<p>@ bluedevilmike, Pharmagal</p>
<p>That “most pharmD schools offer programs right out of high school” is – to my knowledge – false. There are a select few 0+6 (straight out of high school) programs in the country. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe there are about a dozen 0+6 schools in the US. Most schools vary from requiring two years of prerequisite courses to a bachelors degree <em>before</em> applying to a pharmD program (Doctor of Pharmacy), which is four additional years. Anyone that graduated after 2003 must have a pharmD, but people that graduated with a bachelors in pharmacy before 2003 can practice under that degree as an RPh (registered pharmacist). PharmDs and RPhs have to pass the same licensure exams to practice. The only difference in the degree. Some people choose to do a residency (one or more years) after their pharmD, but I don’t have any stats on how many people actually do it. I just know that at my school about 30% of graduates go on to be placed in residencies.</p>
<p>@ Castel</p>
<p>As asifkhan said, there really is no official ranking of pharmD programs. One from 2008 exists, but it’s a peer ranking not an official AACP ranking (and AACP does not endorse this ranking). All students graduate with the same pharmD degree and all must pass the same licensure exams plus state exams in order to practice. Some people opt to add on a PhD, MBA or JD on top of their pharmD as well. That all schools are ultimately 100% equal is not true. Everyone that goes to high school and must pass the same exams (in general), but do they all receive the same education? Granted high schools will vary much more greatly than pharmacy schools will. But I digress… Some schools teach to the NAPLEX instead of for knowledge/practice, some schools are heavier on research, MTM, clinical, etc. You end up with and practice under the same degree that you obtain with a generally similar structure, but there will be variations between schools. The general consensus is that a school’s “ranking” doesn’t matter, but the connections you make in school and the local reputation of your school might.</p>
<p>@ pharmdita</p>
<p>You can specialize in almost anything once you have your pharmD, but many people that do do this do an additional residency after pharmacy school. I shadowed with two HIV/AIDS pharmacists as a pre-pharm years ago in our metro hospital. Chances are larger urban hospitals in your area also have an HIV/AIDS pharmacy as well. As for hours, breaks, etc… that will widely vary from person to person and school to school. As a general rule of thumb you can expect to be studying more than you did in undergrad, especially if you didn’t take a rigorous class load.</p>
<p>I recommend going through the AACP’s website to find out general information about pharmacy and pharmacy school. They will have the most accurate and most universal information. Here’s a link to the student center: [AACP</a> - Student Center](<a href=“http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/Pages/default.aspx]AACP”>http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/Pages/default.aspx)</p>
<p>As usual… please pardon any spelling and grammar mistakes :)</p>