pharmacist salary

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DocJL said:
why are you still trolling? you claimed to be a medical student on other threads.

yesterday you posted this in reply to another post:

Originally Posted by evergrey
wow i have been working on financial aid forms and, hands down, this is the worst the application process has been. Interviewing ransacked my bank accounts, and thinking about spending $200,000 on anything makes me wanna vomit. Anyone else feel the same as me? Spending intimate time with my finances (and lack thereof) is really unfun.

I can't even imagine how much residency will suck. Underpaid, overworked, and with compounding interest that practically exceeds your salary... Can't wait!

students-loans2.jpg


Reply by Veyep:
i am gonna have over half a million worth of student loans by the time i am done with medical school!!! Am i scared, absolutely not! Medicine is priceless! I love medicine!
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I'm applying to medical school this year! and by the time i am done i will have over half a million dollar worth of student loan! I don't know exactly what you mean?
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veyep said:
I'm applying to medical school this year! and by the time i am done i will have over half a million dollar worth of student loan! I don't know exactly what you mean?
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B/c that just seems absurd! Why on earth will anyone be dumb enough to do that (take out 500K in loans)? You should have gone straight to medical school. You also took out loans for undergrad? that's NOT a smart move either.

I only know a hand full of people that went to both medical school and pharmacy school...and that was because their parents was able to fund their education and so they didn't have anything to lose. Why on earth would anyone be dumb enough to take out 500k in loans...again that's my question. You would be the FIRST PERSON on earth to ever be that dumb and do something like that! :laugh:

I would be almost 80K in debt when I graduate and that to me is already an insane amount! I can't imagine why anyone would take out more than that.
 
SHC1984 said:
B/c that just seems absurd! Why on earth will anyone be dumb enough to do that (take out 500K in loans)? You should have gone straight to medical school. You also took out loans for undergrad? that's NOT a smart move either.

I only know a hand full of people that went to both medical school and pharmacy school...and that was because their parents was able to fund their education and so they didn't have anything to lose. Why on earth would anyone be dumb enough to take out 500k in loans...again that's my question. You would be the FIRST PERSON on earth to ever be that dumb and do something like that! :laugh:

I would be almost 80K in debt when I graduate and that to me is already an insane amount! I can't imagine why anyone would take out more than that.
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well neurosurgeons make ok money. But I also have my family who are all willing to help, but I want to build my own life and character so don't accept anything financially from my parents or siblings. I have been working since I was 9 years old. I always wanted to do my own thing.
 
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veyep said:
well neurosurgeons make ok money. But I also have my family who are all willing to help, but I want to build my own life and character so don't accept anything financially from my parents or siblings. I have been working since I was 9 years old. I always wanted to do my own thing.
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Wow, you are a TROLL! :laugh: 9 years old? I think by law the earliest anyone can start working is what? 16? Unless of course you are going to tell me your parents force you to work illegally in India for 2 cents an hour there is no way anyone can work at 9 years old! :laugh: TROLL!!!! :laugh:
 
SHC1984 said:
Wow, you are a TROLL! :laugh: 9 years old? I think by law the earliest anyone can start working is what? 16? Unless of course you are going to tell me your parents force you to work illegally in India for 2 cents an hour there is no way anyone can work at 9 years old! :laugh: TROLL!!!! :laugh:
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Actually it is 14, but there are so many laws regarding them that few employers will hire below 16. Many people do work before that though.
 
SHC1984 said:
Wow, you are a TROLL! :laugh: 9 years old? I think by law the earliest anyone can start working is what? 16? Unless of course you are going to tell me your parents force you to work illegally in India for 2 cents an hour there is no way anyone can work at 9 years old! :laugh: TROLL!!!! :laugh:
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my dad is self employed and he use to give me money, but i wouldn't accept so i started working at his business so i would earn my money! I have my core values and i'm very stubborn
 
UNMorBUST said:
Why isn't this thread closed yet?
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Oh this could be fun! Lets do it. I will start.

What are you, stupid? I am gonna find out where you live, wait for you to fall asleep, and....

Actually I lost my nerve. I don't wanna get banned. :oops:
 
owlegrad said:
Oh this could be fun! Lets do it. I will start.

What are you, stupid? I am gonna find out where you live, wait for you to fall asleep, and....

Actually I lost my nerve. I don't wanna get banned. :oops:
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You get a cookie.
images
 
veyep said:
well i went to a private school so the program cost me $200,000 including living expenses and I had some debt from 5 years of undergraduate as well!
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Well, guess you'll have to pass on that new car and a new house because you made poor choices in the past for a while. Suck it up, drive on.
 
veyep said:
ok i was told when i started school pharmacist make $120,000+ well now I am graduating not only it's hard to find a job but here is the truth you will make close to $110,000/year but 40% of that goes to tax that will leave you $66,000. Your student loan (minimum payment) will be close to $24,00/year, that will leave you $42,000/year. If you buy a $300,000 house your payment will be $36000/year that will leave you $500/month for everythingelse!!!!!! I mean all other expenses which are at least few thousand dollars a month!
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What about your significant other and his/her salary???
 
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maybe the salary of the pharmacist will go down to $20,000 per year. I mean CNN had pharmacist as #13 last year on their top 100 jobs. And this year pharmacists weren't even in the top 100 (PA, physical therapist, optometrist were all in the top 15).
 
PharmCase said:
maybe the salary of the pharmacist will go down to $20,000 per year. I mean CNN had pharmacist as #13 last year on their top 100 jobs. And this year pharmacists weren't even in the top 100 (PA, physical therapist, optometrist were all in the top 15).
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I guess pharm techs will make $4/hr then.
 
Pharmacists work in patient care. It is a services based profession. If you're in this for the money then you are completely insane! Become a broker, engineer, or something else...if not you'll become one of those pharmacists that cry about how they can't survive on 110k a year, do you know how insulting that is to a technician who makes 1/3 of that? I tried to get into pharmacy school with a 3.49 gpa and a 85 PCAT score, but found myself on the waitlist 3 years in a row at a top tier school because everyone suddenly wanted to be a pharmacist and make that money only to find themselves miserable at a Walgreens working horrible hours dealing with sick people all day. If you do not have a desire to perform a service to help others as your primary goal, then you are wasting a spot in school that should go to someone who wouldn't cry about the salary. Oh, I work as a chemical engineer now and make 120k a year now with only 21k in student loans. So I'm not one of those bitter haters on student pharmacists...you just sound like an idiot crying about how hard your life will be making 6 figures when so many people just want to live the dream of being a clinician. Just my two cents.
 
The only thing I can say as a counter-point, Forreal, is that those technicians making 1/3 of the pharmacist's salary also have a lot lower debt (or should have...) than the pharmacist.

If a pharmacist only paid $14,000 for his Pharm D like the tech likely paid for his course + license (if even...), then it'd be a much more fair analogy and talking point.
 
Forreal77 said:
Pharmacists work in patient care. It is a services based profession. If you're in this for the money then you are completely insane! Become a broker, engineer, or something else...if not you'll become one of those pharmacists that cry about how they can't survive on 110k a year, do you know how insulting that is to a technician who makes 1/3 of that? I tried to get into pharmacy school with a 3.49 gpa and a 85 PCAT score, but found myself on the waitlist 3 years in a row at a top tier school because everyone suddenly wanted to be a pharmacist and make that money only to find themselves miserable at a Walgreens working horrible hours dealing with sick people all day. If you do not have a desire to perform a service to help others as your primary goal, then you are wasting a spot in school that should go to someone who wouldn't cry about the salary. Oh, I work as a chemical engineer now and make 120k a year now with only 21k in student loans. So I'm not one of those bitter haters on student pharmacists...you just sound like an idiot crying about how hard your life will be making 6 figures when so many people just want to live the dream of being a clinician. Just my two cents.
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Passion4Sci said:
The only thing I can say as a counter-point, Forreal, is that those technicians making 1/3 of the pharmacist's salary also have a lot lower debt (or should have...) than the pharmacist.

If a pharmacist only paid $14,000 for his Pharm D like the tech likely paid for his course + license (if even...), then it'd be a much more fair analogy and talking point.
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As a pharmacy technician I would LOVE to have made 1/3 of 110k. That's almost 37k a year. Most retail techs (the majority of techs in the US I would think) make around 10-13 dollars an hour depending on the location. I was paid high at 13 at Target, other techs at RA and CVS or WAGS made closer to 9-10. That means the average tech makes around 19k a year. At 13 it's only like 25k. At 15 an hr it is only 29k. So yeah techs made closer to 1/5 of what pharmacists do lol. And 14k for courses and licenses? What state is that? I paid like 30 bucks to get the tech license and then 200 for the CPhT exam.

But yeah, techs make almost nothing compared to the pharmacist.

Just thought I'd throw out there as a tech in NC that those numbers are both outrageous. I work as an insurance agent now making 14.20 an hr and there wasn't 14k costs for licenses either, more like a few hundred bucks. And I don't deal with healthcare at all as an agent and make more than a tech did...
 
Right, but don't forget that the pharmacist holds at least $100,000 in debt on average whereas the technician doesn't. You can't say what you said and not acknowledge that.

That's all I am was saying. Otherwise ITA with you.
 
Passion4Sci said:
The only thing I can say as a counter-point, Forreal, is that those technicians making 1/3 of the pharmacist's salary also have a lot lower debt (or should have...) than the pharmacist.

If a pharmacist only paid $14,000 for his Pharm D like the tech likely paid for his course + license (if even...), then it'd be a much more fair analogy and talking point.
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I agree with you P. It is actually FREE to become a tech. I was hired at both Walgreens and Target as a tech and I had no experience or certifcations at all. I would not bother doing anything if I was going to be a tech! lol...
 
SHC1984 said:
I agree with you P. It is actually FREE to become a tech. I was hired at both Walgreens and Target as a tech and I had no experience or certifcations at all. I would not bother doing anything if I was going to be a tech! lol...
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Ah, well, in some states, a course is required so I was giving the benefit of the doubt. A lot of people who intend to make it a career do take the course so they actually know something about being a tech before going in, do internships, and that sort of thing. :)
 
and, bottom line, this is America, if the tech making 30k per year is smart enough, motivated enough and committed enough, they can become a pharmacist and triple or quadruple their pay.

everybody works hard for a living. but there is a reason why the higher paying professional jobs require a lot more sacrifice to get into. if I had a dollar for every dental assistant I've ever met who said they were going to be a dentist I would be able to retire. in my career I have only met 3 individuals who started as assistants and became dentists (and I'm not counting those who worked as an assistant for a few weeks or months to help with their dental school application). quite frankly, many of those who say they will be a dentist quite obviously lack the intelligence to make it through even the prereq. classes in a 4-year university. not saying you have to be brilliant to be a dentist (or a pharmacist), but there is a certain baseline which is required, and not everybody possesses the intelligence to complete a professional education.
 
IMO, we need techs. We need people in the lower 25th, the median and the 75th in this world. If everyone was a pharmacist, no one would want to do the "grunt work." The world needs stratification... So I don't see that as a bad thing.
 
Agreed.

it's only an issue when those who are in the lower 25th think they should earn as much as those in the top 25th because they "work as hard."

I see you use the Army logo as your avatar, I did 6 years Army enlisted right after high school, and I had great respect for many of the NCO's I worked with. However, I had a lot less respect for the few I heard whining that they "deserved" the same pay and status as a commissioned officer.

In the military, if you want the perks (and responsibility) that come with being a commissioned officer, get a college degree and earn a commission. It really is that simple. Same applies to low level health care assistant and tech positions vs. professional positions.
 
DocJL said:
Agreed.

it's only an issue when those who are in the lower 25th think they should earn as much as those in the top 25th because they "work as hard."

I see you use the Army logo as your avatar, I did 6 years Army enlisted right after high school, and I had great respect for many of the NCO's I worked with. However, I had a lot less respect for the few I heard whining that they "deserved" the same pay and status as a commissioned officer.

In the military, if you want the perks (and responsibility) that come with being a commissioned officer, get a college degree and earn a commission. It really is that simple. Same applies to low level health care assistant and tech positions vs. professional positions.
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Agreed. But just because that is how the hierarchy works doesn't mean people have to like it, hence the complaining. A janitor didn't grow up wanting to be a janitor and will therefore not be satisfied with the current job. Can (s)he go back to school and do better, yeah. But at the same point with everyone having bachelors no one will be wanting to clean the bathrooms anymore either. A lot of other people are just damn impatient. If you have to go through school for 4 years to get that BS then don't whine about doing a job in the meantime that highschoolers/GED people can do as well.

Kinda goes with the whole "I'm more special than the person next to me" mentality and the whole instant gratification thing as well. Granted some people are genuinely unable to change their circumstances easily (disability, family or legal ties, etc.) but that percentage is not as high as the people complaining.

When you were in the army for your 6 years what did you leave as? Do you think it is worth going back now that you have your professional degree + 6 years of experience? Maybe not so much for a dentist, huh?
 
Passion4Sci said:
Wait, $2000 a month for your student loan?????

What the ****.

Even still, don't buy a $300,000 house. Problem solved.

Rent a $400/month apartment for a year or two and accumulate savings.
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The last apartment I lived in for $400/month (and this was in 2004 dollars! Imagine the price now!) there were two shootings that happened nearby.

I do like the "don't buy an insanely expensive" house part, though. :smuggrin:
 
Jabberwocky12 said:
When you were in the army for your 6 years what did you leave as? Do you think it is worth going back now that you have your professional degree + 6 years of experience? Maybe not so much for a dentist, huh?
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Made E6 (SSG) right as I was getting out. My 30k Army college fund ran out shortly after I started dental school, and at that time none of the services offered a full ride, I got the last 2 years paid for by the Navy and did 4 years Navy dental officer. 1 year GPR and 3 years with the Marines. I made about 12k per year more than the other new officers because of my prior service time. It's a great place to get extra training and build your clinical skills and speed, right out of school, you basically "don't know what you don't know" when you just graduate dental school. I credit my time in the military with allowing me to do more procedures, make more and do better as a private practice dentist.

It's actually a great deal right now. They will pay for all 4 years of dental school, even if you are going to an expensive private school, and starting salaries are now almost 80k for somebody with no prior military service. I left more than halfway to retirement as my wife wasn't a big fan of the lifestyle, but I have/am considering going back in at some point to finish my career and get the retirement (I've found my 401k and other investments (real estate) have done poorly in the last decade). My pay more than tripled the day I entered private practice as an associate, and went up even more once I was established in my own practice, so the military will NOT make you rich! lol! but if you enjoy the lifestyle and camaraderie, and make use of your opportunities for advanced training, including specialty training, it's certainly not a bad way to go.

Are you considering the military yourself? have you looked to see what is available for Pharm?
 
DocJL said:
Made E6 (SSG) right as I was getting out. My 30k Army college fund ran out shortly after I started dental school, and at that time none of the services offered a full ride, I got the last 2 years paid for by the Navy and did 4 years Navy dental officer. 1 year GPR and 3 years with the Marines. I made about 12k per year more than the other new officers because of my prior service time. It's a great place to get extra training and build your clinical skills and speed, right out of school, you basically "don't know what you don't know" when you just graduate dental school. I credit my time in the military with allowing me to do more procedures, make more and do better as a private practice dentist.

It's actually a great deal right now. They will pay for all 4 years of dental school, even if you are going to an expensive private school, and starting salaries are now almost 80k for somebody with no prior military service. I left more than halfway to retirement as my wife wasn't a big fan of the lifestyle, but I have/am considering going back in at some point to finish my career and get the retirement (I've found my 401k and other investments (real estate) have done poorly in the last decade). My pay more than tripled the day I entered private practice as an associate, and went up even more once I was established in my own practice, so the military will NOT make you rich! lol! but if you enjoy the lifestyle and camaraderie, and make use of your opportunities for advanced training, including specialty training, it's certainly not a bad way to go.

Are you considering the military yourself? have you looked to see what is available for Pharm?
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Yes I am considering it most definitely. I know there are 4 areas to really look at. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Health Services. I'm not really in it for the money and the issue of making thrice the amount in private practice isn't a big deal for pharmacy. IHS and health corp services looks particularly interesting to me since with the military you get more authority and usage of the skills and won't have to deal with insurance as much if in a dispensing role. In IHS I think pharmacists can prescribe and in other areas they can work more with doctors, which is a big thing to me.

Pharm has a few options open to it but I don't know how much they are desired in a lot of areas. But it is something I definitely would like to try and at the very worst I picked up a few skills I can use in the private sector, ya know?

If I decided to join I would do it after pharmacy school and get tuition paid back. I'd prefer to have the option of getting years paid back and I elect to drop rather than having to stay 4-8 years (some programs are 2x years for each year paid) and not be able to do what I need to with my obligations. That may or may not change once I find out what options are available the year I am accepted into pharmacy school and where.
 
DocJL said:
and, bottom line, this is America, if the tech making 30k per year is smart enough, motivated enough and committed enough, they can become a pharmacist and triple or quadruple their pay.

everybody works hard for a living. but there is a reason why the higher paying professional jobs require a lot more sacrifice to get into. if I had a dollar for every dental assistant I've ever met who said they were going to be a dentist I would be able to retire. in my career I have only met 3 individuals who started as assistants and became dentists (and I'm not counting those who worked as an assistant for a few weeks or months to help with their dental school application). quite frankly, many of those who say they will be a dentist quite obviously lack the intelligence to make it through even the prereq. classes in a 4-year university. not saying you have to be brilliant to be a dentist (or a pharmacist), but there is a certain baseline which is required, and not everybody possesses the intelligence to complete a professional education.
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Hey Doc

Just wondering how come you are so interested in reading the pharmacy forum? I figure since you are a dentist you would be more interested in the dental forum instead. Just wondering. :)
 
SHC1984 said:
Hey Doc

Just wondering how come you are so interested in reading the pharmacy forum? I figure since you are a dentist you would be more interested in the dental forum instead. Just wondering. :)
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Same reason why I am here. Ya'll some funny fools.:D
 
UNMorBUST said:
Same reason why I am here. Ya'll some funny fools.:D
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That's because you are CONSIDERING pharmacy! lol...plus aren't you in other forums too? r you in dental and medical forums too?

Doc is a dentist so he is only interested in teeth mostly....at least I think he would be! lol...
 
SHC1984 said:
That's because you are CONSIDERING pharmacy! lol...plus aren't you in other forums too? r you in dental and medical forums too?

Doc is a dentist so he is only interested in teeth mostly....at least I think he would be! lol...
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:laugh: I am considering none of those anymore you crazy monkey.
 
pharm B said:
The last apartment I lived in for $400/month (and this was in 2004 dollars! Imagine the price now!) there were two shootings that happened nearby.

I do like the "don't buy an insanely expensive" house part, though. :smuggrin:
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Exactly.

I'm surprised P4Sci said that considering he's Californian! $300k is slightly below the median I think. Sometimes its less to own than rent...
 
Project2015 said:
Exactly.

I'm surprised P4Sci said that considering he's Californian! $300k is slightly below the median I think. Sometimes its less to own than rent...
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A friend of mine rents a bedroom of a house in Brooklyn New York for $400 a month...I am sure you can do that in San Fransciso too...just look on Craigslist and someone would be renting one bedroom from their home for that price.

I agree that $400 a month will NOT get you your own apartment, but you can rent one bedroom from a house and live with the owner of that house...I know people that do that to save money.

It's def cheaper to rent than own....I will rent until I am 110% SURE that I know where I want to live and I have enough money to buy a very nice house etc. Right out of school is the WORST time to buy a house unless you don't have any student loans and know exactly where you want to live at etc.

The median house in San Fransciso and New York City is 850K.
 
SHC1984 said:
Hey Doc

Just wondering how come you are so interested in reading the pharmacy forum? I figure since you are a dentist you would be more interested in the dental forum instead. Just wondering. :)
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You mean this ISN'T the dental forum??!!!!


Fair question, and hopefully I'm not coming off as a troll ;)

Actually I've been reading many of the forums on here, it's really interesting to read about other health professions, (I learned more about Podiatry last week than most non-HCP's will ever know....)

I may chime in on the ones about pay or debt, as those are pretty universal regardless of profession.

I noted in one of my posts (on the DO thread I believe) that I had stumbled across this website last just 2 or 3 weeks ago, and found it very interesting (was getting bored on "Dentaltown").

I also had shoulder surgery 5 weeks ago today to repair a torn labrum, so I've had lots of time off to be bored and surf the net, I just went back to work on a light schedule the last 2 weeks.
 
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SHC1984 said:
That's because you are CONSIDERING pharmacy! lol...plus aren't you in other forums too? r you in dental and medical forums too?

Doc is a dentist so he is only interested in teeth mostly....at least I think he would be! lol...
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Oh man what an awful stereotype:eek:

the geeky dentist interested in teeth......

I gotta say while I'm good at my job, and do lots of reading and CE to stay on top of my game, teeth can get pretty boring sometimes, lol! about the last people I hang out with are other dentists!
 
DocJL said:
You mean this ISN'T the dental forum??!!!!


Fair question, and hopefully I'm not coming off as a troll ;)

Actually I've been reading many of the forums on here, it's really interesting to read about other health professions, (I learned more about Podiatry last week than most non-HCP's will ever know....)

I may chime in on the ones about pay or debt, as those are pretty universal regardless of profession.

I noted in one of my posts (on the DO thread I believe) that I had stumbled across this website last just 2 or 3 weeks ago, and found it very interesting (was getting bored on "Dentaltown").

I also had shoulder surgery 5 weeks ago today to repair a torn labrum, so I've had lots of time off to be bored and surf the net, I just went back to work on a light schedule the last 2 weeks.
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LOL...I see! I was just curious...when I was in dental school I only look at the dental forums and now I only look at the pharmacy forums! lol....

but what you say makes sense!

And yes teeth are very BORING! Bad breath is even worst! :(
 
SHC1984 said:
LOL...I see! I was just curious...when I was in dental school I only look at the dental forums and now I only look at the pharmacy forums! lol....

but what you say makes sense!

And yes teeth are very BORING! Bad breath is even worst! :(
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alrighty then, now that you've insulted teeth I've gotta let you have it...

studying drugs is even MORE boring than studying teeth....:p

(actually I won't say pharmacology was the most boring class in dental school, that honor would have to go to Histology.....)

and after you've finished pharm school and you have more time, you may find yourself bored enough to surf the dental, optometry, podiatry or DO/MD forums......
 
DocJL said:
alrighty then, now that you've insulted teeth I've gotta let you have it...

studying drugs is even MORE boring than studying teeth....:p

(actually I won't say pharmacology was the most boring class in dental school, that honor would have to go to Histology.....)

and after you've finished pharm school and you have more time, you may find yourself bored enough to surf the dental, optometry, podiatry or DO/MD forums......
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LOL...studying in general sucks!!! I should be studying RIGHT NOW but I am just too damn lazy! :laugh:

Studying drugs hurts my head b/c it's so much memorization for me bc I don't have much pharmacy experience and therefore don't know much about any drugs!

Studying teeth is gross as hell. I hated that crap in dental school...but of course dentist make more $$$$ so I shouldn't insult them! :D
 
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