Pharmacy

[Rosie]

After I finish school, I plan to undertake Pharmacy at Monash Uni. I've been on the website and looked at the courses I'm going to undertake. Can anyone tell me if Pharmacy is going to be alot of work and I won't have time for other things.
I also wanted to know if Biology is going to be a major part in the Pharmacy course as I have not studied this subject and if it will disadvantage me.
As people have said, medicine, including Pharmacy can be hard and I just wanted to know if it will be a big workload?

[Collin Li]

Biology is a major part of the pharmacy course, and as is chemistry.

My friend who does Pharmacy is always seen at State Library, and last time I saw him cramming for a mid-semester test that involved a lot of biology!

[Rosie]

I am not studying Biology in year 12, will I still be able to cope with it. So, you are saying that Pharmacy is a lot of work? 

[Matt The Rat]

From when I worked in a chemist, seeing the workload of the trainee pharmacists and listening to them talk about the workload of uni it sure seems like a hell of a lot.

The monotony of the job would bore me shitless though. I can see why it's got such a high suicide rate as a profession

[BA22]

pharmacy? not a high suicide rate from what i've heard really, and we had al lecture on profession suicde rate correlation.

Any health baed degree will have a high workload, yes. Biology is a somewhat an important background, but the concepts that are carried ver are considered basic in the uni course and will most likely be taught early. If you think you're good enough for pharmacy, you're good enough to pick up these concpets along the way. Much like the med kids this year who didn't do biology, you may be at a disadvantage for only a few weeks before all the content is new. If the course has a strong need for a biology background, they will offer a bridging course for you to do at the start, or before the course.

As for balance. Fisrt year of any course is a bit of fun, and not much is seriously expected of you in these long term, professional degrees as the start (monash med year 1 is pass grade only). As the course gets on in years and you begin clinical placements (which i assume pharmacy does), you will find yourself with progressively less time to do what you want, yes. But don't worry about that now. If you can work hard in VCE doing some things you dislike, then you should be able to maintain a fairly regular study habit doing a course you (hopefully) love. If you're interested in learning material, it sticks with you.

As for pharmacy being boring, it may well be for some, but from a community aspect, pharmacists hold a position of high respect for their ability to reccomend products best for the customer despite their commercial considerations for their business. A rarely hear stories about bad pharmacists. Besides matt, the pharmacists hire you so they don;t have to do the shit jobs

[Matt The Rat]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010420.html

"One study of Oregon dentists found that they [dentists] had the highest suicide rate of any group investigated. A California study found that dentists were surpassed only by chemists and pharmacists

The good thing about becoming a Pharmacist is the ability work overseas, which a fair few of them did over the couple of years I was working there.

I'd also stand by my earlier comment of the boredom and monotony of the job. Pharmacists were pretty much drones given a script to fill, which involves grabbing a bottle off the shelf (usually), punching some details into a computer and saying 'now don't take this all at once', from what I encountered. Yeah, I'll admit I was there to do their dirty work but they'd usually lend a hand so it was good. In fact, thinking back now I can't remember one really shit Pharmacist in the time I was there; all of them were very friendly and social people, s'pose it comes with the job and customer interactions.

[BA22]

Yeh mate, an Oregon and Californian study.

In australia, dentists have the highest suicide rates. We have a very different pharmaceutical landscape

Besides, running a pharmacy is one aspect of what a pharmacist can do. They can be hospital based too.

[Matt The Rat]

Fair enough. I was just going on what I'd heard and the experiences which I've seen personally of the long days with, at times, minimal reward, and a high profession suicide rate seemed to make sense to me. I stand corrected, if it's not applicable to Australia.

[tuvubro]

Yeh mate, an Oregon and Californian study.

In australia, dentists have the highest suicide rates. We have a very different pharmaceutical landscape

Besides, running a pharmacy is one aspect of what a pharmacist can do. They can be hospital based too.

Lawyers have the highest depression rates, i think this would correlate more. And btw, your talking about dentists, seriously if your owning 400 bux an hour I have no clue why you would be so suicdal. And more to the point, dentistry is a limited occupation, there are not that many dentists in Australia anyway.

[cara.mel]

Yeh mate, an Oregon and Californian study.

In australia, dentists have the highest suicide rates. We have a very different pharmaceutical landscape

Besides, running a pharmacy is one aspect of what a pharmacist can do. They can be hospital based too.

Lawyers have the highest depression rates, i think this would correlate more. And btw, your talking about dentists, seriously if your owning 400 bux an hour I have no clue why you would be so suicdal. And more to the point, dentistry is a limited occupation, there are not that many dentists in Australia anyway.

How the fuck can you state money is directly proportional to how you feel?


Btw people don't come and argue my point with 'higher income -> financial stability -> things are good etc', I know that too (I think brendan had a thread if money could buy happiness or something like that) I can't debate etc. You get what I mean, ty

[BA22]

Dentists have the highest suicide rates in Australia, with doctors second. This has been statistically proven, i ha an entire lecture on the subject of the mental health of health professionals

[clinton_09]

How about farmers, I heard not so long ago that at least one every week commits suicide nation wide largely due to the drought.

[Collin Li]

While money can probably correlate with happiness, note that it doesn't come for free. To get this money you must trade-off with the costs of effort, time and stress - all which may also be competing factors to explain happiness.

Hence, maximising happiness is not a simple problem.

[Rosie]

Is pharmaceutical sciences similar or the same to pharmacy and does this course allow you or prepare you to get into community type work by working at a pharmacy as a pharmacist?

[excal]

I'm just going to make a comment here:

All of you are making assertions on what is the most depressing (ie high suicide) professions without presenting any evidence to prove it. At least cite your reference ><