Why did you choose Pharmacy instead of Dentistry or Optometry?

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student2008

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There are a lot of similarities between all three professions (better lifestyle and shorter trainings than MDs, decent pay, in the healthcare profession, etc.) and I'm sure there a lot of differences (the main one is obviously you will be interacting with patients differently and treating different part of the body). But say if you have no preference (just hypothetically) as to how you interact with patients (as long as you help them in someway), then how would you choose between these three professions?
 
I don't like touching strangers. Okay...sometimes, but I'm not too keen on digging into people's mouths and/or eyes. Just not my bag of chips. I'm more into using my mind vs. my hands.... dentistry and optometry are much more "hands on the patient" than pharmacy. My skills are geared toward communication and analysis vs. kinesthetic.
 
Well I did consider the other professions...optometry and CRNA I researched heavily. But when it came right down to it...well I guess pharmacy just feels the most right. I can see myself doing it confidently and enjoying it. Also, look at the curriculum required down each path. The pharmacy courses, and the prerequsites even, all sound interesting. Whereas optics or dental lab classes seem like courses I would not enjoy. I love chemistry. I love leadership positions and I have a management degree. I enjoy being a manager and working with people - my employees AND my customers. It just seems like the perfect mix of chemistry, business, helping people, customer relations, and the health industry to me. Plus I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of messing with peoples' eyes or doing all the things nurses do or pulling teeth. I have no problem at all with the idea of using my knowledge to help people.

I think it really boils down to what interests YOU the most.
 
i enjoy the scientific part of pharmacy+healthcare (strictly). i'd like to apply my knowledge without having to come in contact w/ the symptoms...not sure if that makes sense, but yeah

my sister is at the USC school of dentistry and some of the pictures in her books make me gag...i could NEVER handle looking into a nasty mouth or an infected eye, or severe acne..very impersonal of me, i know 🙁
 
student2008 said:
There are a lot of similarities between all three professions (better lifestyle and shorter trainings than MDs, decent pay, in the healthcare profession, etc.) and I'm sure there a lot of differences (the main one is obviously you will be interacting with patients differently). But say if you have no preference as to how you interact with patients (as long as you help them in someway), then how would you choose between these three professions?
Click to expand...

Well.............pick the profession that interested you and you could see doing as a career. Just like high school career counselors told you.
 
If this helps at all, I TOTALLY thought I was going to be an optometrist last fall...and I told EVERYONE. :laugh: Then a few weeks later I felt unsure. Then I TOTALLY thought I was going to be a CRNA...and I told EVERYONE. 🙄 Then I felt unsure of that...and then one day I realized that pharmacy is definitely for me...but I am laying low this time because I feel like an ass. BUT...it took me a whole year of rolling ideas around in my head before I came to the *right* thing for me. So try not to stress TOO much - you might decide on something and then change your mind 5 times...but eventually you will know.
 
nerv12345 said:
i enjoy the scientific part of pharmacy+healthcare (strictly). i'd like to apply my knowledge without having to come in contact w/ the symptoms...not sure if that makes sense, but yeah

my sister is at the USC school of dentistry and some of the pictures in her books make me gag...i could NEVER handle looking into a nasty mouth or an infected eye, or severe acne..very impersonal of me, i know 🙁
Click to expand...

That is basically my stance.
 
Sarah Lorraine,

Your story sounds JUST like mine :laugh: I've changed my mind a zillion times about what I want to be. I went from Dental Hygienist, to Radiologic Tech, to Anesthesiologist Assistant, to Optometrist, to Dentist, and now, finally to Occupational Therapist. I am finally sure and settled with this major. I ended up doing a LOT of shadowing, observing, etc. with several of the above careers. I observed two Dental Hygienist and found it repetitive and not very interesting. I observed a Radiologic Tech, and while it was interesting, it wasn't really something I could see myself doing the rest of my life. I shadowed an Optometrist and, again, couldn't really see myself doing that forever. I did not observe an anesthes. asst. or a dentist (I've been a dental assistant, so I know what a dentist does). However, after shadowing three different OT's, I KNOW I've finally found what I want to do. I'm sure I've driven my husband and family crazy changing my mind, but in the end, it's all about what you want to do. To the OP, try some shadowing. Nothing gives you a better idea of what you want to do with yourself than seeing careers choices firsthand.
 
I chose pharmacy over the other two for the same reason I chose pharmacy over plumber and trash collector. I really have no interest in either...

I swear to god, some day there will be a thread "Pharmacy vs. Tugboat Captain?"
 
My mom's a nurse and used to always talk about how she'd go back to school to become a pharmacist if she didn't have to pay for us kids. I've researched the career a lot since then and decided it's for me. I probably would like dentistry or optometry more but I really cba to find out.
 
Your question asserts an active choice between the three. Dentistry and optometry were never in my equation.
 
For me, i never liked dentistry bc mouth is kind of gross.

Optometry is a very interesting prof actually. Maybe much much much easier and more enjoyable than pharmacy honestly.

However, i never had the opportunity to get exposed to and observe that setting. Maybe If i were doing it over again, i would do it.

Oh well.
 
I enjoy retail.
I don't like touching people, but I like talking to them.
Pharmacists are one of the most trusted professions overall. People hate their dentists most of the time.
I love chemistry and interactions.
 
My decision was really between medicine and pharmacy, but you probably want to know why those professions weren't in consideration by me.😉

For dentistry, I didn't like the daily manual labor I would do every day as much as I would with pharmacy and even medicine. Optometry simply wasn't figuratively calling me at all. I didn't see myself having fun in that profession at all despite my respect for optometrists.
 
For dentistry, I get nervous and shake my hands often (it has happened a lot in the lab).

Haven't really looked into optometry...
 
The other two never crossed my mind. i have thought about pharmacy since i was sixteen. I only wish I knew about striaght out of high school six year programs then.
 
Oooh yeah, Chill Pill made a great point about dentistry...you have to have a very steady hand from what I hear. Go look at the dental school board...they talk about passing their lab class and how steady and precise your hands have to be.
 
The thought of dental or optometry school never, ever crossed my mind. After dropping out of a PhD program, I then decided between pharmacy and vet school. I thought it would be too sad if someone's pet goat died (or if they couldn't afford whatever procedure and were all like "yeah, let's put Mr. Nibbles down"), so I chose pharmacy.
 
I don't see myself as an optometrist. (pun intended)

I really have a problem with the premise that I chose pharmacy because I don't have the drive or intellect to go to med school. You (student2008) make it seem like pharmacists, optometrists, and dentists couldn't make it or were to lazy to be "real" doctors and chose a "lesser" profession. I'm not settling for anything.
 
student2008 said:
But say if you have no preference (just hypothetically) as to how you interact with patients (as long as you help them in someway), then how would you choose between these three professions?
Click to expand...

If I just wanted to help people and had no preference how... wouldn't I have a hard choice between any proffesion? Trash collectors, janitors, construction workers, teachers....
 
RobertZimmerman said:
I don't see myself as an optometrist. (pun intended)

I really have a problem with the premise that I chose pharmacy because I don't have the drive or intellect to go to med school. You (student2008) make it seem like pharmacists, optometrists, and dentists couldn't make it or were to lazy to be "real" doctors and chose a "lesser" profession. I'm not settling for anything.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if I made it seem like any other careers in the health care field seems any inferior to MDs. I really didn't intend that. I understand that there are a lot of pharmacists, optometrists, dentists etc. out there who can make very good MDs if they choose to and that there are probably MDs out there who have no right to be someone's doctors. I think we all choose our specific field for a reason, hopefully a good one. For example, I chose optometry because I know I am really interested in vision science and that I don't have the steady hand to do surgery, so it would be a waste of my time to get an MD to become an ophthalmologist. It is a personal choice I have made based on what's most practical, not based on how lazy I am or how disqualified I am to become an MD.

RobertZimmerman, just the fact that you posted on here about how offended you are about my question was proof of how driven you are. You know there will always be people out there who might think that pharmacists/optometrists/dentists etc. are not as smart or motivated as doctors. But that's just their opinion and as long as you know what is true, their opinions don't matter. I am sure you are someone who has given it a lot of thoughts about your career choice and I have nothing but respect for that.
 
RobertZimmerman said:
If I just wanted to help people and had no preference how... wouldn't I have a hard choice between any proffesion? Trash collectors, janitors, construction workers, teachers....
Click to expand...

Well, if you do have a preference, what is your preferred method to help people? I'm only playing devil's advocate here.

Look, there a some people out there who are probably not interested in helping other people, they only want to help themselves. Even if you are interested in helping people, there's also the issue of how good you are at doing certain things. For example, I probably won't be a good construction worker since I would probably be the slowest and weakest worker there. Choosing a career is much more than just deciding whether you want to help people or how you want to help them, it's also about finding the balance between your own abilities and your own preference.
 
Half my friends went to dental school. I was always grossed out by the thought of having to work inside someone's gross, filthy, stinky mouth. I would never want to do it. As far as optometry, I never even thought about it. I think it would be boring...
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I chose pharmacy over the other two for the same reason I chose pharmacy over plumber and trash collector. I really have no interest in either...

I swear to god, some day there will be a thread "Pharmacy vs. Tugboat Captain?"
Click to expand...

LOL...Tugboat Captain would be a good back-up plan, but not as tempting as Garbage Barge Deck Hand. Of course what I want to know is why so many of you picked Pharmacy over Russain Mafia Death-dealer?😱
 
I never considered dental school because I did not want to spend most of my day in someone's mouth...
However, I did look into optometry for a little bit... However, after several consideration decided it was not for me... As an optometrist, you usually have to set up your own practice and might not be able to practice wherever you want to (you know the whole supply and demand issue). Pharmacy, on the other hand, does not require entrepreneurial skills for establishing you practice and you can practice anywhere. I also enjoy chemistry and would love to learn whole biochemical reactions behind drugs while optometry needs more biological approach. Moreover, as a pharmacist I don't to have very close contact with people (such as touching their eyes).
 
touching teeth or eyes would be yucky
 
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