Confused -- I Need Advice, Please. (Pharmacist OR Physician)

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am a 23-year old student who was accepted into a top-tier Pharmacy School in the USA and I am anticipated to enroll in 1 month! I was a Biology Major and completed 4 years of undergraduate coursework at a University with 1 year left in order to complete my BS in Biology Degree, but I was able to gain provisional acceptance into the top-Pharmacy School of my choice without the completion of my Bachelor's Degree due to my 3.4 GPA, extracurricular activities (worked in various Pharmacy hospital settings, a retail setting as a licensed Pharmacy Technician, conducted research at a hospital, tutored Chemistry, etc.), and used strong interview skills. Oh, and the Pharmacy School that I am set to attend this Fall is an accelerated 3-year PharmD/Bachelor's of Arts Degrees Dual Program. With this opportunity, I could be a Pharmacist at the age of 25 and could complete a residency (1-2 years) and could be set to work as a Pharmacist at the age of 26, most likely, with a PharmD and BA Degrees under my belt... Sound nice. But lately, I am beginning to feel that the reason that I had initially chosen to pursue becoming a Pharmacist (Senior year in high school) was because I respected a few Pharmacists that were family-friends and I had aspired to be like them. With this mindset, I feel that I may have somewhat blindly enjoyed all of my Pharmacy experiences as many students do, Pharmacy, Medical, or Dental alike, because I felt that these experiences resembled my future goals.</p>

<p>However, I have been conducting lots of research and am aware that there seems to be a growing saturation with the number of Pharmacists that exist in the USA. This could mean that salaries will begin to decrease, labor may increase, and that there is a possibility that I may not be able to find a full-time position upon graduation... With 200K+ in debt. But at this point, I could be earning a salary of 115K, maybe more... And will begin to re-pay this debt as quickly as possible. I am currently single (not married), do not own a home, nor do I have any financial burdens at this time. However, I am trying to make my decision based on logic, both financially and so on.</p>

<p>For a while now and especially as of late, I have pondered the thoughts of making a switch to pursuing a career in medicine in which I could eventually practice as a Primary Care Doctor, GP, or possibly a Pediatrician. I just don't know if being a Pharmacist will be satisfying if I feel that I have the moral responsibility of eventually raising a family... Is a Pharmacist really respected? With the market looking the way it is, will I be able to eventually look my children into the eyes feeling that I will be providing for them the best life possible?</p>

<p>The other thoughts that roam in my mind are that I have read a statistic that mentioned that over half of Physicians regret choosing a career in medicine due to the extended hours of labor, grueling residencies, etc. But the majority of Physicians that I currently know seem to be satisfied with their lives, which is a confusing paradox, in my opinion. If I do make the switch to an eventual career in medicine, I will have to return to my University and bail on my acceptance to Pharmacy School, and complete my BS in Biology while GAINING some real MEDICAL EXPERIENCE since my only 'medical experience' is some research that I completed at a hospital with a Physician. This would mean that I would take the MCAT next Summer and would apply for medical school next Summer as well since I'd have a year's worth of medical experience at that point. If I was to be accepted anywhere in the USA, I'd be starting during the Fall of 2015 since the application cycle takes place a year before enrollment, which would mean that I'd have a 'year off' in between my application and enrollment... During this time, I could gain more medical experiences while earning a small income... IF I GET ACCEPTED, THAT IS. I am concerned about having a 'D' in one course and 2 'C's in a couple of other courses. These grades came in 3 different semesters out of the 8 semesters that I've been enrolled at my University and were uncharacteristic of my typical grades (again, my GPA was a 3.4, which is decent, but not great... But is it nearly enough with those aforementioned bad grades?). With an acceptance into medical school during the Fall of 2015, I could be practicing after a 4-5-year post-medical school residency, which would be in 2019-2020. At this point, I will be 32 years old. At this point, I will be 300K+ in debt and will be making around 170K+ for a salary... This is a tough financial decision. On top of this, I will be raising a family in my mid-30's (planning to, at least... Even during my mid-late 20's is fine. But I'd like to feel like I will be supporting them financially and as a strong role model/example. Also, besides the point that the market seems excruciatingly tough for pharmacists, being a pharmacist in many ways prohibits the opportunities of working overseas and using my English-speaking as a plus. </p>

<p>I am an extremely driven individual and know that once my mind is set, I will pull through with a full throttle to ensure that I succeed to the best of my abilities. However, I am posting on here with the hope that I could attain some real advice that could help me with my difficult decision with limited time to decide. I apologize for the long post, but I could really use some advice! Thanks in advance for your time... I am REALLY lost... I appreciate the help!</p>

<p>-AZ</p>

2

<p>If you think pharmacists work too long, I’m not sure why you would want to become a doctor when they most likely work just as long if not longer. I’d stay with pharmacy school since you seem to enjoy it. I don’t think your GPA is high enough to where you can justify an attempt at medical school just because you want to earn more money.</p>

3

<p>I have moved your thread to the Premed Topics forum because it is the most active of the medical forums. If you want you could also try posting on the Careers in Medicine or Pharmacy forums.</p>

4

<p>I did not say that Pharmacists work long hours or that the path is a long path… I have no concern regarding the length of the hours worked and certainly do not mind that the education-process is a long one. Also, my point in mentioning the financial aspects of the situation was to show that I WOULD NOT BE MAKING THE SWITCH FOR MONEY… I emphasized that as a Pharmacist, I would be better off financially for a long time as my early earnings could allow for investment-opportunities, repayment of a lesser loan (in comparison to medical school and so on). </p>

<p>Rather, I mentioned that I would be making the switch due to the unknown of feeling satisfied with life as a Pharmacist in the current job-market of the USA. It seems as though the lack of respect for certain Pharmacist positions could be troubling, and I plan to pursue a clinical role, although it seems that these opportunities are extremely scarce. Also, I would be making the switch because it would allow for me to be a different role model for my future children. It would seem rather odd to grow older and advise my children not to enter my profession due to the fact that the diploma mills (constantly opening Pharmacy Schools) are ‘destroying a great profession’. I appreciate your response, and I apologize if my post was misleading, but I would certainly not be making a switch for money… I’m not materialistic at all. And I have a passion for helping others. I just don’t know how wise or realistic it would be to make a switch like this at a time like this when all the stars seem to have aligned… Lol.</p>

5

<p>Are you an international student? If so, it’s nearly impossible to be accepted to med school in the US. Very few schools accept international students. Those that do usually require you to deposit 4yrs of tuition up front in an escrow account. There is no financial aid in the form of federal loans available for international students. </p>

<p>If you’re an international student, I think far and away your best bet will be to complete pharmacy school and work as a pharmacist.</p>

6

<p>There are plenty of physician parents who are steering their kids away from medicine. I hardly think you should base your career choice on what you think would be the best career for your children to pursue.</p>

7

<p>I appreciate the replies. I am not an international student… I was born and raised in the States. But having the option available to work overseas in the future is exciting to me… And it seems as though the medical route provides more opportunities than a pharmacy route, and more particularly clinical pharmacy.</p>

<p>You make a valid point regarding my future children lol. But what I mean is that I am unsure of how it will feel like being a Pharmacist with a family to raise… Is it a respected-enough career to where I will be respected by my family and furthermore, my peers? My views regarding the career of a Pharmacist have shifted ever since I have began to hear about all of these new Pharmacy Schools opening up and that there are unemployed Pharmacists… Seriously? Some of the most educated individuals that I know are Pharmacists that could have became anything that they wanted to become, but being a Pharmacist was intriguing to them, so they pursued it. I was a strong applicant and was therefore accepted into the Pharmacy School of my choice, however, the fact that so many Pharmacists seem to apply for one clinical position or even a community pharmacy position is beyond my understanding. The supply vs. demand issue is a huge concern of mine. </p>

<p>The fact that I am family-oriented steers me toward becoming a Pharmacist, but I am quickly learning that the rest of the world is not very understanding of the position that a Pharmacist has (a PharmD) as other countries simply require a Bachelor’s Deg. or a Master’s Deg., although a trend is shifting to where earning a Doctorate is becoming the norm… But this truly does not bode well with me as I feel that I will not have the level of respect that I deserve with a strong education background and a solid understanding of the sciences, but I guess that with time, knowledge shows with conversations. Is being a Pharmacist satisfying enough? Is being a Physician as great as people make it out to be? I have family-members in both fields, but I have not been able to seek an answer from them in this regard…</p>

<p>The main purpose of my posts are to seek advice and to avoid any future regret/feeling that I could have or should have pursued a different route. However, the idea of working through a residency after medical school and potentially having long work-weeks throughout my career while being away from my family is a little troubling as well, although I feel that the family would respect my time more since it would be scarce, as do most patients since they feel that Physicians are so busy… I do care for being respected, as do most people in the workforce. I just want to avoid any regret, really.</p>

<p>The responses are helping… Please keep them coming. Thanks again.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>You should know that divorce rates for physicians are high (29% for male physicians, higher for female physicians). This, in part, due to the long and irregular work hours.</p>

9

<p>I see, but I’m not really worried about the divorce-rate, to be honest. I feel that I would be able to sustain a marriage regardless of my career-choice.</p>

<p>Please keep the replies coming, regardless of your profession. But if there are any Pharmacists or Physicians out there that could offer their opinions, that would be great. Thanks.</p>

10

<p>You appear to be very concerned with the “respect” involved, to be accorded you by strangers, family, etc. Outside of one of the Godfather movies, you’re not going to get much salient advice regarding “respect”; that’s a decision you’ll have to make.</p>

11

<p>WOWmom,</p>

<p>is that the annual divorce rate? I always thought physicians were above average and the lifetime divorce rate for the general population is above 40%</p>

12

<p>Not sure if it’s annual or lifetime. (Source didn’t specify which.)</p>

<p>Actually divorce rates have been declining since the 1980s. Currently it’s 35% (2012 data)–a reflection that more and more couples simply never marry in the first place. And among educated, upper middle class couples, the divorce rate is lower still.</p>

13

<p>Some of the smartest friends I know chose to go through the accelerated ba/pharmd path and they are quite content with their decisions. While you should be concerned with diploma mills, the fact is that you got into a top program. This is usually what happened with law schools; if you graduate from one of the top programs you have a good chance of receiving a job offer. Just because of diploma mills, it doesn’t mean that lawyers have lost value in society. It’s just that competition has developed and employers tend to trust those that come from competent and established programs.
Also, pharmacy is not really one dimensional. Since you can work early, you have more freedom to work harder at an earlier age in industrial pharmacy and then transfer to something less demanding. You can even go to management and so many other avenues. If you want to work at a clinical setting, you will need hospital ecs during pharm school.
I think that once people open the envelope, they see just exactly how much more work they have and can get. All it takes is hardwork and connections. You will be respected if you focus on taking your decisions further. You can’t just rest once you get into pharm school. In fact, that’s that scope of all medical fields. You can go as far as possible but you have to work that much as well.</p>