B.Pharmacy at Monash to Postgrad Medicine at Melbourne?

[whichkim]

So I got a crappy umat and probably wont get into undergrad medicine and I'm kind of stuck with my alternatives. I still want to pursue medicine but I don't really want to take the formal route of Biomed/B.Sci at Melbourne Uni due to the job insecurity and stuff afterwards (if I don't make it into postgrad). So... Is it possible to do BPharmacy at Monash and then take the GAMSAT to apply for Melb. postgrad medicine?

[Russ]

How much do you know about pharmacy and job security/working conditions in that field, to be comfortable making it your chosen career over the options with a BSc (assuming you don't get into medicine etc. etc.)?

e, rephrased

[Tomw2]

And, less importantly, I'd consider what your chances of getting the requisite marks/GPA are in pharmacy vs BSc/BBiomed

[zvezda]

Just how difficult would it be get the marks required?
Are they relative like in vce?
What is the general difference in difficulty between pharmacy, biomed and science in terms of attaining the required GPA?

[Shenz0r]

I still want to pursue medicine but I don't really want to take the formal route of Biomed/B.Sci at Melbourne Uni due to the job insecurity and stuff afterwards (if I don't make it into postgrad)

The future of Pharmacy isn't that much better to be honest. There's way too many graduates at the moment and lots of Pharmacy companies have been closing down lately. My sister, who's about to start her internship year, says that wages (for community pharmacies) have been dropping pretty substantially. Although tbh I'm not studying Pharmacy so I'm no expert on these things anyway.

And yes, you can do Pharmacy for 4 years, and then do GAMSAT and try out for MD. Just be wary that Pharmacy isn't any "easier" than Science or Biomed. If you want to get into MD you want the highest GPA possible - and getting HDs in Pharmacy isn't easy at all.

I think if you want a high GPA then just do what interests you the most. Science has a huge choice of subjects so you're not just limited to the pharmaceutical sciences. Biomed pretty much sets you into a health-science career.

If you're more interested in studying drug action in the human body and other aspects of pharmacology, then Pharmacy might be the right choice for you. But if you're not, Science/Biomed will probably be better.

Some funny clips of the life of an everyday community Pharmacist:

[pi]

Check if pharm has the pre-req subs for the MD too.

[whichkim]

Thank you all for your replies! I think I'll go for Biomed or B.Science since Pharm doesn't have the preres. What's the difference between Biomed and B.Science though? I've heard that the subjects are pretty much the same but then when you look at the atar difference... There must be something about Biomed which makes it more popular? Is it just in the name or are there other attributes? 


@Shenz0r Those two videos gave me a good laugh. Thanks for sharing them!

 

[pi]

This might help Differences between bachelor of biomed and bachelor of science?

[whichkim]

cool. thanks pi!

[slothpomba]

It's a bit old but i suggest you read this thread (Pharmacy future job prospects).

The job market is very saturated for pharmacists. The industry doesnt not have enough demand to soak up the 100s graduating every year (to the best of my knowledge). Partly, its dont to the universities enrolling too many students. The more students they have, the more money they get, more justification for the course existing and for the academics. It doesnt affect them much what happens to the graduates after.

I believe RMIT recently (past few years) opened up a pharmacy school that didnt previously exist either. Pharmacy is longer than a Bsc and (arguably) might be harder. Especially if you dont have a passion for it.

Pharm had 2 of the 3 prereqs (i think) back when i checked in 2010. It's nothing you can't take as a CAP subject or something like that if need be (probably). I think with a bit of wiggling you can fulfil the prereqs with it.

Comming from the area myself i know plenty of people who went to the same school you did. You might still be able to get into med with all the special considerations and other things they have. Pharmacy might be easier to get into.

Of course, its debateable whether pharmacy is a better choice than Bsci/BBiomed for getting into medicine. In my opinion, the best choice is a Bsc. If you have a passion or think you can stomach working as a pharmacist (and i mean really accept it) if it all goes belly up, then, yes pharmacy isnt a bad option either. Otherwise go for Bsc.

[whichkim]

@slothpomba
Thank you for your reply! I completely forgot about the decrease in demand for pharmacists.

Honestly though, I would hate to work as a pharmacist. (No offence to the pharmacists out there. It's not you, it's me.) I just can't handle sitting/standing in one area 5+ hours a day, six days a week. The only reason why I considered it was because it was what I thought, in comparison to a B.Biomed/B.Science, would be a "secure" back up for if I didn't make it into medicine. I'm not too sure what I'd do with a B.Biomed/B.Science degree if I didn't make it into postgrad med.

I just feel like the three years undergrad will feel 3 x worse than year twelve, in terms of stress with the uncertainty on whether or not I'll make it to the next stage. I am a competent student but I'm not up there with the geniuses and the naturally gifted. It just happens that I found an interest in medicine.

So let's say, I do B.Science. I do terribly in all my exams, my gpa is messed up, I fail the gamsat. I definitely do not want to do research nor do I want to get a phd. What other options are there? What can I still do?

[Shenz0r]

@slothpomba
Thank you for your reply! I completely forgot about the decrease in demand for pharmacists.

Honestly though, I would hate to work as a pharmacist. (No offence to the pharmacists out there. It's not you, it's me.) I just can't handle sitting/standing in one area 5+ hours a day, six days a week. The only reason why I considered it was because it was what I thought, in comparison to a B.Biomed/B.Science, would be a "secure" back up for if I didn't make it into medicine. I'm not too sure what I'd do with a B.Biomed/B.Science degree if I didn't make it into postgrad med.

I just feel like the three years undergrad will feel 3 x worse than year twelve, in terms of stress with the uncertainty on whether or not I'll make it to the next stage. I am a competent student but I'm not up there with the geniuses and the naturally gifted. It just happens that I found an interest in medicine.

So let's say, I do B.Science. I do terribly in all my exams, my gpa is messed up, I fail the gamsat. I definitely do not want to do research nor do I want to get a phd. What other options are there? What can I still do?

Not all Pharmacists don't just sit in one area for 5 hours a day. Hospital pharmacy is very different (you actually have to walk around and check all the patient's medications and ensure that the drugs are being administered correctly).

No matter what course you do, university will always be harder than Year 12. It's something you just learn to accept. Whether you study Pharmacy or Science, you'll always have uncertainty.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what options are left for you if you turned away from research. Some students who fail to get into Medicine undertake an honours year and try again, but that usually involves research. You could always do a Masters degree in an area like Engineering or something. A Bachelor of Science might not be competitive enough alone to land you a job, you might have to keep doing further study (but at least the degree gives you time to thoroughly explore your interests).

[Russ]

Honestly though, I would hate to work as a pharmacist. (No offence to the pharmacists out there. It's not you, it's me.) I just can't handle sitting/standing in one area 5+ hours a day, six days a week.

This sounds like a pretty good description of what a lot of doctors do.

If you graduate from a BSc or BBiomed and have zero interest in research, you don't have many options for direct entry to the workforce. A bachelors won't really cut it for a long term career job, but you'd be able to try and find some work temporarily. You can do further study in a non research field (masters of public health etc.) and work in that capacity. Research is not all lab stuff as well, it should be said