Medicine vs. Pharmacy??

xcorina

Hey guys , i'm in 5th year and i've started thinking about courses because i don't want to leave it all until the last minute. I'm thinking of maybe doing medicine or pharmacy at Trinity. I'm not sure which one to choose ? I really like chem and biology . Medicine sounds really interesting but i know it's a really long course , while pharmacy is only 5 years and you're done. But on the other hand, doctors' salaries are wayy higher.
If any of you do one of those courses , or have any other suggestions , please help me out .
Oh, and how do you motivate yourself to study? All my life i've crammed the night before , and it's worked for me so far , but i know that i'll have to start serious revision if i want to get those points.

Sunny!!

'But on the other hand, doctors' salaries are wayy higher.'
medicine is about more than money!!

Shan32591

i'm in first year med and although i wouldn't want to be doing else I would advice anyone to think long and hard about it and make sure it's really what they want to do (not just for monetary reasons) because if your hearts not really in it you will be so unhappy in the course, On the other hand i would definitely recommend medicine especially over pharmacy. From what i can tell most of the first year pharmacists aren't exactly enamoured with the course... though i could be wrong.

QueenOfLeon

Theres a big difference in the courses and careers besides the length and money. You have to think about whether or not you want to work directly with people, the working hours of an intern/junior doctor, the course content, etc.

Also, don't limit yourself to looking at courses in Trinity, if you end up choosing medicine you have to do well in the HPAT to get in so you can't assume you'd get enough for Trinity.

Do a bit of research:

This is a brilliant thread, you really can't go into the course for the money when theres a lot of sacrifices to be made in the meantime.

The Health Sciences Education forum has a good bit of info on both medicine and pharmacy if you search back through the threads.

Theres been a few threads in the Career and Job Discussion forum at the top of the LC forum, including this.

You'll find a forum for most colleges as well where people talk about the courses.

pfannkuchen

Shan32591 wrote: »

From what i can tell most of the first year pharmacists aren't exactly enamoured with the course... though i could be wrong.

From what I've heard, there's a good few 1st Pharms in Trinity who are in that position alright. As a 1st Pharm in RCSI though, I can honestly say that I'm loving the course. This semester, we did Anatomy, which I thoroughly enjoyed - we're the only Pharmacy school that does it. I missed out on Med by 5 points this year and was devastated but I've realised recently that it was probably best for me. I think Pharmacy will give me a fantastic grounding for Grad Med if that what I decide to do. Feel free to send me a PM if you want to know more about the course in RCSI anyway, xcorina.

As for colleges, I couldn't recommend RCSI highly enough - whether you do Med or Pharm. It's seriously underrated. I love it and I know that most of the people in my class feel the same. Do yourself a favour and go to the open day anyway, don't just limit yourself to looking at Trinity

Nonoperational

I did pharmacy, I'm doing medicine. Medicine 100% is my recommendation.

seriouslysweet

I'm hoping to do medicine but honestly the money is not great. My cousin is a second year SHO and on 600 base, sometimes 750 with overtime but with the new working directive not so much. My parents are doctors and Dad told me back in the day he once made 1600 in a week but no longer really the case. It's an awful life but I'm thinking it'll be made that bit easier with the working time directive. He missed so much of my life growing up and Mon returned to work when I was a week old. That said we travelled the world with them and it has been some life so far! Pharmacy is what my brother wants and I think he's right really, it's an easier life and pretty much the same money. I am a workaholic though so am hoping it'll serve me well.

doradoll

Just want to wish you best of luck whichever you decide, But i do agree with the others think very long and hard about it and weigh up all the pros and cons!