Do not study optometry it is a terrible/bad career (long)

Original post by asif007

If they want more doctors, they need to train more doctors or hire more from abroad. Not spend money on graduates of any science discipline - that's basically saying that anyone can do the work of a doctor with only 2 years of training. It's hugely insulting to all of us who have given up half our lives to get a qualification specifically to be a Doctor when some other random person can be paid more for the same work/training time and less responsibility. I think the consultants will be outraged too.

But in some cases they can....look at my example

I work in a pharmacy 8 hours a week, I can do the same job as the pharmacists with little or no training. I can pick out drugs, dispense them, look up dosages in the BNF, and advise people on OTC treatments.....

I'm doing an economics PhD.

And if I can do it, I'm sure others can as well. The Pharmacist and Doctor is there as a legality half the time. The nurses are more than capable of taking blood etc.

Though doctors get to apply their knowledge a lot more than pharmacists, who have been prescription churning machines.

And yes I will be quitting this pharmacy experience soon, it doesn't benefit me much other than the gambling money it gives me to chuck on the markets.

Reply 102

FXX

19

Original post by 999tigger

OP very interesting and informative post.
I've seen another thread warning people about pharmacy. Out of interest what professions wopuld you have gone into instead? Ofc taking into account your abilities and grades.

I'm very biased but I can respond directly to the OPs complaints with radiography (well, diagnostic anyway).

1) Only radiographers can use radiation on people. No one treads on your toes, and if you need something imaged, a radiology department is the only place to go. Hospitals are completely and utterly reliant on imaging and there's no way around it. You are in demand and while you may not be liked because you might have to tell a doctor their patient isn't the most urgent and they'll have to wait, you get some respect in the fact that you are the only one able to provide the service the patient needs.

2) No sales pressure, obviously.

3) Some ignorant people are surprised you need a degree to take a picture in x-ray but when you start specialising in more advanced practice you tend to get a bit more respect. You won't find anyone else able to operate an MRI scanner.

4) Most places will require you to work weekends/bank holidays/nights but you get paid a premium for doing so. If you don't want to you can work in a small community hospital and do 9-5 M-F.

5) Once you start specialising you can earn a semi decent wage. If you fancy management then there's plenty of money on the table. Opportunities for overtime are ample.

6) There's always scope to develop in radiography. New modalities, reporting, specialist procedures... You never know it all. There are a lot of people who will consider working in an x-ray or CT department a factory line so the job isn't for them. For those that get around it the job is a career for life with all kinds of options available.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 103

ALittleLost25

1

May as well just live on minimum, save enough to travel for a year and go. Rinse and repeat

Reply 104

Jean Acco

Original post by asif007

OK I stand corrected. But I still don't agree with it. All medical students spend at least 3 years of their degree training in clinical medicine to be able to practise as a doctor - it's ridiculous that PA's can be allowed to do it in 2, without all the necessary pre-clinical training all medics have to do. What about all those poor students who did at least 3 years of a BSc and/or Masters and now 4-5 years of Graduate Entry Medicine on top of that? That's at least 8 years for them. I think it's unacceptable that PA's are being trained to do exactly the same work as doctors for higher pay and less responsibility. It all reeks of an organised effort by the Tories to undermine and devalue the work of doctors. Same as what they did to teachers by bringing in TA's who need no qualifications to do the same work as a teacher. It's disgusting.

PA's do similar jobs as General practitioners, however they do not do the same exact job. it's a proffession made to assists doctors, not to be a cover for them. Therefore comparing the two is not the best idea. Doctors have to go through longer studies because they can then specialize and becomes consultants. PA's cannot specialize the same way a doctor does. The PA salary is higher than a junior doctor to start with, however a doctor earns a LOT more than a PA with experience.
In the end PA's do not do the same job as a doctor so your comparison has no grounds. Feel free to look up what PA's actually do and you will find many differences :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 105

neldee95

12

Original post by fg45344

But in some cases they can....look at my example

I work in a pharmacy 8 hours a week, I can do the same job as the pharmacists with little or no training. I can pick out drugs, dispense them, look up dosages in the BNF, and advise people on OTC treatments.....

I'm doing an economics PhD.

And if I can do it, I'm sure others can as well. The Pharmacist and Doctor is there as a legality half the time. The nurses are more than capable of taking blood etc.

Though doctors get to apply their knowledge a lot more than pharmacists, who have been prescription churning machines.

And yes I will be quitting this pharmacy experience soon, it doesn't benefit me much other than the gambling money it gives me to chuck on the markets.

Lol did you read what you posted? Do you understand how cocky and unlikeable you come across as? You CANNOT do the job of a pharmacist. Even with a BNF. I bet you do not even have an NVQ 3 in pharmacy. Pipe down. Furthermore, this thread is not about pharmacy so quit bashing a career you are not even a part of.

Reply 106

username1494226

19

Again, the financial argument now is much tougher to justify. In this day and age, you shouldn't have to pay the large amounts of money requires to get into a field. If the tuition was low cost(which its worth really is), then I would recommend it to anyone. However, with the financial argument of tuition fees and debt thrown in now, thats what makes picking something like Optometry a harder choice.

Reply 107

Original post by neldee95

Lol did you read what you posted? Do you understand how cocky and unlikeable you come across as? You CANNOT do the job of a pharmacist. Even with a BNF. I bet you do not even have an NVQ 3 in pharmacy. Pipe down. Furthermore, this thread is not about pharmacy so quit bashing a career you are not even a part of.

I actually do have the NVQ, they made me do it, so I did it in a day, the year course.

I can bash the career all I want, I work in the damn place.

Reply 108

Original post by fg45344

I actually do have the NVQ, they made me do it, so I did it in a day, the year course.

I can bash the career all I want, I work in the damn place.

Sooooo if someone was to come up to you in the pharmacy and asked you a question about a certain medicine, would you know everything about it?
Most likely you'd end up giving someone the incorrect dosage/strength/or even the incorrect medicine therefore putting the patients life at serious risk.

That's like saying just because I'm doing Radiography and working in a hospital, means I can diagnose a patient. Yes, after a few years of working there I may have the knowledge of what an X-Ray is actually showing but that doesn't mean I'm allowed to diagnose a patient or even perform surgery on them.

Nobody can do the work of a Pharmacist apart from a pharmacist itself.
Nobody can do the work of an Optician apart from an optician itself.
Nobody can do the work of a Radiographer apart from a radiographer itself.

It doesn't even matter how long you have worked in the environment...

Reply 109

Original post by sameehaiqbal

Sooooo if someone was to come up to you in the pharmacy and asked you a question about a certain medicine, would you know everything about it?
Most likely you'd end up giving someone the incorrect dosage/strength/or even the incorrect medicine therefore putting the patients life at serious risk.

That's like saying just because I'm doing Radiography and working in a hospital, means I can diagnose a patient. Yes, after a few years of working there I may have the knowledge of what an X-Ray is actually showing but that doesn't mean I'm allowed to diagnose a patient or even perform surgery on them.

Nobody can do the work of a Pharmacist apart from a pharmacist itself.
Nobody can do the work of an Optician apart from an optician itself.
Nobody can do the work of a Radiographer apart from a radiographer itself.

It doesn't even matter how long you have worked in the environment...

When I'm at the tills and people ask me, what should I take, I'M THE ONE TELLING THEM!. And to be honest any monkey in this job will know what to do after a year, I know what Loratine is for, I know my Ovex for worms, Antisan for insect bites...I know my stuff, you kind of have to.

It's called learning on the job, everyone does it after their degree.

Reply 110

Original post by fg45344

When I'm at the tills and people ask me, what should I take, I'M THE ONE TELLING THEM!. And to be honest any monkey in this job will know what to do after a year, I know what Loratine is for, I know my Ovex for worms, Antisan for insect bites...I know my stuff, you kind of have to.

It's called learning on the job, everyone does it after their degree.

LOL but you really shouldn't be telling them what to take. Honestly, you are NOT a pharmacist. Stick with your economics course and stop making yourself part of a career you aren't. Wow, telling me three medicines doesn't make you that knowledgeable about Medicine... :rofl:

Reply 111

Original post by sameehaiqbal

Sooooo if someone was to come up to you in the pharmacy and asked you a question about a certain medicine, would you know everything about it?
Most likely you'd end up giving someone the incorrect dosage/strength/or even the incorrect medicine therefore putting the patients life at serious risk.

That's like saying just because I'm doing Radiography and working in a hospital, means I can diagnose a patient. Yes, after a few years of working there I may have the knowledge of what an X-Ray is actually showing but that doesn't mean I'm allowed to diagnose a patient or even perform surgery on them.

Nobody can do the work of a Pharmacist apart from a pharmacist itself.
Nobody can do the work of an Optician apart from an optician itself.
Nobody can do the work of a Radiographer apart from a radiographer itself.

It doesn't even matter how long you have worked in the environment...

The BNF tells us all the correct dosages and the computer tells us about interactions, its very automated. Heck I've even memorised 100s of dosages...

Omeprazole 20mg- Take one daily
Amoxicillin 500mg- Take one three times a day
Sertraline 100mg- Take one daily
Metformin 500mg- Take twice a day

And if you are not sure, check the BNF!

Reply 112

Original post by sameehaiqbal

LOL but you really shouldn't be telling them what to take. Honestly, you are NOT a pharmacist. Stick with your economics course and stop making yourself part of a career you aren't. Wow, telling me three medicines doesn't make you that knowledgeable about Medicine... :rofl:

I kind of have to be a pharmacist when they ask, what am I going to say, I study an economics PhD and I'm here to get money to dump on the financial markets, be real!

You want more knowledge, I have tons of knowledge. You want me to list it all, again be real. If you work in a place, you learn stuff very fast, if you don't, you fail at your job and you are out.

Reply 113

Original post by fg45344

The BNF tells us all the correct dosages and the computer tells us about interactions, its very automated. Heck I've even memorised 100s of dosages...

Omeprazole 20mg- Take one daily
Amoxicillin 500mg- Take one three times a day
Sertraline 100mg- Take one daily
Metformin 500mg- Take twice a day

And if you are not sure, check the BNF!

Wow. I really don't care. You aren't a pharmacist so stop acting like one and telling @asif007 that people who aren't doctors can do a doctors job. You're sounding absolutely ridiculous right now.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 114

neldee95

12

Original post by fg45344

I actually do have the NVQ, they made me do it, so I did it in a day, the year course.

I can bash the career all I want, I work in the damn place.

I said NVQ3, not NVQ2 that anyone who sets foot in a dispensary must legally have. Even random Freddie with one GCSE in PE.

I work in the damn place and I have been studying the degree for 3 years. I still do not think I have more pharmacy knowledge than a qualified pharmacist. Now what?

You really should learn humility. It is a virtue.

Oh and its loratidine* :colone:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 115

Original post by neldee95

I said NVQ3, not NVQ2 that anyone who sets foot in a dispensary must legally have. Even random Freddie with one GCSE in PE.

I work in the damn place and I have been studying the degree for 3 years. I still do not think I have more pharmacy knowledge than a qualified pharmacist. Now what?

You really should learn humility. It is a virtue.

Completely agree with this. This person thinks they can list some of the most common medicines on an online forum and claim they are "able" to be a Pharmacist. My sister-in-law is a Pharmacist and even she forgets what some Medicines are for and even she struggles at her job sometimes. Why do people think Pharmacy is piss easy? It's really not.

Reply 116

Original post by neldee95

I said NVQ3, not NVQ2 that anyone who sets foot in a dispensary must legally have. Even random Freddie with one GCSE in PE.

I work in the damn place and I have been studying the degree for 3 years. I still do not think I have more pharmacy knowledge than a qualified pharmacist. Now what?

You really should learn humility. It is a virtue.

I know enough to run the place when its so understaffed. And I'm the one telling the locum what to do, if they just check well, we survive the night.

You have the knowledge, pharmacists aren't exactly gods you know.

And their knowledge is ok, you'd rather have good investing/tax knowledge, would help you out way more in life.

Reply 117

Original post by sameehaiqbal

Completely agree with this. This person thinks they can list some of the most common medicines on an online forum and claim they are "able" to be a Pharmacist. My sister-in-law is a Pharmacist and even she forgets what some Medicines are for and even she struggles at her job sometimes. Why do people think Pharmacy is piss easy? It's really not.

It's piss easy when a PhD economics student can do the job.

It's repetitive brainless labour, you use your brain twice an hour if that, rest of the time you are just churning out prescriptions to push up Wal-Marts stock price.

That's the reality, ask your sister-in-law

Reply 118