Good Online/DL Masters/Undergrad degree to become a Pharmacist.

My wife is looking forward to become a Pharmacist. Whats the best way? Is there a good Good Online/DL Masters/Undergrad degree or a B&M near Fort Lauderdale/Miami area?

 

Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education www.puk.ac.za , since merged into the University of the North West, offers a BSc in Pharmacology(BG15, 128) and Washington State University http://distance.wsu.edu is listed in Bears' Guide (2003 edition) as offering Bachelor's in Pharmacy (BG15, 150), though I'm not sure whether the latter still exists.

 

MASTER'S DEGREES IN PHARMACY

University of Bradford www.brad.ac.uk (BG15, 176)
Charles Sturt University www.csu.edu.au (BG15, 104)
DeMontfort University www.dmu.ac.uk (BG15, 158)
Keele University www.keele.ac.uk (BG15, 118)
Lehigh University www.distance.lehigh.edu (BG15, 119)
University of Manchester www.man.ac.uk (BG15, 178)
University of Melbourne www.unimelb.edu.au (BG15, 140)
Queen's University Belfast www.qub.ac.uk (BG15, 128)
Robert Gordon University www.rgu.ac.uk (BG15, 168)
University of Tasmania www.utas.edu.au (BG15, 146)

 

Normally, the degree of entry for becoming a pharmacist is the PharmD. Following are the distance learning doctorates in pharmacy listed in Bears' Guide, 15th edition (2003).

Auburn University www.auburn.edu (BG15, 155)
University of Bradford www.brad.ac.uk (BG15, 176)
Duquesne University www.duq.edu (BG15, 108)
University of Florida www.fcd.ufl.edu (BG15, 137)
University of Melbourne www.unimelb.edu.au (BG15, 140)
Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu (BG15, 165)
University of Tasmania www.utas.edu.au (BG15, 146)
Washington State University http://distance.wsu.edu (BG15, 183)
University of Wisconsin Madison http://learn.wisconsin.edu (BG15, 182)

 

I believe that the programs Ted has listed are for practicing pharmacists who already have a BS in Pharmacy who wish to upgrade to a PharmD. These are called non-traditional PharmD programs.

Creighton is the only distance full PharmD program that I have seen. Nova is the closest Pharmacy school to Miami, but quite expensive.

 

Palm Beach Atlantic University www.pba.edu in West Palm Beach, FL, offers the PharmD residentially.

 

FYI...the joint University of Washington/Washington State University PharmD will soon be phased out due to dropping enrollment:

http://depts.washington.edu/expharmd/

Admission requires one already be a graduate of an accredited pharmacy program. That seems to be the general rule.

 

I actually looked into this very issue last year. In the U.S., the only distance learning option for somebody who is starting from "square one" (i.e., no bachelor's in Pharmacy) is Creighton University, which has been mentioned here earlier in this thread.

There are some short 1 to 2-week residencies for lab work which must be completed at the university, and they also make arrangements for DL students to work their five, eight-week clinical rotations at local hospitals and clinics in the student's area.

There is an entrance exam known as a PCAT which must be taken prior to applying to a pharmacy program as well. In all, with no previous bachelor's degree, she is looking at a minimum of six years of full-time study to get the PharmD degree and become a pharmacist. The inclination of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies is to hire someone with a PharmD, rather than someone with merely a bachelor's in Pharmacy. That is why you see so many bachelor-to-PharmD distance programs out there.

At a minimum, your wife will need to take two years of pre-pharmacy courses before entering into a pharmacy degree program. Some community colleges offer pre-pharmacy programs.

The reason I didn't further pursue Pharmacy is because I didn't want to go to school full-time for the next six years. I would be almost 50 before graduating, and I would rather spend that time working and saving for retirement rather than going deeper into debt.

If you have any other questions about Pharmacy programs, whether B&M or DL, you can check here:

http://www.aacp.org/issi/membership/schools.asp?TrackID=&VID=6&CID=593&DID=4224

 

Ask www.salary.com .

 

Yes, that is true. That is why I was looking into Pharmacy in the first place. However, I am the main breadwinner in my family, and we just can't take the loss of my full-time income. Also, I would probably be about $100,000 in debt by the time I finish a PharmD program. By the time I had the loans paid off, I'd be ready to retire!

That's just my perspective from a personal point of view.

 

I attend Creighton and my sister just graduated with a PharmD from there. She says you have about the same chance getting into Harvard Med School as you do the online PharmD at Creighton due to the huge amount of people who apply. She was accepted into the PharmD program without a BS so she is now 25 and making about 95-100K.

 

IMO, B&M is really the way to go if you're studying a health-related field. You just can't replace that "hands-on" experience. Also, sometimes it is actually EASIER just to go the B&M route.

 

Thanks very much for the input.

 

California College for Health Sciences http://cchs.edu and Vincinnes University www.vinu.edu offer vocational programs for pharmacy technicians, which could be a good starting point, perhaps.

 

One really has nothing to do with the other. If one wants to be a pharmacist, they would be wasting their time taking courses to become a pharmacy technician. Pre-pharmacy programs are loaded with science and math courses. Pharmacy tech programs deal more with terminology, communications and what-kind-of-drug-does what courses. I don't think pharmacy tech courses could even transfer into a PharmD or BS in Pharmacy program.

It's best to just dive into a pre-pharmacy program if being a pharmacist is one's ultimate goal.

 

I'm resurrecting this thread for a friend of mine. His father in law is a practicing pharm that owns his own business. My buddies wife is wanting to take over the business as a Pharmacist but she does not have any of the pharmacy degrees. She has a Bachelor's in Diet/Nutrition and a Master's in Advanced Nutrition (both regionally accredited). So the question is what route could any of you suggest at this point? I know nothing about this career path so I have no answers for her. Is it still possible to get a Bachelor's or Master's in Pharm or is it PharmD only now? Oh and this is for online/distance programs only. Thanks for the help!