Any pharmacists in the forum? (Dealing cocaine does not count)

[inq89]

Originally Posted by JackTheRipper

Question now is....does the pharmacy school prestige affect your chances of residency? I know for retail, the school doesn't matter so long as you get a license. But do hospitals care if you graduated from LIU or St Johns as opposed to UMinn or USC?
As of now, no. But there are tons of new pharmacy schools opening up left and right each year and some are predicting there could be a tier system just like what the law schools have. (Then there could be a saturation of pharmacists. Some areas in the country such as NJ/NYC are already too crowded. Out of the whole class of Rutgers '09, CVS hired like 3 people...and who said that pharmacy is a safe career? lol But I'm getting off point....) Best bet is to try to get accepted to a large state school like USC, UNC, Texas, etc. But going to a smaller school is not bad but only if it is an established program in my opinion. St. Johns is an established program. Residencies may look at the name of the school, but like I said it is a small deciding factor as of now. Look at the US News & Report for rankings and try to get in the top 50. OP, I also want you to check my site if you haven't done so, and not for the sake of selfish promotion

If pharmacy is really where you want to go, then may be able to save time and money and get accepted without a 4 year degree. That's what I did and you can read about how I did it.

 

[JackTheRipper]

Yea I read all of it. It seems most pharmacy schools are become more selective and favoring students who have a four year degree more than students who do 2+4. USC actually requires students to have a B.S. to qualify for acceptance.

I don't think I can do the 2+4 path because for me, it'd be more like a 3+4 path since I will be unable to take any pre-req classes this year. A semester has passed, and the spring semester is full of II classes. I don't think it'd be a good idea to take a II class without taking BioI/ChemI. In order to complete the pre-reqs, I'd have to then spend an extra year so it'll be 3+4. In that case, I might as well finish UG and get a B.S. in biology.

It sucks to know that the market could radically change in the time I spend in school. I mean, I bet a reason why students decided to go to law school in 1999-2001 was because the legal market was booming. There were so many bonuses for lawyers in 2000. Now, 9-10 years after these students applied, the legal market is ****. That could happen to pharmacists too. I would spend 7-9 years in preparation for the NAPLEX and then graduate in time to see some sort of failing pharmaceutical market. Of course, that's a big IF. I'm hoping this "IF" doesn't happen and I don't think it will. It doesn't seem like the healthcare career is going down any time soon; with healthcare reform, there would only be more patients and for retail pharmacists, more customers. As noted in your blog, pharmacist interest groups (?) are pushing for more active roles in the treatment of patients and I'm digging such a reform.

I've done some research on schools, and I think the schools that I'll apply to would be LIU and Rutgers. I'd love to apply to Northeastern and STJohns, but it seems that they only have 0+6 programs. I'm somewhat attached to NYC so I am unsure if I'd like moving so far to go to school. Living in the Bronx for Fordham was already a big change from my nice Brooklyn neighborhood.

If you don't mind me asking, I don't think you mentioned which school you were going to (or maybe I missed that part). Where do you go and do you like it?

 

[GQgeek]

Just a FYI, but i'd look at the prereqs again, because, at a minimum, you're going to have to do general chemistry 1 (and maybe 2) before anyone lets you do a biochem/organic/inorganic class. So if you're saying you wouldn't start until next fall because no 1 classes are being offered right now, you wouldn't even get to your "real" classes until almost 2 years from now. You've really got a nasty chain of prereqs ahead of you if you're going to look at doing a chem program. General chem1&2->organic 1->biochem 1/analytical chem1->organic2/biochem2,higher level classes like cell physiology, metabolism, toxicology, etc. Even for a biology degree you'll have to do a chunk of these.

You'll basically be starting over from year one. Chasing what's hot is a stupid idea. The job market is always going to be changing. Choose something that actually interests you. If that's law, then you should suck it up and continue down that path. You're in a grass is always greener mentality but I don't think you realize how difficult switching is going to be. It really won't be easy to go in to a chemistry heavy program with no science background. For most people chem1/2 is a review of high-school but most still get lousy marks and it's the easiest chem course offered. I took time off university, and even though i had the background and understood it all, it was difficult when i went back because things that had been second-nature to me at one time had been forgotten while i was out of school and doing other things. You're really going to have to work hard and it seems to me like you're not convinced with your ability to do that, otherwise you'd just be gunning for a T14 school.

You should be honest with your ability to focus and work otherwise you're just going to **** up your gpa and you won't get in to pharm school or law school.

 

[JackTheRipper]

Most pre-reqs do not require biochem, so if I do continue with a premed path, my year would be like this.

Sophomore year- Bio I/II, Chem I/II
Sophomore Summer- Orgo chemI/II
Junior year-Bio major classes+ PhysicsI/II
Senior year-finish up bio major classes.

I think I can do it+I'm willing to do it. I'm guessing most students in pre-med don't have a science background either aside from high school science so I don't think I'll be the only one.

TBH, I believe myself to be the typical Asian which is aiming for the career of a lawyer, physician or accountant. I've had changes in my "dream job" throughout my life and at one point I did want to be a doctor. Not to sound too cheesy, but I admired the fact that they could help people while making money. Also, throughout childhood, I was constantly sick and without going into detail, I've been into the OR more than once. These experiences made me want to be a doctor more (hell, I was sick so often that soon I could tell which prescriptions my doctor would write me). But then, I realized that I hated math and the strong math requirement+grueling medical school+years of residency scared me away.

I took several law classes in high school (criminal, civil, constitutional) and I enjoyed all of them. My mind was then set on becoming a lawyer from high school until now. But with the job market as it is, I don't know if I have the guts and glory mentality to continue down such an uncertain path. I began to doubt myself in regards to my talents of a lawyer and if I would get a high enough GPA for T14. The horror stories and the ridiculous hours scared me away even more.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I confess myself to be a person who's too scared to wholeheartedly devote myself to one thing. While one side of me would want to just continue down the path of being an attorney, another side of me is telling me not to do it for the sake of economic security. I mean, having a JD doesn't pay my bills. Having a job pays my bills. Right now, it sounds like "If you're a decent lawyer, you will have a hard time finding a job especially in NYC. If you're a decent pharmacist, you will more or less be guaranteed a job." I've looked into the job of a clinical pharmacist and I like how it sounds. I can help people who need the right drugs to help them and I will be able to work much sooner than a doctor.

Sorry for the long wall of text, but I'd like to thank those who replied for their insight and advice!

 

[GQgeek]

^^ Ok, I thought you were further along in unversity but it now sounds like you haven't even started yet. Consider that for law school you're looking a 3 or 4 years undergrad + 3 years. The market will most likely have recovered by then. If you are asian and you speak one of the languages, and you do go to law school, you could have some very interesting work open up that a white guy wouldn't be able to get. Getting decent marks for a pharm program is really not going to be any easier than getting a high enough GPA to get in to a T14 in a BA program. I say that having done both science and social science tracks in university. I did all the chem up to organic 2 and then switched to classics because my plans changed and I no longer had much interest in pursuing any sort of career in science. You will definitely work harder for a lower grade in science. I say that with 100% certainty.

Btw, the detail you're leaving out about premed programs and people without science backgrounds is that by the end of the program, only a tiny fraction of those that started the program remain. I don't know you and I don't know your aptitudes, but paint a realistic picture before you make any big decisions. Do you even know if you'd be good at science? At the very least, I knew that much entering university b/c I got 100 on just about every physics test i ever wrote. I'd try and take something in the summer before messing everything up.

 

[JackTheRipper]

Well, though I didn't have a big interest in the sciences (other than a dream of being a doctor), I never found any high school science class hard. HS physics was one of my favorite classes (due to a good teacher and because I got good grades). Of course, I understand there is a huge difference between HS bio and college level bio too.

I could take the Bio/chem I classes in sophomore year and then I'd have a few weeks time to decide if I want to drop the class or not without inferring any mark on my transcript. The only downside to that would be that if I decide that I am super un-fit for bio/chem, it'd be a pain to get into a diff science class. And the more immediate problem would be if I was set for pre-med, I'd have to take calc now when spring semester rolls in or else I don't know when else I could fit that class in. I remember calc is required for physics which I would take in junior year and I'd have no time in sophomore year or sophomore summer to take the calc class.

I've given it more thought and I'm seriously leaning towards being a clinical pharmacist. I like what I'd do (helping people in a hospital setting) without the long residency doctors would need to do. If I could set my heart on being a clinical pharmacist, I'll tough out pre-med courses no matter what.

 

[GQgeek]

Bio is easy for the most part. It just requires a good memory. This is a bit less true in upper-level classes, but for the first couple of years, as long as you work hard, you don't even have to be smart to get good grades in bio. Definitely take Calc I and get it out of the way. The chem will be much more challenging for most people. How much chem did you take in HS, if any? Chem1&2 generally assume you've done a fair amount of it in high school. A good chunk is usually review to get everyone on a level footing, but if you haven't seen the material before, you might think that it moves fast. And it's really important to get a very solid understanding of everything in chem 1&2 before you move on to higher level chem classes or you'll continually find yourself at a disadvantage.

 

[Pennglock]

Go for Dental School, IMO..

 

[BBSLM]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

Go for Dental School, IMO..

please to explain?

 

[BEAR JEW]

There is a "shortage" in pharmacists but not the case for NYC, I know ppl that had to look elsewhere for jobs like long island, upstate NY, etc. The shortage in the rest of the country is projected to last only a few more years, which is going to be before you would graduate.