Pharmacy, not as a backup, as a career. Can I still do medicine later?

[BATGAL]

Hi,

 

I read several threads which dealt with how to get to medschool through pharmacy (or nursing etc) as a backup.

 

Well.........from what I know, I think I would love to work as a pharmacist (esp. hospital pharm). But I would enjoy even more if i am a physician.

 

But what I like is........if i get in to pharmacy, work as a pharmacist for a few years...get my financial situation alright, learn more about the health field and gain experience (and also see if pharmacy will be good for life).

 

The question is if I want to apply to medschool say, after working 4 years as a pharmacist.........how will it affect my admission?

Does it get better or worse?

To calculate my GPA, do they look at my best 3 or 4 years or something?

The fact that I have been away from studies for a while.....how does that affect my application.

 

I definitely wanna give hospital pharmacy a try.....but I still want to keep my options open for medschool in the far future.

 

Any comments are welcome guyz...

[Kiel]

Hi,

 

I read several threads which dealt with how to get to medschool through pharmacy (or nursing etc) as a backup.

 

Well.........from what I know, I think I would love to work as a pharmacist (esp. hospital pharm). But I would enjoy even more if i am a physician.

 

But what I like is........if i get in to pharmacy, work as a pharmacist for a few years...get my financial situation alright, learn more about the health field and gain experience (and also see if pharmacy will be good for life).

 

The question is if I want to apply to medschool say, after working 4 years as a pharmacist.........how will it affect my admission?

Does it get better or worse?

To calculate my GPA, do they look at my best 3 or 4 years or something?

The fact that I have been away from studies for a while.....how does that affect my application.

 

I definitely wanna give hospital pharmacy a try.....but I still want to keep my options open for medschool in the far future.

 

Any comments are welcome guyz...

People from all sorts of backgrounds enter medicine after working in the workforce. Students have talked about having nurses, lawyers, teachers, pharmacists etc in you class. If anything this extra experience would improve your application and make you even more mature.That being said, no specific degree is preferred when I applying to medicine as long as you have the neccessary prerequisite courses. If in fact you are planning on using pharmacy as a back up plan, I would definately not voice this to many people and definately not to admissions.

 

hope this helps,

 

BTW, I have a question for you. Why would you spend 5 years--minimum in university to become a pharmacist. Then work for a couple of years and than apply to medicine. If your heart is set on medicine, why not go for this with all your determination?

[Satsuma]

I worked as a speech-language pathologist before applying to medical school. Being away from school didn`t negatively affect my application. It didn't come up in my interview at all.

There are many in my class that have chosen medicine as a second career path after doing other things...teachers, lawyers, physios etc...

I don`t think we entered those careers with the plan of going to med school later though, at least I didn`t. Going back to school after you have gotten used to a comfy income, regular working hours, paid vacation and independance isn`t easy though. So if you already know medicine is what you want to do, perhaps you should consider just going for it now.

 

Sats

[Ninjzz]

The decision ultimately rests with you, but there are a couple of other things to consider aside from what the other posters have mentioned. If your personal situation is such that you want to live on your own (perhaps living at home isn't healthy), then pharmacy has one major benefit: much more certainly as to whether you'll get in or not. The subjective component of Medicine applications may lead you high and dry without a decent job after completing a science or arts degree.

 

Most faculties of Pharmacy require one or more years of study before you can apply, which allows you to obtain a year's worth of grades (or at least one semester's worth) and have a better idea as to whether you like chemistry and some of the core courses related to pharmacy. If you don't get in, you could continue with your science or arts degree. If you don't get into pharmacy the first time around, you can give it another shot in the following year. If that doesn't work, you can give a shot to pharm and med in the third year. At that point, perhaps you'll know with much more certainty what it is you want to pursue. If it's only med, then you can finish a science / arts degree instead of going to pharmacy.

 

Just my $0.02.

[ahma99]

well u can do that for sure.. go into pharmacy and see what you could do later on..

 

now the thing is that getting into pharmacy isnt quite easy .. and admission to pharmacy is gona try to weed out ppl who want to go in there just to feel comfortable since they will be sorta guranteed a job even if they dont make it into med. now the reason why the faculties of pharmacy dont want such ppl is because they are working to reduce the shortage of pharmacists not to offer a bakup program for ppl who go in and spend 2 years in pharmacy and then just ditch the faculty and pursue medicine....

and one more thing... pharmacy is quite a demanding BSc.. so u gota work much harder to keep up a healthy GPa for med school...

 

and one more thing... the tuition for pharmacy is almost 11 000 / year ... NOW THAS A LOT of money to pay for a program if u dont even wana continue on...

 

that being said,,, if you really are passionate about pharmacy and u think u wud contribute to the profession.. by all means go in .. cuz most likely u will excell in the field that you like

anyways good luck with your decision!

[BATGAL]

Hi guyz.......thank you.

 

I have only been just over 2 years in Canada. I was thinking about getting more adapted here, in general and also with the health field before I embark upon the "real" toughie challenge

 

But true..considering the expense and number of years....umm

 

I will keep thinking for quite some time before I make a decision.

 

And I might keep asking questions..........boy, am I glad i found this forum !~

[Kuantum]

I don't see the point in using Pharmacy as an introduction to Medicine. Sure, you will learn a bunch of stuff that most doctors won't know, however, I think it is a wasted resource. That spot should be left for students who in fact want to be pharmacists. Also, Pharmacy isn't like other undergraduate degrees - it is tough stuff. So, it is probably not in your GPA's best interest to be taking such rigorous course work before trying to get into medicine.

 

Also, I think its kind of lame that you would go into Pharmacy, make money, just to go into medicine. What's to say you won't go into medicine, make money, then switch careers...another wasted resource. Everyone pays tuition to become a doctor, but its not as much as what it actually costs to train a physician. The provincial governments take a large bulk of it, so if you want to become a doctor, I think for the best interest of all involved (including yourself), save some time and just go for medicine the first time around.