Pharmacy or Medicine

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Im stuck.
Please help - i am accepted to 6 year rutgers pharmacy and rutgers premedicine (im planning to have a biomed eng. major)</p>

<p>so im really confused which one to do
both are similar in terms of classes</p>

<p>i like advising patients, i like to help (doctor)
but i even like the relaxing schedule of pharmacy</p>

<p>they earn almost the same - neutral arguement</p>

<p>doctor has biomed eng major
pharmacy - wait and see in 6 years for major </p>

<p>in biomed i have to kill myself to get 4.0, research so that i can get into a reputable medical school
pharmacy is not that hard in pre years</p>

<p>so i dont' know what to do.
also, isn't biomed all research???
isn't it really difficult??/</p>

<p>i really am confused
please help</p>

2

<p>Have you spent any time around a doctor or a pharmacist? Which career did you like better?</p>

3

<p>well i have spent some time with a doctor who specializes in geriatrics</p>

<p>i really like the profession - what u do and the prestige you get
but im just afraid of an extremely difficult life</p>

<p>pharmacy is difficult too but not as difficult. i would rather take the physician career because i like the job, but agian it could be taxing.. </p>

<p>in medical school... do they look at gpa vs. gpa or do the majors factor in too
like i know biomed eng will be harder for me than a biology degree
so i will ahve to sacrifice that 4.00 if i want to do biomed eng...
so would med schools look at biology 4.00 vs. 3.8 biomed or 4.00 vs. 3.8</p>

<p>im not familiar with the med school admission process
thanks for helping!</p>

4

<p>No doubt, medicine is a very difficult path. If you're that worried about it even at this young age, I think that's worth paying attention to.</p>

5

<p>thanks bluedevil, any other opinions?</p>

<p>one thing that concerns me is that if i go for pharm and want to switch to biomed eng or vice versa..i will waste years</p>

6

<p>Well, yes. If you are biomed and want to switch to pharm, you'll lose time too. If you do either and want to switch to marketing, you'll lose time. That's just what happens when you pick a field.</p>

7

<p>that is why i want to pick the right one now :)</p>

8

<p>do you think that the love of the career for medicine will take me past the stress? i am looking at primary care physicians. but isn't pharmacy equally hard? can someone describe a job of clinical pharmacy or a corporate pharmacist?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

9

<p>Pharmacy is also hard, but it's not just as hard as medicine, especially during the training phases. The love of medicine might well be enough to carry you -- that's why I asked whether you'd actually experienced the professions in question. (It doesn't really sound like it in your case, but there's only so much I can tell from a couple sentences on a bulletin board.)</p>

10

<p>do you think that in pharmacy there is job security?
i love to learn about biology, chemistry and i semi like physics
as i said, i like the physician job but i think im slightly hesitant about the stress of med school.</p>

11

<p>Security is very good. (My mother is a pharmacist.) Medical school really is stressful.</p>

12

<p>I honestly think that you would be best served right now to go to Rutgers, choose whatever major, and wait and see on declaring yourself pre-pharm or pre-med. This will, at a minimum, give you at least a year to look at things. If you've decided pharmacy at this point next year, you can study for and take the PCAT, begin the application process and go from there after a second year of undergrad.</p>

<p>If you're not ready, you'll have even more time. Many, many, many people apply to pharm school for admission after their junior and their senior years. It's certainly not uncommon to have your bachelor's degree when you start pharm school. If at some point you decide medicine's the right choice, then you haven't lost anything in that direction. Plus, you get the benefit of four years of college to enjoy. Two of my fraternity brothers, one who was my roommate while I was an M1 and he was a P1, both got their bachelor's degrees before going to pharm school. Both of them really enjoyed college and made the most of their opportunities there. I'm 100% sure that both of them believe 4 years of college was the right thing to do and that they're better off for it. I can personally attest that I know I would have regretted not having gotten my bachelor's degree if going to medical school after two years was allowed.</p>

13

<p>I agree with BRM and BDM.</p>

<p>Pharmacy route is easier than med school route. Although some of the courses are common, with a Pharmacy degree, you will have more defined work hours with a less stressful life. </p>

<p>Many of my colleagues have done PharmDs after MS or BS degrees.</p>

14

<p>Pharmacist.com</a> | Career Option Profiles</p>

<p>The pathway you're probably looking for is under clinical specialist.</p>

15

<p>thanks for all your help...
but isn't it difficult to transfer into the ernest mario school given that its the only pharmacy school in NJ?????</p>

<p>i truly appreciate your help...</p>

16

<p>and what do you think of a biomed eng. major?</p>

17

<p>The only pharmacy school in NJ is at the Rutgers School of Pharmacy.
Dr Medwick used to be the dean for PharmD programs years ago. Not sure who is heading it now.</p>

<p>If you are really keen in pursuing Pharmacy, apply to as many schools in the Northeast as possible. There are quite a few, SUNY Buffalo, Philadelphia school of pharmacy, St. John's school of pharmacy to name a few.</p>

18

<p>Technically, if you're applying to be a P1, you're not transferring.</p>

19

<p>helpneededrtenow, I was once in your exact situation (but not at your exact school). What you really need to do is some serious soul-searching. My process of deciding extended beyond pharmacy school versus medical school. I really had to dig deep and figure out what I wanted out of life. That's where I found my answer. Pursuing medicine has so far been the best decision of my life. I get to earn an undergraduate degree in a major that I enjoy and I get to spend the rest of my life doing something I have a passion for.</p>

<p>It sounds like you are hesitant about becoming a doctor because of how hard it will be. Everyone can agree that medicine is a very long and difficult road, so you ultimately need to ask yourself, Will it all be worth it in the end? If you are not confident in saying "yes" every time, then soul-search some more until you are comfortable with whatever decision you make.</p>

<p>I hope that helps.</p>

20

<p>Thanks for your advice. I know I really need to see what I will be more comfortable with, but I am afraid of making the wrong choice. See, in my high school years, I have made many "mistakes" in the college application process. I should have retaken the SAT and tried a little harder on squeezing in more SAT 2s. In my senior year, my options were totally limited because I was not a "fit" in the colleges that I prefered. </p>

<p>I really do not want to make a mistake again. I really really really like what you do in medicine (diagnose & cure), but sometimes I do not feel I can study for 8 years. I definitely want to go to the health care field so that is why I am even considering pharmacy. I do know in pharmacy, however, that I would not have the authority to treat patients the way doctors treat them. </p>

<p>I like both of the curriculums too. I really love to learn about the human body and I like to deal with people. </p>

<p>I like how in medicine, I can get a degree after 4 years, but in pharm I can't. </p>

<p>One question I have is, can I transfer out of pharmacy (within the 3rd year) and apply to med school without a degree? How hard will that be? </p>

<p>The bottom line is that I am not sure if I can survive in medical school. If I ask myself, am I willing to sacrifice anything to become a physician, I think that somewhere in my heart I say yes, but then the fear of sleepless nights, back-breaking studying, no food, black eyes really gets to me. And what if, after all that hard work, I do not succeed?</p>

<p>So, can someone tell me what I should do in order to "soul search?"</p>

<p>MyAshes, I would like to know what you majored in. </p>

<p>Thank you so much to all those who have responded. I really appreciate your help.</p>