bigbang0011 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hi everyone, I have a BS in Biology and I recently applied to pharmacy schools and have been accepted to some good programs in California. I was kind of tunnel vision set on pharmacy for a few years and I did everything I could possible to acheive that goal - received high grades, did research, volunteer in several hospital pharmacies, etc. I know this may sound silly but since I was on auto-pilot for a while I didn't actually *think* too much about this choice, and now that I'm accepted and ready to go for fall...I'm having some doubts. Pharmacy is lacking more patient interaction than I'd like to have and I started to consider PA. I actually met a PA at a doctor's office and thought her job seemed pretty cool and that I wouldn't mind doing what she did. Also, a side note, pharmacy is getting pretty saturated from what I've heard and that's also concerning to me - I don't want to take 150-200k of loans out, spend 4 yrs in school, and come out with bleak job prospects. I'd appreciate advice from you guys on what to do or how to approach this question mentally because I'm really confused. A part of me says, just suck it up and go to pharmacy school, maybe you have cold feet, another part of me says wait.. Advice please and thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 28, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 28, 2012 there are a few dual pa/pharmd 5 yr programs out there. 5-6 if I remember correctly. U.WA has one for example. you need to figure out what you want to do: be a clinician or be a pharmacist. the roles as you know are very different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 If length of school and amount of debt and job saturation was NOT a factor, which would you choose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijou Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Also, a side note, pharmacy is getting pretty saturated from what I've heard and that's also concerning to me - I don't want to take 150-200k of loans out, spend 4 yrs in school, and come out with bleak job prospects. This is a valid concern - but you're just overly worried. I hope it brings you back to reality when I say that there are MANY other people who will be having a much more difficult time finding a job than you, and there are many people who will take a wage that they can barely survive on because they can't get another job (and even those jobs are competitive). Pharmacy is a great field - my sister is a Pharmacist. She does well and the Pharmacy can be a relatively relaxed environment. Why would anyone COMPLAIN about that? No matter which route you choose, you will do well... Just do more research and figure out where you want to be and what you want to do for work. As EMEDPA said, they're two completely different beasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenRRT Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 This is a valid concern - but you're just overly worried. I hope it brings you back to reality when I say that there are MANY other people who will be having a much more difficult time finding a job than you, and there are many people who will take a wage that they can barely survive on because they can't get another job (and even those jobs are competitive). Pharmacy is a great field - my sister is a Pharmacist. She does well and the Pharmacy can be a relatively relaxed environment. Why would anyone COMPLAIN about that? No matter which route you choose, you will do well... Just do more research and figure out where you want to be and what you want to do for work. As EMEDPA said, they're two completely different beasts. I've heard stories of pharmacists putting in 3 to 4 days a week. Sounds like a great gig to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgl003 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 It seems that you and I started on the same path. I had been focused on becoming a pharmacist since the beginning of high school, but when I started shadowing at various pharmacies during my freshman year of college I realized it was definitely not the career choice for me. I turned auto pilot off and realized I was much more interested in the diagnostic and clinical side of medicine than the pharmacy side. At that point I immediately signed up for an EMT course at a local community college so that I would be able to get enough HCE by the time I wanted to apply to PA school. I also started shadowing a local PA just to make sure I was making the right choice. And, like you, I was a biology major so most of the pre-reqs were already apart of my cirriculum. I will be starting my PA program in August and I do not regret my decision to change career paths one bit. You just have to pick a career that makes you actually look forward to going to work everyday. Even though I still have about 2 1/2 years before I will start working, I see myself being very happy as a PA-C. In which career do you see yourself being the most satisfied and happy long-term? That's the question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 30, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 30, 2012 I've heard stories of pharmacists putting in 3 to 4 days a week. Sounds like a great gig to me. pa's can do this as well. there are lots of jobs that allow 3 12 hr shifts/week or 4 eights or 4 tens. I have had several of these. at my current job I could do 2 eleven hr shifts/week and be full time with benefits(I do a lot more than this though...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewee Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Your post could have been written by me about 2 years ago! I'll tell you my little story. Actually, it isn't really little but maybe it will help. I also majored in Biology as an undergrad. I attended a university where the pharmacy school was well-respected and somewhere around the end of freshman year I decided drug mechanisms were interesting so that meant I should be a pharmacist. Frankly, practicing medicine had crossed my mind but a miserable first semester of undergrad (homesickness, boyfriend issues, general immaturity, blah...) left me with a low GPA. I didn't think I would ever see 3.5 no matter how hard I worked. Pharmacy seemed interesting and attainable so I went for it with blinders on. Fast forward a few years, I finished undergrad a semester early in December and I had applied to and been accepted to pharmacy school. I did all the pharmacy shadowing things in undergrad and it seemed okay at the time but looking back, I didn't give it enough thought and I didn't have the confidence to pursue what I really wanted to do. Having graduated early, I was faced with 6 months of no school, So I found a retail pharmacy technician job. This job turned out to be my saving grace because I realized the only thing I enjoyed about it was meeting and helping the patients. I ended up randomly meeting a PA. I shadowed her and fell in love with her job. That's when I knew for sure pharmacy wouldn't be satisfying. So, I gave up my seat in pharmacy school and began working towards PA school. One year later, I've been accepted to a great PA school (by the skin of my teeth due to lack of time to gain HCE) and I haven't looked back. For me, pharm didn't have enough problem solving. Not to say pharmacists aren't as capable as PAs, MDs, etc. The nature of the job just doesn't allow for the type of critical thinking I like to do. I'm sure there are niche jobs in pharmacy that would be more fulfilling and have slightly more autonomy, criticial thinking, decision making, etc. Some pharmacists do medication therapy management but you probably know that this isn't the norm. The way pharmacies are set up, most pharmacists are too busy to bother with MTM and there is apparently no way to bill insurance for those services yet. I received my share of criticism from friends and family for getting to the point of being accepted of pharmacy school before deciding not to do it. However, my friends and family were not the ones who would be paying 150k for training for a career they didn't enjoy. Ultimately, you have to decide what you really want to be doing on a daily basis. Now is the time, before you take loans and invest any more money into pharmacy. Don't follow the herd and go to pharmacy school just because you're accepted. Really think about the types of activities you like to do. Daily tasks for pharmacists are very different than those for PAs. As a final note, we all know jobs in general are scarce but you're correct about saturation in pharmacy. I would venture to say that all the decent jobs in pharmacy will require at least a PGY-1 residency. Good luck with your decision! You sound like a smart person. Do some soul searching before you decide and you can't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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