Medicine or Pharmacy

<p>I know that this probably has been talked about already in these forums, but reading about those didn't really help me because my circumstances are slightly different. I am currently enrolled in a direct admission program to the pharmacy college at the university where I attend, but I have always wanted to be a doctor. It will be much easier for me to go down the path of pharmacy where I would want to pursue internal medicine pharmacy, but there isn't a lot of information on the field I want to go to. I know for a fact that I absolutely cannot stand retail pharmacy (I worked as a pharmacy technician before), and I do not want to only dispense medications. I want to have hands-on experiences with patients - to connect with them and be able to help them in diagnosing their illnesses or things of that nature. It is for that reason that I'm having difficulties deciding if I want to go into medicine or not, because I know that as a doctor, I'm going to be interacting with patients much more in the manner that I want to, not just giving them advice on how to take their medications or what would be a better substitution. </p>

<p>In the end, I just want to help people. It all depends on which career will let me feel like I have made more of a difference and more accomplished that I have done something with my life...</p>

<p>Please give me some advice on which path I should take. I know that this choice is ultimately mine, but I need more information to help me decide.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I don’t think there’s anything I can offer you in terms of advice. You need to shadow doctors, and maybe pharmacists, and just decide which one is more fulfilling to you. It’s hard for anybody else to say much on the matter, because it’s such a personal thing.</p>

<p>Then again, maybe some people who have gone through these paths can post their experiences. In fact, they’ve done that many times in the past. You should try doing a search.</p>