Pharmacy School

[Kebas239]

Hey all. Had a question for anyone who may have taken pharmacy. Here is my situation...

I've been in school since I was 18. I majored in Psychology mainly because my parents did and I was really unsure of what I wanted to do. Now, I just turned 23 and have a semester left and I will have my psych degree.

Last semester I started looking up more majors because I had seen that many people with bachelors in psych and even masters were having issues finding jobs. I decided on Pharmacy because it seems to be normal work hours, pays well, deals with mental and physical health (I am into that kinda stuff), and could coincide with psychology since drugs are prescribed to people with mental disorders.

What does everyone think about pharmacy? How difficult is it. I was planning on transferring to Uconn (University of Connecticut) with a double major in Psych and Pharm after this semester. I want some opinions on how difficult this path may be and how long it would take the average person to complete and get a job. Any info would be appreciated!

[k^M]

Not sure how helpful it is, but i remember talking to my mom about it once (been a pharmacist for 20 or so years) and one of the things she said was that during your schooling for it, you have to complete 1? or 2000 hours of pharmaceutical work on the side to get credited. No idea if thats changed or not, but just something that might help to know

[Kuriin]

My mother is in pharmaceuticals, not pharmacy; but, from what I recall, you have to take several nutrition classes. At least, for my school (Ohio State), Pharmacy students flocked to the course. The Biology of Nutrition. But, it does seem like the major is getting more popular these days. If you're excellent with science, go for it.


edit: Do you plan on doing a dual Masters? You said you have one more semester left but plan on going to double major it.

[brekk]

UConn Pharmacy program is really good. Are you already accepted to it? I wouldn't automatically assume acceptance. It's a very hard program to get into.

PS: When you're done go work for Pfizer in Groton. That place is the shit.

[Gauss]

Pharmacy school is hard as hell and there's a lot of rote memorization as in any medical field. Of the 3 or 4 people I know that attempted it, only 1 is actually taking pharmacy classes still. To be brutally honest, are you sure you want to do this? I mean you are taking 5 years to get a psych degree.

Also, regarding spring admissions, I don't know about Uconn but my alma mater's deadline to apply for spring was Sep. 15.

[Muligan]

I am in a very similar situation. Graduated with a Math Degree emphasis in Computer Sceince. I've been a software admin for nearly 5 years but, where I live the pay is low and techies are rare. Meaning, you get a lot of responsibility if you know how to turn a computer on but you are not viewed as valuable on the payroll.

Anyway, 3 pharmacist in my family and 3 doctors (just counting family member that graduated in the last 5 years, there are more) and as someone mentioned, it's mostly memory work and tons of it. Different programs are typically viewed in terms of difficulty. If you work well with memorization, it's not all that bad. (I'm speaking strictly in terms of what my family/friends have shared with me.) However, it can be very difficult and the work load in heavy.

As I said, i'm just relaying information since I am thinking about the same idea. If a particular position does not work out for me in the coming month or so, I am going back to school.

Best of luck though. I think you'll be fine if this is something you want to do and you are willing to put in the time. The best advice I have been given was to really work towards your PCAT and find a program that fits you. Look hard at where you want to apply and keep you options open.

Wish I could give 1st hand knowledge but it's comforting to see someone in the same situation.

Muli

[brekk]

Yeah the two kids from my highschool who went on to the UConn Pharm program were the Salutatorian (2nd) and another kid in the top 10 for class ranks.

[Kuriin]

Originally Posted by brekk

UConn Pharmacy program is really good. Are you already accepted to it? I wouldn't automatically assume acceptance. It's a very hard program to get into.

PS: When you're done go work for Pfizer in Groton. That place is the shit.

My mother worked for Pfizer in Groton and she absolutely hated it. lol.

[brekk]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

My mother worked for Pfizer in Groton and she absolutely hated it. lol.

/shrug I went there on a field trip senior year with my AP Chem class. Place was badass.

[Zeste]

Most things that require licenses require hours of internship, usually supervised. It's just considered part of the process.

For my PhD psychology license someday, I'll have to do about 5 more years of school, and then probably 20 years of interning with a supervisor, 4000 hours. Just part of the game.

Oh, unpaid, btw.

[Kuriin]

Originally Posted by brekk

/shrug I went there on a field trip senior year with my AP Chem class. Place was badass.

I guess it depends if you have a cool boss. She's really only hated three places she's worked at. Pfizer, MediMunne, and Quintiles.

[Kebas239]

I am not getting 2 masters - just one. I live in Connecticut, so the West Hartford branch is well within driving distance of my house (Which is where I would start if I transferred there - I could even start as a non-matriculated student if I really had to). The Storrs campus...well that's like 40 minutes away so I would likely dorm. I still have general classes I would have to take at the regular branches of Uconn (Not the actual school of Pharmacy) so I could essentially get in the main branch with a minimum of a 2.7 GPA and as long as I did well (Really well of course - at least a 3.3 or 3.4 GPA I think it was) I could get into the school of Pharmacy. You're right - it is a very competitive program and would require many man hours and determination.


As for why it has taken 5 years to get my Psych degree - Had a ton of shit happen...IE - really toxic relationship over the course of 3 years (Which just ended a week or so ago), my father and uncle passing, etc. Ended up having to drop alot of classes during a year period and that kind of slowed my progress down. Also, I was not smart in my first year of college and took classes that counted for shit towards my major -( Nutrition classes I would not mind at all! I am very much into nutrition and sports medicine so that would be something that I would enjoy taking.

I am actually very good with rote memorization. If it's just cramming terms into your head and remembering them long term, I can do that VERY well. I am hoping that this is true of the Pharmacy program. I have read that the undergrad classes are actually much harder than the later classes. I heard that it was to weed out people who couldn't handle the work-load. How true is this statement?


So you think it's advisable to do Pharmacy? It seems by what you guys are saying there is a high dropout rate. I don't want to waste any more time but I also don't want to chicken out and not try something that I could potentially do well in and be successful (Pharm jobs are plentiful in many places and make very good money). I have not taken many science classes (having my prior major be Psych and all) so I am really trying to get my feet wet at this point.

[Designz]

I am a first-year pharmacy student, and this is a horrible place to ask pre-pharm questions, lol.

Pre-Pharmacy - Student Doctor Network Forums

Pharmacy school has been easy for me so far, but it's mostly review.

I'd totally recommend pharmacy as a profession, but you have to have certain characteristics (to love what you do):

1) Love communicating with people (who can be annoying, dumb, senile, etc.)
2) Love science and medicine
3) Be dedicated to life-long learning
4) Be able to take beatings from stuck-up doctors
5) Want to provide good patient care

I think pharmacy school is going to be pretty easy, but this is coming from a person who doesn't play any games, watch any TV, and enjoys gaining knowledge. If this sounds like you, then pharmacy will be great!

[MrSpitz]

PharmD I assume is the degree you mention.

The career can vary widely, from sitting in the back of Rite Aid / CVS / Whatever commerical pharmacy to specializing and working in a hospital in a specialty (say oncology).

Commericial pharmacists make good money, but they take a lot of shit and don't use 95% of their degree.

Specialized pharmacists make less money and have slightly weird hours but work in patient care teams that can be a lot of fun.

An unspecialized hospital pharmacist sits in the basement of a hospital and makes a little less than the other two, at least in my area.


The schooling is easy enough (actually very easy other then some pharmacokinetic classes), it is getting in that is the hard part. Applicants have flocked to the field because pharmacist salaries have increased so much that you can easily make more than a primary care physician, which is ridiculous in my book but whatever. To get in you just have to nail the two years of pre-reqs, as many A's as possible, and get some experience in research or community pharm. The PCAT isn't too tough and is really only for if your grades are below par, but it varies school by school.

You have a 'residency' which is generally 6 weeks TOTAL at the end of your 4th year and have on the job internships / advanced work end of third until graduation, though it varies as some schools are only 3 years.




Good field but a lot of people are flocking to it as it is much, much easier than med. school and shorter and depending on the area the pay is friggin nuts. I worked in one a long time ago in Buffalo, the boss wanted me to go into pharm and he showed me his YTD earnings about midyear and had 89,000 at Rite Aid.


Edit: As for if you want to go into research for a pharmaceutical company, you can but you will be competing with people who have PhD's in pharmacology and other such fields who have an edge in research based positions.

[Zeste]

and you have to be able to stand on the little platform a foot above the customers and move the pills from the big bottle to the little bottle!