undecided? PT or Pharmacist

[smooveguy89]

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I'm in my second year of college, as of now I'm just taking my liberal arts courses and I've recently been considering a career as either a Physical Therapist or Pharmacist but I'm having trouble deciding between the two and I was wondering what are some things I should consider when making a choice.

 

[delano2000]

This forum caters mainly to high schoolers. My only suggestion would be to shadow a PT and a pharmacist so that way you have an idea what they do. You should also try to visit those respective forums and browse through the threads since these are discussed regularly.

 

[swamprat]

Well since your passed the college + professional school period since your a second year college student things you may want to know:

1) pharmD = 4 years, dpt = 3 years
2) pharmD generally makes more $ than pts out of school
3) pt is direct hands-on patient encounters while pharmacists obviously don't really touch patients except maybe to take blood pressure
4) pharmD you take pcat dpt you take gre
5) pharmd = drugs dpt = anatomy at the very basic

I'm a medical student so thats really all I can tell you since I'm not in either school - all of this is second hand information through friends that are in both programs. But your best bet would be to talk to the students and more importantly shadow or volunteer in both settings and make a decision then.

 

[Muscles00GT]

Well since your passed the college + professional school period since your a second year college student things you may want to know:

1) pharmD = 4 years, dpt = 3 years
2) pharmD generally makes more $ than pts out of school
3) pt is direct hands-on patient encounters while pharmacists obviously don't really touch patients except maybe to take blood pressure
4) pharmD you take pcat dpt you take gre
5) pharmd = drugs dpt = anatomy at the very basic

I'm a medical student so thats really all I can tell you since I'm not in either school - all of this is second hand information through friends that are in both programs. But your best bet would be to talk to the students and more importantly shadow or volunteer in both settings and make a decision then.

Great information..I do disagree however with #5 a little.

PharmD deals with drugs big time; however, i'd disagree that a DPT is "anatomy at the very basic". Can you get by being a DPT with basic anatomical knowledge? Probably; however, I know from my experiences, most PT's (or at least good PT's) know more about anatomy and diagnosis than physicians. This isn't to take away from physicians, but PT's (like i said before, the good ones), dedicate themselves to the profession and know a TON about the musculoskeletal system, spinal cord injuries, etc.

I can't tell you how many times I see a patient referred to our facility by a physician with the incorrect diagnosis.

Needless to say, shadow both professions. THey are both VERY different. You need good people skills to be a successful PT. You can be an introverted nerd and still be a good pharmacist.