What should I do?

[Redrum16]

Hey everyone. . . I'm new to the forum. First, I'd like to say that these forums are a big help and I'm glad there's a service like this available.
I apologize for the length of this post. I'm about to finish my B.S. in psychobiology at UCLA. I was on the medical school route but I'm not so sure now. My stats are pretty low(2.7 gpa and a 28 mcat score). But above that, medical school doesn't sound appealing anymore. I'm really dreading the competition and stress of medical school and the following residency. Plus, I'm getting married this Summer and my priorities have flip flopped. More than I desire an MD by my name, I want to enjoy my time with my new wife and future family. I want to start a family before the age of 30. My fiance is a very ambitious person who is also graduating from UCLA. At first, she was going to follow me to medical school (probably would've been in the carribean or an osteopathic school). But now, I'm so uncertain about what I want to do and so sick of school I decided that she should attend grad school before I do. Meanwhile, I am considering different career paths that are still in the line of healthcare.
Some friends of the family (who are RNs) told me about pharmacy. At first I was skeptical because I thought they were nothing more than pill pushers at the local Rite-Aid who don't interact with people. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it's not for me. They said there are pharmacists doing work very similar to them in a hospital setting who recieve higher pay and are promoted faster. They told me the pharmacy field is booming right now.
I like the idea of having patient interaction and I also like the fact that I can begin work much more quickly as a pharmd than as a doctor. For these reasons I'm also considering nursing but the grunt work surround nursing doesn't appeal to me either. From what I've heard thus far, pharmacist hours seem more flexible. Is this accurate? Are there really pharmaceutical jobs that entail patient interaction? Do you think pharmacy would be a good match for me? Also, do you think my stats are even good enough to get me into a California pharmacy school? I'd really appreciate anyone's feedback because life's a little confusing at the moment. Thanks everyone!

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[rutpharm]

I encourage you to pursue your interest. The truth is very few pharmacists I would say 30%(it may be lower) work in a setting where counseling on a patient is the main focus. The reason is pharmacy is still evolving from a product focused profession. Pharmacy does have many opportunities but you will have to go to school for four years or three years with no break in between. If you desire patient interaction you will have to pursue a residency if at least 1yr in length after graduation making 30,000 while new grads are making 85,000 or even more. Pharmacy school is quite competitive especially if you want to work in a patient care setting. I am a 5th year pharmacy student in NJ so some of what I am talking about may be slightly different in CA.

 

[Triangulation]

Redrum,

I think pharmacy would be great for you. A lot of the ideas you brought ran through my mind when considering med school. In the end, the idea of 36 hr shifts, nightfloats, being on-call, and insecurity over the future of primary care and malpractice made me eighty-six that whole idea.

Most of the pharmacists i know are actually in patient care at ucsf. At many of your leading facilities they have become an important component of the medical team. Drugs are so varied with such complex mechanisms of action that they need someone who's sole job is to understand them as the physicians develop a treatment plan. You can certainly do that.

With your stats it'll be tough, but if you build up your extra-currics you have a great chance at CA schools like western, uop, and like i've said many times the 'upper tier' schools in cali like sc and ucsf really pay attention to a lot of the non-forumla facets of your app, so i would be confident in applying there as well.

If you're planning to apply this coming app cycle though, you better really get cracking

 

[Redrum16]

Both my fiance and I are taking a year off and then she is going to go to graduate school for a masters. I plan to just work and save some money during that time (3 years). Then I will apply. The premed route left me needing a few courses like econ but nothing I couldn't easily do at a JC. What facets of my application do you think I should work on during this time? And is 3 years off going to hurt my chances even more? Thanks.

 

[pomelolover]

hi redrum,
i think u should pursue pharm too. its a field that is going to grow tremendously and with the rx cocktails that dr's are prescribing these days patients will need more pharma care. the oppty in pharm are busting wide open now and there is a lot u can do. i know a '99 'sc grad who does hosiptal pharm and she likes it. yes, she did do a 1 yr residency but it flew by. sometimes she has to do the graveyard shift but its something thats not that bad when u get regular workweek days off. u save so much time doing errands while everyone else is working u know? well that kinda thing goes for a lot of healthcare jobs but what i'm trying to say is go for pharm- set ur goal high and just go for it. the few years that it takes to get there are nothing in the whole scheme of ur life. my sisters father in law went to med school afeter having children at the age of 35. and about ur questions... many pharmacy schools favor older applicants- those who have had the chance to experience the real working world bc alot of times they are more mature and are very very sure of their career decisions. so don't worry about the 3 yr gap- just make sure to be able to decscribe how productive u were during this time and how it all played into ur pharmacy career. get involved in pharmacy org's and try to work at a pharmacy or at least volunteer at a hospital. do a lot a of extracurriculars ( i know a girl who's gonna go to ucla med school this fall with a 3.3 gpa but they accepted here bc she was philanthropy queen). u may even want to consider repeating ur science classes too. an admission counsler at UCSF advised me that repeating classes shows intiative, commitment and drive. so like triangulation said, many of the more established schools will see thru the GPA factor and look into ur real person.

 

[phar]

Originally posted by Redrum16
Both my fiance and I are taking a year off and then she is going to go to graduate school for a masters. I plan to just work and save some money during that time (3 years). Then I will apply. The premed route left me needing a few courses like econ but nothing I couldn't easily do at a JC. What facets of my application do you think I should work on during this time? And is 3 years off going to hurt my chances even more? Thanks.

why do you want to wait 3yrs before applying beyond family life reasons? Don't you think it would be more advantages to graduate early?

 

[Redrum16]

Thanks for the input guys. Phar, to answer your question, I want to support my fiance while she goes to school. It's really taxing to have both of us in school at the same time. Plus, I'm in no hurry to start. My undergrad has drained me but my fiance is rearing to go. No matter what I decide to pursue, I want to go at it 120 percent. I think some time off will rejuvenate my drive. I will be 25 by that point and I think a lot more mature. Does anyone know of any people with below a 3.0 who were accepted to a Ca pharmd? I see acceptance averages of 3.3 and higher which worries me. Also, I have 2 letters of recommendation from science professors. I can also obtain one from the pharmacist who currently employs me. What other sources of letters of rec do schools like to see? Thanks again everyone.

 

[neonam11]

Hi,

Well, like what you're planning, I took three years off after getting my bachelor's degree to decide on professional school, in my case, pharmacy school at UCSF. As long as you are focused, don't worry that you'll be putting off your professional career for a while. Heck, if you plan to be a pharmacist until you're 59-65, then three years are very insignificant. Remember that the pharmacy schools in California are looking for applicants who are well rounded, meaning that grades matter, but GPA's won't make or break your application. James Betzbe, the admission coordinator, told me that UCSF has accepted students with C-average GPA's. However, although these students were not competitive academically, they more than make up for it by being effective communicators, by showing a deep interest in pharmacy, shown by their knowledge of the field and through volunteer or work experience, and by showing a committment to serve the community, i.e., community service. There is no one forumula to get into pharmacy school, but this is what I did to make myself more competitive:
1. Take more English composition courses. If your knowledge of grammar is weak, take a one-semester refresher course at a JC which will help you to correctly structure your sentences and express your ideas more fluently.
2. Volunteer or work in a pharmacy or hospital. If the pharmacists or residents are not too busy, ask them some questions, issues they think the profession should adress.
3. Volunteer in your community and work for a cause you really believe in. Don't work for a charity where you numbly clock in and clock out for an hour every week as in a soup kitchen. Don't get me wrong, if that is your passion, you should do it, but you should do something you're interested in. When it's time to sit down and describe your volunteering experience, you'll have more insightful, meaningful materials to work with.
4. Read about the profession in books and journals. The year before I applied to UCSF, I read the book "Pharmacy: What It Is and How It Works" by William N. Kelly. You can buy the book from Barnes and Nobles online. It also doesn't hurt if you read some research articles written by the pharmacists he/she is affiliated with as well.
5. Get letters of recommendation from instructors, supervisors, and collegues whom you trust will do a good job. Don't ask someone you know only casually although he might be a big shot director or something. The more a recommender can describe you in a positive light, of how you contributed to their setting, and of your potential to succeed, the better your chances are. Give a lot of thought into putting together a good letter of intent and CV, so your recommenders have fodder to work with.
6. Lastly, practice, practice for the the interview. Think of questions that the school might ask if you were in their place and practice replying to those questions. They will also give you scenarios and ask you how you would respond if you were in that situation. For instance, if you are working on a project and your classmates decides to slack off what you do? And, oh, if you're a guy, don't tie your tie too tight nor drink too much coffee before the hour of the interview. Well, that's my two-cents on the subject. For those of you who are applying in the near future, I wish you all luck, and for those who got accepted into pharmacy school, welcome collegues!

-Nam

 

[BMBiology]

Redrum16,

If you have time, I would suggest that you take night classes such as physiology, anatomy, microbiology at a Junior College to improve your grades.