Research With A Pharmd?

[Leyan]

Is there any PharmD/PhD program (analagous to the MD/PhD) in Canada? I have never heard of any, but maybe someone has?

 

I have a strong interest in organic/medicinal chemistry and I think I would find the pharmacy school curriculum very interesting, especially the parts about about drug metabolism, drug interactions and side effects, pharmacology, etc. But from my limited knowledge, I find the job of a pharmacist (I might be wrong, and forgive me for saying this) somewhat monotonous and unfulfilling.

I was thinking that, if I could do research on the side (or focus on research, and work as a pharmacist on the side), it would make pharmacy much more enjoyable and rewarding to me.

 

Ideally I would like to do research in drug design and development/medicinal chemistry. If there is no PharmD/PhD program, is there a possibility to do significant research in this field, as a pharmacist? Or is a graduate degree (masters or phd) required?

 

Thanks!

[JohnGrisham]

Is there any PharmD/PhD program (analagous to the MD/PhD) in Canada? I have never heard of any, but maybe someone has?

 

I have a strong interest in organic/medicinal chemistry and I think I would find the pharmacy school curriculum very interesting, especially the parts about about drug metabolism, drug interactions and side effects, pharmacology, etc. But from my limited knowledge, I find the job of a pharmacist (I might be wrong, and forgive me for saying this) somewhat monotonous and unfulfilling.

I was thinking that, if I could do research on the side (or focus on research, and work as a pharmacist on the side), it would make pharmacy much more enjoyable and rewarding to me.

 

Ideally I would like to do research in drug design and development/medicinal chemistry. If there is no PharmD/PhD program, is there a possibility to do significant research in this field, as a pharmacist? Or is a graduate degree (masters or phd) required?

 

Thanks!

Sounds like you are more interested in Pharmacology itself, which is its own much more broader and indepth field. I think most major universities will have a BSc with Major in Pharmacology - and at least at mine, you can do a co-op program to get research exposure at some very big name research facilities. Then from the BSc you can do Masters and/or PhD if you want to, depending on what realm of research or industry you want to go into.

 

If you don't like the Pharmacy aspect, then there isn't much point in going into Pharmacy - it is a professional program with a specific aim of producing pharmacists. Yes, some will also go on to be involved in research for sure- but if you already don't have much intention to practice as a pharmacist...seems to make more sense to stick with the Pharmacology BSc->Masters route.

[Epona]

Is there any PharmD/PhD program (analagous to the MD/PhD) in Canada? I have never heard of any, but maybe someone has?

 

I have a strong interest in organic/medicinal chemistry and I think I would find the pharmacy school curriculum very interesting, especially the parts about about drug metabolism, drug interactions and side effects, pharmacology, etc. But from my limited knowledge, I find the job of a pharmacist (I might be wrong, and forgive me for saying this) somewhat monotonous and unfulfilling.

I was thinking that, if I could do research on the side (or focus on research, and work as a pharmacist on the side), it would make pharmacy much more enjoyable and rewarding to me.

 

Ideally I would like to do research in drug design and development/medicinal chemistry. If there is no PharmD/PhD program, is there a possibility to do significant research in this field, as a pharmacist? Or is a graduate degree (masters or phd) required?

 

Thanks!

 

I agree with the above poster that if you are not interested in pharmacy at all, you probably should consider pharmacology or chemistry through the research route. But, if you think you would enjoy a mixture of patient care activities and research/teaching, then that can be fulfilled with pharmacy. I do not know of a combined PharmD/PhD program, but I know of at least one faculty member at UofT who got their PhD while working as a pharmacist, and continues to work part-time as a pharmacist while focusing on research and teaching activities. I would say try to get more exposure to pharmacy, in hospital and community settings (volunteer, shadow, talk to pharmacists), because I think you will find it is more interesting than you think and I also think it is a much safer option than solely going into research (my PhD friends tell me the job market is not great). I remember going to a talk where the presenter stated they are looking for more pharmacists to participate in academia (research + teaching), and I would think that you'd probably have a higher probability of ending up in academia if you were a PhD-pharmacist (maybe you won't even need the PhD?) versus PhD. But honestly, I don't know, so I'd encourage you to find out more from pharmacists, pharmacy school administrators, etc.