why pharm and not med?

[dreaminofpharmd]

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How would you answer this if you were asked "Why pharmacy and not MD?" at your pharm school interview? I heard this was a popular question.

 

[imprecious]

How would you answer this if you were asked "Why pharmacy and not MD?" at your pharm school interview? I heard this was a popular question.

I personally did not want to go into medical school because of the personal lifestyle that is linked with being a medical doctor. I worked for a physician for a time period and I felt that I would not not be happy with that lifestyle. Being a pharmacist would fit my lifestyle better. 🙂

 

[sarahjth]

I know I have seen some things I never dreamed of as a pharm tech but a doctor.. ewww!

 

[sdn1977]

How would you answer this if you were asked "Why pharmacy and not MD?" at your pharm school interview? I heard this was a popular question.

I'm just a pharmacist, but if I sat on an admissions committee (I haven't), I'd want to hear more about the reasons for you WANTING pharmacy rather than those for NOT wanting medicine.

For example....you could say you are interested in the science & chemistry of how drugs might work in the body, or you are interested in educating people about how to continue therapy which has been prescribed. To put that in juxtaposition with medicine, you could say you are more interested in treatment options & choices than the diagnostic pursuit.

Remember, they really want you to like their program & want to see what you have to offer them. They don't just want to be a refuge for a premed who didn't make a high enough MCAT score.

 

[jky007]

more interested in treatment vs. diagnosis.. also too stressful being a doctor, and the profession is very consuming. i think you should go into medicine if it's something that you absolutely can't live without. i'm happy i found pharmacy!

 

[dgroulx]

I told them that at this point in my life I don't want to get woken up in the middle of the night with an emergency and that I don't want to stay up for 48 hours straight while interning. I want to go to work, then come home and not think about work. I meant to go to med school when I was young, but I got married, etc. My body just couldn't handle the long hours at 50.

 

[ndearwater]

I probably wouldn't say this to an admissions committee but a) MD is much more of a lifestyle than simply a career; physicians are often married to their work, b) I'd like to have a family and pharmacy is a career that can be part-time as needed before children are of school age, c) I hate touching people, bodily functions, blood; it actually scares me.

I love pharmacy because there is a huge education component whether in retail, hospital, consulting or true academia. I have a strong interest in medicine, science etc. and understanding the how and why of treatment options. I prefer to counsel people through continued therapy rather than diagnose someone (this seems highly stressful). It's flexible in practice setting, hours worked and geographic location! I think it's a much better fit than becoming a medical doctor for myself! Just as becoming an MD suits those that pursue medical school. 🙂

 

[pharmy123456]

My family housed a MD intern at our house last year from Wisconsin?(I think), he was interning at huntington hospital. But he came home super late, tired and he had bags under eyes from the longs hours. He rarely went out, and became a vegitarian (surgery resident). I'm all about leaving my work at work. As a medical doctor, especially specializing in surgery, you really have to be married to your work. Being on call, and working super long hours is something I would not want. I am the type of person that likes to go out with friends, relax, plan a spontaneous trip to vegas, etc..I'd rather put im my 8 hours, dispense some drugs, advise a few patients, get paid, and go home to spend time with my family and friends. And not to mention enjoy my money while I am relatively young. Persuing the pharmacy route, I can be done with school, and have a decent paying job in my twenties. If i went the MD route I would be in my thirties. Some will argue the prestige factor and potential income diff., but I will still have my house and mercedes.

 

[dreaminofpharmd]

These are all great reasons to choose pharmd over md. But how would you present your answer to the admissions committee at an interview without sounding selfish about having a life outside of work?

 

[UTCPharm]

These are all great reasons to choose pharmd over md. But how would you present your answer to the admissions committee at an interview without sounding selfish about having a life outside of work?

Maybe something like this:

Although I respect and am grateful for medical doctors and what they do, I feel that pharmacy is the career that best suits my personality and goals. While I want to be able to help people by playing an integral role in the field of healthcare, my own family and friends are extremely important to me. A career in pharmacy will allow me to make a difference in my community, while giving me the invaluable opportunity to spend time with the people who are important to me. That, among other reasons, is why I want to become a part of this field.

Obviously this only talks about the time aspect of the jobs, but you could also talk about whatever other reasons you have for choosing pharm. To me, the key to keeping it from sounding selfish is just mentioning how important your family and friends are to you.

 

[imperial frog]

Personally, I didn't view it as having to make a choice because I never even remotely considered medschool. Pharmacy as a profession can stand on its own without having to be looked on as being a second-rate choice for people who can't get into medschool.

 

[twester]

These are all great reasons to choose pharmd over md. But how would you present your answer to the admissions committee at an interview without sounding selfish about having a life outside of work?

So the impression you make is more important than the truth?

How about you tell us why you chose pharmacy over med school. We'll help you edit it.

 

[karariki]

Personally, I didn't view it as having to make a choice because I never even remotely considered medschool.

Same here. I've never aspired to become a physician. W/ my personality, it's not a suitable career for me. I enjoy interacting w/ the patients, but I dread seeing them stricken w/ diseases and in pain. Hospitals depress me. W/ pharmacy, at least the patients we serve are healthy & strong enough to make it to the window to pick up their happy pills. 😛

 

[Snowcat]

Doctors get sued too much.

 

[dgroulx]

These are all great reasons to choose pharmd over md. But how would you present your answer to the admissions committee at an interview without sounding selfish about having a life outside of work?

I told them exactly what I wrote above. My interviewer laughed and agreed with me. I'm an honest person and I just say what I feel.

 

[Mongoos150]

.

 

[Mongoos150]

Interested in treatment, as opposed to diagnosis. That is my simple answer, one I would give at an interview. That and I am interested specifically in how medicines interact and function (chemically) in the body as opposed to the actual physical body diagnosing and treating physically.

 

[DownonthePharm]

I really hate this question. It assumes that all intelligent and/or driven individuals want to go to medical school. I know I wanted to...for about 4/5th of a second. The choice to go into a particular career is not always due to rejecting another.

Then why not ask: Why not education? Why not business? Why not truck driving? Is it because they are both in the health care field? Then why not dentistry, or nursing, or physical therapy or a whole host of other health care jobs?

I mean, are they really going to catch anyone saying they picked pharmacy because they couldnt get into medical school? Or is this their roundabout way of asking what attracts you to pharmacy.

So answer it that way: I like pharmacy because? ....blablabla, and disregard the MD crap unless you actually where thinking about medical school. If you cant answer that question then you need to do some thinking.

PS. There is NOTHING selfish with saying you want a life outside your job. Humans are not to be robots. Having friends and connecting with your family should not be considered less important than your profession. No one on their deathbed ever wishes they had spent more time at work.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I don't want to be a physician for the same reason I don't want to be a plumber. It doesn't interest me.

 

[Miss Sushi]

Word.

I don't want to be a physician for the same reason I don't want to be a plumber. It doesn't interest me.

 

[insipid1979]

Word.

Except it doesn't even apply because pharmacy and medicine is a related field.

Medicine/pharmacy and plumber is not.

If someone asks a pipefitter why they chose that over being a plumber should they say "same reason I didn't want to be a vet...it doesn't interest me"?

You better come up with a better reason than that. Such as what aspects about your chosen career you like that the other one doesn't have. A lot of the responses in this thread sound like they saying "pharmacy is less work". I don't think adcoms would like that answer..

 

[ndearwater]

I mean, are they really going to catch anyone saying they picked pharmacy because they couldnt get into medical school?

This guy I interviewed with at Mercer kept mentioning how he'd applied to all these med schools last year and bringing up the MCAT while we were on our tour. I didn't actually sit down with him for any part of the real interview but god knows he wasn't hiding the fact that pharmacy was his second choice! Maybe some people are ignorant enough to tell an admissions committee that pharmacy is a fall back profession.
I mean, even if it is something an individual chooses after failing to succeed in their chosen profession, it is just common sense that you make whatever you are CURRENTLY pursuing sound like your main passion! (Hopefully it is!)

 

[UVaWahoo]

i had alllllllways wanted to go to med school.....up until last spring when i changed my mind slash didn't feel like taking the mcats and probably wouldnt have gotten in anywhere

so i guess pharmacy was a 2nd choice at the time, but now i'm really excited about it so that's a non-issue.

so, when they ask me that question, its really relevant, because in my personal statement i mentioned previously being interested in med school.
i first decided against med school but still wanted to stay in healthcare, and then chose pharmacy after a month or so of looking around. i liked the lifestyle, and just the different type of people interaction.

also, if i had applied to PT or PA, i would have had to take a year off to fill up their volunteer requirements, wasn't so interested in taking off a year. i leave that part out at interviews though.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Except it doesn't even apply because pharmacy and medicine is a related field.

Medicine/pharmacy and plumber is not.

If someone asks a pipefitter why they chose that over being a plumber should they say "same reason I didn't want to be a vet...it doesn't interest me"?

You better come up with a better reason than that. Such as what aspects about your chosen career you like that the other one doesn't have. A lot of the responses in this thread sound like they saying "pharmacy is less work". I don't think adcoms would like that answer..

Blah blah blah. Everyone knows the correlation is similar. Both physicians and plumbers have to have doctorates and pay excessive malpractice insurance.

 

[insipid1979]

Blah blah blah. Everyone knows the correlation is similar. Both physicians and plumbers have to have doctorates and pay excessive malpractice insurance.

Did my reasoning fly over your head or something?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Did my reasoning fly over your head or something?

No, I'm just a sarcastic ass.

 

[Trancelucent1]

No, I'm just a sarcastic ass.

 

[MattPharmD]

I'm all about leaving my work at work. As a medical doctor, especially specializing in surgery, you really have to be married to your work. Being on call, and working super long hours is something I would not want. I am the type of person that likes to go out with friends, relax, plan a spontaneous trip to vegas, etc..I'd rather put im my 8 hours, dispense some drugs, advise a few patients, get paid, and go home to spend time with my family and friends. And not to mention enjoy my money while I am relatively young. Persuing the pharmacy route, I can be done with school, and have a decent paying job in my twenties. If i went the MD route I would be in my thirties. Some will argue the prestige factor and potential income diff., but I will still have my house and mercedes.

Exactly. Combine all that with the all the gross/disgusting people you have to touch being a physician and it was an easy decision.

 

[Poland]

As some others have mentioned, I also think they are different. Sure I have thought about medical school, but only about as much as I have about vet or dental school. I have never had that idea "maybe I'll stick with pharmacy because it's more managable to get into." When I think of myself being a physician I feel pretty strange. Though I just love TLC's shows on the ER doctors, the new Guardian Angels MD, the Facemakers also make an interesting show, and I'm a big fan of Dr. 90210. Complete med show fan. I will study while watching these med shows!

 

[DownonthePharm]

Complete med show fan. I will study while watching these med shows!

Hey, I can top that. I EAT while watching those med shows. You know the shows Im talking about too, they usually involve tumors or deformaties, or other bloody surgical intervention. 😀

 

[insipid1979]

No, I'm just a sarcastic ass.

That is the understatement of the century 😉

 

[Poland]

Hey, I can top that. I EAT while watching those med shows. You know the shows Im talking about too, they usually involve tumors or deformaties, or other bloody surgical intervention. 😀

Ha, lol! I will do that too very often! Sometimes I think about it and I'm like... alot of people would think this is weird. To read it is more weird than it actually is! 😛

 

[HABANERO4ME]

Im too old for Med school..