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Discussion

BSN-PharmD-ARNP ??

Hey there!

I'm looking for some advice/brain-storming about what to do. I have read a few other forums with similar content, but could not find specific to my case:

Graduated from nursing school with a BSN. Went straight into a med/surg unit after passing my NCLEX in one hospital, was there for 1.5 years. Learned a lot! Then came back to my (big city) hometown where nursing jobs were saturated but was able to get another med/surg position and have been working for 2.5 years now (so in total, I've been a nurse for 4 years).

In all this, I also applied and surprisingly got into Pharmacy school (competitive school but I guess they wanted the money) and I'm in the middle of my 2nd year (out of 4), while I'm still working as an RN per diem mostly weekends, summers, and holidays.

There's more and more talk in the PharmD community that there are no decent jobs as a pharmacist anymore, market is getting saturated, job satisfaction is low, salary are going down, etc etc.

I'm lucky I still have a BSN, should I go for NP? I love nursing too, I think this whole switching around is because of my hunger for knowledge. What NP job is out there that would take my PharmD into account? And my many years RN experience by the time I graduate as an NP? A friend of mine dared me to do it while I'm in pharmacy school (pharmacy classes are flexible and we can watch it online, we show up for labs, exams, and clinicals only). Would that be crazy?

And let's skip the "is money not an issue?" topic. I plan to invest my money, I got an amazing support group, and I also plan to be a workaholic as long as I like what I do.

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    • Featured Replies

    • Expert

    Interesting situation. All I can do is recommend that you follow your heart. What type of work do your really want to do with the rest of your life? Focus on that.

    It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep investing money in school for degree after degree after degree. You don't need to spend a fortune to learn things. Spending a lot of money unnecessarily may hurt your finances for the rest of your life. Pay the money for the degree that gives you the long term career that will please you deep down inside. Then find cheaper ways to keep learning.

    Though ... with the DNP/PharmD combo, you would be a great candidate to teach pharmacology to nurses.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

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    Do a pharm residency and stay out of retail.

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    It would seem to be that a Pharm-D and a NP degree would set you up to work in research. Maybe something to consider?

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    Even the median pharmacist salary across the nation puts you ahead of most NPs. If you land an acute care job the pay only goes up after residency.Stick with pharmacy unless you don't like the job.

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    Pharmacist is a great job. Don't bail just yet.

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    • Author

    While research makes a lot of sense, I like patient care and being a clinician better.. Go figure :whistling:

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    • Author
    Interesting situation. All I can do is recommend that you follow your heart. What type of work do your really want to do with the rest of your life? Focus on that.

    It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep investing money in school for degree after degree after degree. You don't need to spend a fortune to learn things. Spending a lot of money unnecessarily may hurt your finances for the rest of your life. Pay the money for the degree that gives you the long term career that will please you deep down inside. Then find cheaper ways to keep learning.

    Though ... with the DNP/PharmD combo, you would be a great candidate to teach pharmacology to nurses.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

    Thank you for your response. Teaching pharmacology to nurses is actually an interesting idea.. :wideyed:

    I still have 2 years left as a pharmacy student so I will stick it out and give it a chance before switching to another path.

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    • Author
    Even the median pharmacist salary across the nation puts you ahead of most NPs. If you land an acute care job the pay only goes up after residency.Stick with pharmacy unless you don't like the job.

    I've been hearing so many different numbers when it comes to salary of pharmacists, I'm not even sure what to believe anymore. I've heard that retail wins by far, for new grads in the 110k where I live- retail is something I would hate to do. Hospitals I have heard as low as 80k for new grads.. Maybe they have more lucrative raises.

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    • Author

    I guess the NP path would be if i didn't get a residency. I heard even that had become very competitive and now that I'm almost done with my PharmD school, I have no idea what I should do as a back up.

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    hi there how is it going ? I am in your same shoes and what to get some of your thought.

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