[Kev]

As with all healthcare field, you can't just do it for the money. The reimbursement is decent, but not great. if you don't have a passion / burning desire to do your job and just into making money, you'd get burned out fairly quickly. I'm speaking from a graduating medical student perspective.

[asian010]

Originally Posted by SpecC

apply to university of pacific

they have a pharm program that'll get you done when you're like 23. i'm sure it's hell though

i did that. im praying i get into the program. lol

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by asian010

i did that. im praying i get into the program. lol

haha good luck with that

another alternative is ucd/ucsd/ucla/ucsc/ucb bio, chem or biochem major then apply for pharm school after. i heard the competitive gpa for that is like 3.2 which isn't that hard.

[J BONE]

Originally Posted by Kev

As with all healthcare field, you can't just do it for the money. The reimbursement is decent, but not great. if you don't have a passion / burning desire to do your job and just into making money, you'd get burned out fairly quickly. I'm speaking from a graduating medical student perspective.

Exactly what Kev said. Reimbursement is going down. What that means is you will have to work 5-10% harder each year just to maintain last years salary. I think people on the outside think docs, etc. are paid to much. Of course I am biased on this, but if you had any idea how hard they work to get to that point, you would understand. I think Kev can relate to this.

My .02, pick a major in college that you like. Don't pick bio or chem just because you want to get into medical/dental/PA/pharm school. You have to like what you are doing. Most schools these days want well rounded people. It does you no good to major in chem and graduate with a 3.5. Best advice is to work your ass off in undergrad. Yeah undergrad can be fun and you may want to party more than study, BUT, you WILL regreat it. Have fun, but STUDY! Once your GPA is low, it is damn near impossible to get it back up.

If you like Pharm, shadow someone. See if it what you like. Yeah the money is great, but money is not everything. Remember, what you do today, will reflect what you do tomorrow. So, your choice? Study hard in undergrad, or party hard in undergrad. It is really that simple.

I congratulate you on asking this question. It sounds like you have your head on straight. Best of luck to you!

[J BONE]

One more thing.... I am not saying you shouldn't have fun in undergrad because you should. I am saying this from personal experience. I can't tell you how hard it was to bounce back from my 1.5 GPA first semester. Damn beer and girls!! At that point I realized that if I didn't get my shit together I would not have the life I wanted. Today, I have the life I wanted. Medical school was the best time of my life, the hardest, without a doubt. But the BEST. Once you get to that school of your choice, then have fun.

[c0nstant]

a lot of good advice in this thread. im so thankful that the op posted this and everyone who replied has been beyond helpful. im in nearly the exact same situation as the op and this thread really has given me new insight

[zot09]

Originally Posted by firstkill

just like any field theres more to pharmacy than just retail.

at the hospital they do a MUCH different role. Is unfair to just say work at a pharmacy to see if you like it or not.

Good point, I forgot all about that...whoops, sorry.

[AMJ_77]

There is some sound advice being handed out here. The community perspective is bang on (Rick Hunter) from what I experienced but it seems we have a lack of hospital input. I had a perfect 4.0 GPA after two years of undergrad and applied to both Med and pharm. I turned down medicine although being accepted. It was a lifestyle choice, I know I would be consumed by my work if I was an MD as it is just my personality. I decided pharmacy was a great alternative and accepted. I graduated at 23 years of age to 100K+ (a few of my buddies make 150k+ plus bonuses in rural communities!).

Again it is not all money, it is nice but it doesn't give you meaning or a sense of fulfillment. Here in Alberta we have been given prescribing rights in order to better utilize our position in the front lines of the health care profession. We are still working everything out but a few of us have these extended prescribing practices. I myself work in the largest hospital in Alberta. I work in the cardiac ICU as well as in normal ward cardiology. I love my clinical practice in hospital pharmacy. You get to utilize the clinical knowledge learned in school as well as gain skills over and above what we were taught. I am not saying it is all roses as some doctors egos are too big even for themselves and are willing to put their patients best interest on the back burner just ignore your suggestions. All professions have these people. I worked and still work in the community (a shift once a week or every two weeks) but hospital is where my passion lies. You can truly influence the patients outcome and improve their quality of life. It is all what you make of it, there is a vast amount of knowledge to tackle but you can make a name for yourself and become a vital part of a health care team.

Sorry for being long winded but I figured you would want a clinical pharmacists perspective. Good luck with your decision!

[asian010]

hey, great to finally hear a perspective from a pharmacist in the hospital wing. but i noticed u said u went to pharmD after 2 years of undergrad school? so i assume u crammed the required pharmD classes into those 2 years? ive been hearing alot of people here in the states go for a bachelors before going for a pharmD.

Originally Posted by AMJ_77

There is some sound advice being handed out here. The community perspective is bang on (Rick Hunter) from what I experienced but it seems we have a lack of hospital input. I had a perfect 4.0 GPA after two years of undergrad and applied to both Med and pharm. I turned down medicine although being accepted. It was a lifestyle choice, I know I would be consumed by my work if I was an MD as it is just my personality. I decided pharmacy was a great alternative and accepted. I graduated at 23 years of age to 100K+ (a few of my buddies make 150k+ plus bonuses in rural communities!).

Again it is not all money, it is nice but it doesn't give you meaning or a sense of fulfillment. Here in Alberta we have been given prescribing rights in order to better utilize our position in the front lines of the health care profession. We are still working everything out but a few of us have these extended prescribing practices. I myself work in the largest hospital in Alberta. I work in the cardiac ICU as well as in normal ward cardiology. I love my clinical practice in hospital pharmacy. You get to utilize the clinical knowledge learned in school as well as gain skills over and above what we were taught. I am not saying it is all roses as some doctors egos are too big even for themselves and are willing to put their patients best interest on the back burner just ignore your suggestions. All professions have these people. I worked and still work in the community (a shift once a week or every two weeks) but hospital is where my passion lies. You can truly influence the patients outcome and improve their quality of life. It is all what you make of it, there is a vast amount of knowledge to tackle but you can make a name for yourself and become a vital part of a health care team.

Sorry for being long winded but I figured you would want a clinical pharmacists perspective. Good luck with your decision!

[AMJ_77]

Originally Posted by asian010

hey, great to finally hear a perspective from a pharmacist in the hospital wing. but i noticed u said u went to pharmD after 2 years of undergrad school? so i assume u crammed the required pharmD classes into those 2 years? ive been hearing alot of people here in the states go for a bachelors before going for a pharmD.

Our program is different here in Canada. We don't need an undergraduate degree to get into Pharm or Med if your grades are high enough, with a 4.0 I had no troubles getting into either.

[Kev]

Originally Posted by asian010

hey, great to finally hear a perspective from a pharmacist in the hospital wing. but i noticed u said u went to pharmD after 2 years of undergrad school? so i assume u crammed the required pharmD classes into those 2 years? ive been hearing alot of people here in the states go for a bachelors before going for a pharmD.

It's possible in the US too. My buddy went to college with me at Madison, WI and got into the PharmD program there after 2 years of undergrad.

[Rick Hunter]

Originally Posted by AMJ_77

Our program is different here in Canada. We don't need an undergraduate degree to get into Pharm or Med if your grades are high enough, with a 4.0 I had no troubles getting into either.

Dude, did you go to the UofA? Golden Bears FTMFW!

I beat you to grad... out @ 22. Nancy Rae was still Mother Goose at the time.

[AMJ_77]

Originally Posted by Rick Hunter

Dude, did you go to the UofA? Golden Bears FTMFW!

I beat you to grad... out @ 22. Nancy Rae was still Mother Goose at the time.

HAHAHAHA! U of A FTW is right! Too good and mother goose has since lost her mind with all her crazy jewelry and is no longer with the faculty! That is awesome, are you in the States? Ya you powned me, 22 is sweet, you get in after 1 year?

[Rick Hunter]

Yup, my goal was to get my ass in and out of University as efficiently as possible. No sense wasting time in school, so I kept my eye on the prize, and am now enjoying life south of the 49th parallel.

Mother Goose's replacement was my classmate. I wonder if he's still a boozer j/k

[schnell325]

Originally Posted by Rick Hunter

Mother Goose's replacement was my classmate. I wonder if he's still a boozer j/k

IF he's a true pharmacist, he still is.