<p>First, for the few minority who have taken or are taking the PharmD/MBA Program, please describe how the program influences your life (i.e. is it stressful? is it as stressful as the M.D. path, is it difficult to switch gears for both colleges, is the homework time-consuming, are there any burn-outs?) Second, what careers does the PharmD/MBA Program open to the student after graduation? (Are there any careers attainable that wouldn't be attainable to one who has only a PharmD) Thanks.</p>
<p>I have no idea about the PharmD/MBA program. PharmD is difficult enough. I think you have to learn all the chemistry and biology that an MD has to learn, and then some.</p>
<p>In any case, I have a relative who earned her PharmD. Her desire was to work in a hospital consulting with doctors on drug treatment (she's the expert on how to apply the drug for a particular disease, especially new drugs, drug interactions, etc.).</p>
<p>I would imagine that a PharmD/MBA would prepare you to be the Administrator of the Pharmacy division of a hospital. Maybe specialize in reviewing drug coverage (claims or pricing benefits) for insurance companies. I suppose you could also manage a chain of pharmacies, but I think a regular Pharmacy degree and MBA would be all you need for that.</p>
<p>I have not seen this combined PharmD and MBA program that you speak of.</p>
<p>But to answer your question:
A PharmD program is hard, but an MD program is even harder. There is no question about that.</p>
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I suppose you could also manage a chain of pharmacies, but I think a regular Pharmacy degree and MBA would be all you need for that.
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I don't believe there is a "regular Pharmacy" degree. The regular pharmacy degree is the PharmD. District managers for pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS usually only have a PharmD and 5+ years of experience and average about $130000-160000 per year. If you want to promote higher and faster, an MBA is essential for that line of work.</p>
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I don't believe there is a "regular Pharmacy" degree.
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<p>My mistake. I thought Narusakuu was talking about a PhD in Pharmacy.</p>
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My mistake. I thought Narusakuu was talking about a PhD in Pharmacy
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<p>I guess I will try to clarify the revelant degrees for the pharmacy field.</p>
<p>PharmD is the clinical pharmacy degree that allows you to practice as a pharmacist.</p>
<p>There are a lot of people who work in the pharmaceutical industry who do not have a PharmD and they typically have degrees such as PhD Biochemistry, PhD Pharmacology, PhD Medicinal Chemistry, etc. You will usually find them working on drug discovery and research. If you do find PharmDs working in industry, usually they are usually involved in the clinical application of pharmacy such as clinical trials.</p>
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<p>Is the PharmD/MBA combo better than an M.D. if one wants to become a hospital manager?</p>
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No, an MD/MBA is a better combo if you want to become a hospital manager.
Honestly, I can’t think of many cases where a PharmD would be better than having an MD. The major advantage of a PharmD used to be that you could get it in 5 years straight from HS if you transferred in a lot of AP credits.</p>
<p>Do M.D.'s have to look at blood a lot? and organs, because that might be problematic for me?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cop.ufl.edu/departments/PHCA/PharmacyEducation/pharmdmba.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cop.ufl.edu/departments/PHCA/PharmacyEducation/pharmdmba.pdf</a></p>
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<p>Yes. Part of being in the medical industry is being able to be nonchalant about some pretty disgusting things.</p>
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That certainly is interesting! I’ve never seen that before and thanks for bringing it to my attention. While this does answer the OP’s question to the T, I’d still recommend an accelerated 6 year PharmD program from HS and then applying elsewhere for an MBA. The point of an MBA program is really to network and therefore a top 20 business school is better suited for that purpose. Also, you’d save more time if you did an accelerated 6 year PharmD program and then an MBA - a total of 8 years of schooling. If you did undergrad and PharmD/MBA, it could potentially be 10 years of schooling if your undergrad lasts a traditional 4 years.</p>