Transfer to Medical School?

[Novo Jeru]

So essentially I'm wondering if you all know of a way to transfer from pharmacy to medical school. I'm a 2nd year pharmacy student who wants more challenge and wants more responsibility. I don't mind working harder or longer, I just want to be happy with what I do. I feel like I've exhausted my options in pharmacy and am ready to move on.

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[inquirer89]

You probably have to start fresh. Make sure you have your B.S., take the MCAT, and apply as a first year med student.

 

[confettiflyer]

Yup I agree with the above, start fresh and move on. If you're 100% sure, quit school at the end of the term (ie cut your losses), prep & take the MCAT, and apply. I'm not familiar with MS deadlines so you might be out a year or two and won't be able to enter until fall 2010.

If you've got money to burn and are up for the challenge, keep going with your PharmD and apply while you're still in school. Then you can end up with 2 degrees..then you can go to law school and have more letters after your name than your name itself.

 

[KUMoose]

Don't forget that your pharmd courses will be counted towards your GPA for most (all?) programs. You might as well start working on the why MD not RPH now.

Oh and for the love of all that's holy, make sure you write legibly.

 

[RxWildcat]

Theres no way to "transfer", but you could either drop pharmacy and start pre-med stuff or go ahead and stick out the next 2 years. I would recommend the latter, you should really give pharmacy more of a chance before you decide its not for you. Are you 100% on wanting to go into medicine? Either way, I also would suggest that you find a pharmacy resident and a medical resident and shadow each for a portion of a day to get a feel for what they do. Good luck with your decision.

 

[PharmD2MD]

A couple of comments:

1. If you shadow residents (pharmacy or medicine), take whatever they say with a grain of salt. They are frequently overworked and disgruntled, but they can enlighten you in terms of the training involved. A staff clinical pharmacist or an attending physician will give you a more accurate picture of what you are in for long term.

2. Be prepared for an uphill battle. You are going to have some explaining to do regarding why you decided to jump ship, and the admissions people are going to question your committment.

3. Search some of my old posts.

 

[confettiflyer]

Don't forget that your pharmd courses will be counted towards your GPA for most (all?) programs. You might as well start working on the why MD not RPH now.

Oh and for the love of all that's holy, make sure you write legibly.

Oh you old man, they invented these things called "word processors" that make handwriting all but obsolete.

Or wait, you might be talking about actual scripts. Haha, just kidding then...hopefully by the time this kid graduates, POE/e-script transmission will be standard.

 

[Emdeewannabe]

you said second year well---years 4 and five are a humbling experience and yes you will be challenged and yes your gpa will suffer. and if you hate counting pills now you will hate it later-----i know after 4 years in retail i took the mcats and forgot i ever was a pharmacist.


i never looked back-----and don't let people talk you into staying go with your gut feeling.

 

[bigpharmD]

you said second year well---years 4 and five are a humbling experience and yes you will be challenged and yes your gpa will suffer. and if you hate counting pills now you will hate it later-----i know after 4 years in retail i took the mcats and forgot i ever was a pharmacist.


i never looked back-----and don't let people talk you into staying go with your gut feeling.

How old were you when you went back

 

[Priapism321]

you said second year well---years 4 and five are a humbling experience and yes you will be challenged and yes your gpa will suffer. and if you hate counting pills now you will hate it later-----i know after 4 years in retail i took the mcats and forgot i ever was a pharmacist.


i never looked back-----and don't let people talk you into staying go with your gut feeling.

Although you are listed as a Fellow, your other posts make it seem as though you are actively preparing for the MCAT (or have just recently took it). Your only other two entries are in the Pre-Med forums. What type of Fellow are you?

 

[Priapism321]

How old were you when you went back

Give up the dream!!!

 

[dezokitty]

Yeah, everyone above pretty much gave you the answer to your question... I would also suggest sticking it out for another 2 years. Pharmacy has a lot to offer, and there's a lot that you'll learn in the next two years. I'm in my 6th year and applying to med school now. For me, the decision was a pretty rough one. And yes, you will really need to be prepared to explain why exactly you want to go to med school. In great detail. Be prepared to pretty much explain every choice you've made in regards to choosing med school from high school til the day you apply. But if you ever have any questions or want some advice, feel free to PM me.

 

[iphetamine]

Why not transfer to Dentistry?

 

[bigdogc]

1.take the MCAT asap
2. apply to Texas schools because you only need 90 hours to get in.
3. get in
4. work hard for 6 more years
5. profit

 

[confettiflyer]

1.take the MCAT asap
2. apply to Texas schools because you only need 90 hours to get in.
3. get in
4. work hard for 6 more years
5. profit

haha you forgot a step between 4 and 5 which would be 4.5) battle midlevels and become a reimbursement ***** for a while paying off your debt.

Then 5 happily comes along

 

[Hels2007]

As a P-2 in the first semester, you know less than a third of what pharmacy is about, and less than a quarter about all the opportunities it has to offer. Are you really sure you want to drop out and start afresh with the med school?

I know a dental student who dropped out of her first year of dental school (both her parents were dentists, that's why she went, but realized she hated it pretty early on), then applied for pharmacy school and is now a pharmacist. There is generally no transfer between professional programs within or between institutions.

 

[uop4pharm]

Don't forget that your pharmd courses will be counted towards your GPA for most (all?) programs.

Really? You can't just not list pharmacy school on your application?

 

[KUMoose]

Really? You can't just not list pharmacy school on your application?

Technically you can, however just about every school treats school omission as an offense worthy of removal from the school at any time (usually the worst time) possible, like 3 weeks before the end of forth year. Further, do you really want a physician that's ok with lying to get into school?