Hey there.
I'm currently sat in a flat a short distance away from LJMU's Byrom street campus. I've spent two years on LJMU's MPharm course and am currently leaving it for a few reasons. This could be called my break-up letter with pharmacy, it could be called a desperate cry for attention, but I like to think of it as an insight into a world that you are probably very interested in.
I -like you- want to help people, I feel like I want a career where I'm not stuck in a little cubicle and would love to feel like I've made a difference in someone else's life... Well, that's what I thought at least.
Being a pharmacist is basically a cross between being the assistant-manager of a shop and head librarian. You take in a load of stock, sort it and then give it out to the right people and try and make sure that everything goes to plan .. Oh and make sure you don't get sued. This is the job for most of your day, a job that required you to get a masters degree.
Whilst you may say that there are many aspects to pharmacy, with aseptics, medical information, industry, hospital and academia all working alongside each other, the majority of MPharm graduates go into working in the retail side of the business (working in a chemist such as boots or lloyds).
Let me tell you about an interview at a pharmacy I had a little while ago: I was invited to interview for the position of pharmacy technician at an unnamed supermarket near me that rhymes with "Jamesbury's".
I was told to meet the pharmacist in the pharmacy, yet after walking around the edge of the store and seeing the large and spacious butchers, clean and stylish opticians and very fancy cafe, I realised I could not see the pharmacy in this store!
"Gosh" I think "maybe I'm at the wrong store!". Whilst I head back to the front of the store to find someone who can help, I see it; the pharmacist is stuck in the shelves.
Well... To be exact the entire pharmacy was in the space of a shelf, and not even half of an isle. This is how retail pharmacists are viewed and this is the life of many a pharmacist. Crammed into a little hole, surrounded by people who want to talk to you -quite literally- about their **** and who probably have two screaming little ****s with them (not literally).
You spend 5 years in higher education for the privilege of being a pharmacist and while it may once have been a privilege, it certainly cannot be seen to be one any longer. The MPharm program is becoming increasingly irrelevant with aspects such as compounding still being taught today (ask your pharmacist today if they can make you something in the pharmacy and they'll probably look at you as if you're crazy). The lack of regulation on the admissions into pharmacy schools means that many universities are using them as "cash cows" (and believe me, they really are cash cows). Which just means that within a few years there's going to be many, many unemployed pharmacists, it's just simple macroeconomics.
With the medical world becoming a nightmare of litigation, when you are probably so bright in order to pursue this career (I mean, AAB/AAA as predicted grades for most pharmacy schools!?) when you could do *anything* else; I have to wonder, why? Why would you want to be a pharmacist?
As an aside, if anyone has any questions about MPharm/LJMU I'd be happy to answer them! PM me / Post here