisms like these from multiple people. Even my biased professor who tried to convince me to get a ph D in chemistry wants me out of pharmacy becuase he thinks pharmacy is low level in comparison to med. It makes me feel guilty that I didnt bother to take my mcats and just try med school.

Eventually you're going to have to learn to live your own life the way you want to and realize that what other people think of your career choice is unimportant. The question you should be asking is why you feel the need to live up to someone else's misinformed expectations instead of doing what you want.

 

[mph2pharm]

It's so great to see that you guys are so enthusiastic about pharmacy despite people's perceptions. I think that many people including physicians still don't fully understand pharmacist and their level of training. Case in point, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I told my doctor who is a personal friend of the family, that I had decided to go to pharmacy school. She was sooooo happy for me and as we continued to talk she was like, "I guess this won't be too bad for you because it is only a year or two." She was shocked when I told her that it is a 4-year doctoral program.

Regarding the comment from the physician who stated that pharmacists are the people who get paid very well for doing nothing, I guess he/she has never visited his/her friendly neighborhood pharmacy to witness crowds of people screaming for their prescriptions while the pharmacist works frantically behind the counter to accommodate them.

My next door neighbor is a pharmacist and she works so many hours at the pharmacy that she is NEVER home. We lived next door to each other for over a year before I ever laid eyes on her (I am not kidding). AND the only reason why I knew that she was my neighbor was because I went into the pharmacy where she works to get a prescription filled and when she looked at my address she was like "oh my goodness...I am your next door neighbor!"

 

[AtomicLuv]

I get this whole (oh wow its 4 years of schooling?!) thing all the time!
it really seems like no one knows this...
plus get this...
I was talking to the head of the pharm department in the hospital in my community, and I told him I was considering the pharm/phd programs, and he had never heard of such a thing where you would get both degrees in the same program! AND, he told me, oh you've finished two years of college, well you have 6 years left...I was like uh no! 4 years!

I hate the way that people talk about professions that they do not know anything about...but then again lots of people think doctors don't work a lot and make a lot of money by just sitting in offices and writing prescriptions, so I guess it goes for a lot of different professions...

If I had been sitting there in my 4th year of pharm and a physician told me that pharmacists dont do anything and make a lot of money, I would have been soooooo angry! 😱

 

[AtomicLuv]

oh and one more thing, why shouldnt pharmacists make a lot of money after 4 years of professional schooling? why should anyone that goes through that much education feel bad or have to make excuses for their salarY?
and when did it even become polite to comment on people's salaries??? 😡