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What is something that you found hard to understand when studying pharmacy?

Im a junior in high school and want to learn more about pharmacists.

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Thank you comment icon I am currently in Pharmacy school and the thing I found hard was medicinal chemistry since I had trouble understanding structures of activity Aj
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Alex’s Answer

If we are just looking at pharmacy in terms of studying, the difficulty of subjects will depend on your background and how well you know the fundamentals. I had a lack of understanding of immunology and that was highlighted in pharmacy school so I really had to study outside of the course to solidify my foundation. While in undergrad try your best to get a strong understanding of your science coursework.
Thank you comment icon Great answer. Fundamentals are so important! Chemistry, biology, physics, anatomy, physiology, even some calculus for pharmacokinetics... Sandra Merino
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Bryan’s Answer

Pharmacy is a fun thing to learn especially when you understand it. However, as a junior in college, I would recommend you to work as a pharmacy tech to understand the working environment. Many people want to become pharmacists until they work retail. Also, keep in mind that there are multiple career routes with a doctor of pharmacy degree (not just retail).
Thank you comment icon I agree with Bryan the best way to learn about pharmacy is being a pharmacy tech in either retail or hospital setting. Brand and Generic names can be a challenge when you start to learn drug names. Christopher Bowens
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Yennhi’s Answer

With my experience , I would say medicinal chemistry was hard. You have to really understand the concept of the lecture. However, it also depends individual’s perspective as well. Although pharmacy is very challenging, you can do it if you are passionate about community health care.
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Dinah’s Answer

I currently a third year pharmacy student and pharmacy intern and I found medicinal chemistry and infectious disease were hard because so much goes into these lectures. I never enjoyed organic chemistry in undergrad and just never really grasped the concept of reactions. I just finished taking infectious disease and there is so much memorization like which drugs can treat which bugs. I felt like infectious disease was a foreign language and there are so many disease states and drugs.

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Elaine’s Answer

In college you learn a lot of biology, chemistry and math. I found microbiology and immunology hard to understand. But unless you specialize, those aren't things you use everyday in pharmacy. When I need to know about them, I am able to understand it now. Organic chemistry and biochemistry were hard, but I liked that the problems were something you could figure out, you didn't just have to memorize.
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Lee’s Answer

I had a solid understanding of chemistry and immunology from my undergraduate degree that really helped me when it was time to take biochem and immunology related courses - capitalize on any science based undergraduate degree you may pursue (my degree was in microbiology with a minor in chemistry and I found that very helpful).

Everyone is different and you may find different aspects of your curriculum challenging and it's sometimes hard to forecast that prior. Things that I wish I had been more aware of early on would be difference pharmacy opportunities: jobs in industry (pharmacovigilance), ambulatory care settings (outpatient diabetes management at the VA for example) and even more administrative job tracks if you want to pursue a pharmacy program that offers a dual MBA program. For now, I would definitely recommend getting experience, such as working at a retail pharmacy as a tech.
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Anh Thu’s Answer

In my opinion, I felt like medicinal chemistry, infectious disease, and oncology were hard, respectively. I am not a fan of organic chemistry. Medicinal chemistry is about chemistry, medication structure; this course is important if you decide later on to pursue pharmacy career in pharmaceutical industry like developing new drugs. Infectious disease is challenging but interesting. It's hard because it requires A LOT of memorization. Oncology is complex because the way we have to dose the medication, the name of medication is hard to spell, pronounce and remember. Learning oncology is like you are learning a foreign language to me.
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Sandra’s Answer

I personally had a hard time with the fact that there was so much to learn that there wasn't much time for just being curious. Now in my pharmacy career, nurses sometimes ask me "but why?" as a natural follow-up question to something I have just accepted. Why do certain drugs in a specific class have a greater likelihood for certain side effects? Sometimes, I don't know why! Of course, it's never too late to look something up. However, I do feel a little jealous sometimes that medical school and nursing school seem to teach you more how to think and less memorization. To be fair, I've never been to medical school or nursing school; that is just my impression.

As a tip, I would say: look for a pharmacy school that still puts a priority on medicinal chemistry class. Pay attention in that class! During that class you will learn why certain chemical properties of a drug led to certain effects on the body. For example, a certain more polar group on a chemical structure may lead to greater affinity for certain transporters in the heart, which can lead to a greater risk of arrhythmias as a side effect.

I hope none of this is to detract you from going to pharmacy school. I love being a pharmacist and feel very fulfilled in my career. I learn new things every day. And I do enjoy a good opportunity to just be curious!
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