What track in pharmacy should I follow if I want to help globally?

[lesept2]

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I am planning on applying for PharmD program this June and I would like to be able to help a lot of people like globally instead of just people in the community or county as a retail or hospital pharmacist. Is there anything I can do as a PharmD that would involved helping people like nationwide or worldwide like research, FDA, or CDC for example? Also, would I need a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences or would PharmD be good enough. Also I do have a writing disability that makes me difficult to write a lot. Let me know which career would fit me thanks.

 

[Farmercyst]

I am planning on applying for PharmD program this June and I would like to be able to help a lot of people like globally instead of just people in the community or county as a retail or hospital pharmacist. Is there anything I can do as a PharmD that would involved helping people like nationwide or worldwide like research, FDA, or CDC for example? Also, would I need a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences or would PharmD be good enough. Also I do have a writing disability that makes me difficult to write a lot. Let me know which career would fit me thanks.

For the brief time I considered it I thought that PharmD/MPH with a stint in a foreign country through IPSF (International Pharmacy Student Federation) might line up a pharmacist to do some public health work through WHO. I know that Project HOPE was looking for a pharmacist for a mission-type trip to a 3rd world country this year. That might be something to look into as well, for experience.

 

[EBT12]

I would encourage you to look into a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. There is also a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree available to focuses on public health practice. I am completing my last year of my PharmD and obtaining an MPH degree as well right now. I am interested in addressing community-based health issues (access to care, quality and continuity of care, etc), which led me to add the MPH degree.

Depending on what your interests are, a MPH or DrPH degree may align with your goals (with or without a PharmD).

Send me a message if you have any specific questions 🙂

 

[RxQueen2010]

You might be interested in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corp. http://www.usphs.gov/profession/pharmacist/

 

[Don Quichotte]

If you want to work at WHO, I would strongly consider getting an MPH and or a masters in biostats or the like. The PharmD is a tricky degree---not as transferable or understood as MD or PhD. If you're interested in more like disaster work---you could look into DMAT teams or IMSURT or something along those lines. I think medecins sans frontieres takes pharmacists now these days as well. But overall, pharmacy in and of itself is not the best track for an international career to my knowledge. if anyone has experience to contradict this, I would be very interested to know. I would LOVE to be proven wrong because international work sounds fantastic. But from my research it appears hard to do...

 

[deleted289008]

At UCSF, there's a Health Services and Policy Research pathway for the PharmD students that allows them to focus on global health (among other interesting focuses). All those that are in the pathway automatically get a rotation at the WHO in Geneva.

 

[Don Quichotte]

WHO gets hundreds of interns a year from all over the world, most never end up working there. Neat experience, but in and of itself would not provide for a career in public health.

 

[deleted289008]

WHO gets hundreds of interns a year from all over the world, most never end up working there. Neat experience, but in and of itself would not provide for a career in public health.

I don't know about the statistics on interns working there, but I'm just providing them with an option of PharmD programs with experiences working on a global arena. Every career, in my opinion, works with public health. It just depends on OPs level of engagement on public health. As a PharmD, you can specialize in managed care and work on public health in a larger context (even globally) by changing/critiquing drug formularies. For example, WHO's drug formulary that should be made available for pediatric care for every country.

 

[StevePerry]

I am planning on applying for PharmD program this June and I would like to be able to help a lot of people like globally instead of just people in the community or county as a retail or hospital pharmacist. Is there anything I can do as a PharmD that would involved helping people like nationwide or worldwide like research, FDA, or CDC for example? Also, would I need a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences or would PharmD be good enough. Also I do have a writing disability that makes me difficult to write a lot. Let me know which career would fit me thanks.

I think they are still hiring in Darfur