PharmD's are not doctors!

Discussion in 'MSL Board' started by Anonymous, Sep 11, 2007 at 2:00 AM.

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  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I don't understand why MDs and NPs are so hellbent on keeping PharmDs out of the "medical realm," when not too long ago NPs were fought and lobbied to be considered a provider. Now, they're vital. They can provide patient care at a reduced cost. It's great.

    The root of the question here is, what's beneficial to the patient? There's so much bickering that can just be resolved if we answer that question.

    PharmDs, with training, can do the same. I am a clinical pharmacist, and see almost 40-50% of our patients, and almost all of our high-risk patients at my clinic. We have a great relationship here with all providers, because it has been time tested and we have proven ourselves. Most of the providers send a referral to us as "evaluate and treat." We educate, treat, and manage all aspects of a patient...not in lieu of their PCP, but in collaboration with them. I have my own DEA and prescribing license. I am able to understand most treatment failures and modify their therapy. We aren't constricted to a 15 minute appointment, and are able to get most of our patients to goal.

    And you know what else, I am the drug expert at my site. If you have a question, I'll answer it for you. If I can't, I know how. We are in a healthcare crisis. We have a shortage of primary care providers...why not take the help you have in front of you? My clinic has opened 3 other clinics, and all them had to have clinical pharmacy....mandated from the CEO, CMO, and all medical directors.

    I am not above any of the providers I work with, nor am I below them. We all serve as a vital part of the healthcare system. I do not go by doctor at the clinic. Myself and my docs are all on a first-name basis. The only time I use my title is in the classroom, because I've earned it.

    Lastly, the term pill pusher only shows your lack of understanding of what goes on behind the scenes. That patient that tells you, "Oh, I promise you're the only doc I see!" has prescriptions from 6 other places. We check interactions, duplications, errors, etc. So what if it's computerized? My colleagues will still catch things that the computer doesn't recognize. and isn't almost everything computerized now? Why do you think they've been switched to e-prescribing now? Because it's more efficient and decreases the amount of errors.

    /rant
     

  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    You don't treat...unless you are breaking the law...and you didn't earn your title you paid for it. Big difference.
     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Oh but I do treat...and really good at it, too! Also, if you don't know all the laws, how can you say I'm breaking the law? My name is out there...surely if i was doing something illegal I would have been arrested or charged?

    Paid for it? Ha, the majority of people couldn't handle the amount of pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, or medicinal chemistry we endure. There is no reason to be so disgruntled. Times are changing, and there's a reason so many hospitals and clinics have a clinical pharmacy team. You'll soon see or get left behind.
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    It's because you are cheaper, giving flu shots is not treating, and talk to me when you pass your med boards about course loads.
     
  5. Lynette L

    Lynette L Guest

    Any PharmD MSLs looking for a new role and have a clinical pharmacist background with experience in infectious diseases or critical care?? I am having trouble finding backgrounds like such
     
  6. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I have a PharmD and own or have a partial interest in over a dozen stores. I'll be honest, I don't care what you call me as long as the customers keep coming in. I wouldn't want to be a doctor, they don't make enough. Keep your title, I'll settle for the Paychecks. You think being called "Doctor" somehow makes you more prestigious or important? People only care about 1 thing, and that's how big of a check you can write.
     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    This all confuses me. I'm a pharmd and I love my job! I never claim to be a doctor and have nothing but respect for mds. I would never want to be a rep because i would never want my job to depend on sales. I go to work each day to help my patients-- by providing optimal counseling, dur, and OTC counseling. I provide immunizations for children and adults and mtm for patients with multiple medical conditions. I spend the majority of my time on patient care. I work for a pharmacy chain that has vastly lowered drug costs for the entire country by offering 4 dollar generics (I know there are many opinions on this but that's the reality). My pharmacy pays me 150000 per year plus a 12000 bonus (and yes, that is not a lie) because of the business we run. And no, unlike every other healthcare professional, I bill almost nothing for my services. And my pharmacy is very profitable. That's why pharmds are paid so much and that's why we're a part of the team and deserve some respect. And no, I never asked to be called doctor
     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Why are all the PharmD's getting bent out of shape. The posts are being sent by the lunch ladies, oh I mean sales rep.
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Good one.
     
  10. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Of course PharmD's aren't doctors. But if they're on your sales target list you'd damn well better call them one. Otherwise you'll be pounding the pavement for another job. After you get laid off or quit you can go back and tell them that you weren't serious when you called them "doctor". Just tell them it was a BS sales tactic that your company forced you to do. Just tell them that it's an industry standard to move product.
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Ok sweetie. Now go get me a sandwich. A sales rep is a glorified waitress.
     
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    It seems to me that whoever started this post is either A) not in the healthcare field or B) not in the healthcare field. PharmD stands for Doctor of pharmacy. Doctor... of Pharmacy. It's just a title. What you do with that title is what matters.
     
  13. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

     
  14. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    You are correct, however they are still a Doctor of Pharmacy and not to be confused with a MD. That being said, you cannot obtain a Rph anymore. So they are in fact a Doctor of Pharmacy and should be addressed as such.
     
  15. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    An RPh is a registered pharmacist, which all practicing pharmacist get. You're probably confusing that with a Bachelor's of Pharmacy, which is not offered anymore.
     
  16. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Most of you commenting crap about Doctor of Pharmacists probably failed out of pharm school. Doctors most times prescribe rubbish and are corrected by the doctor in the pharmacy......GET A LIFE FOLKS!!!
     
  17. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    You all are fucking idiots and ignorant...
    All of there professions are important in the Health Care. You need a doctor to diagnose your disease and you need a pharmacist to give you the damn medication. Both of them work hand in hand. Doctors need pharmacists and pharmacists need doctors. Grow up people.
     
  18. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    "Doctor" = Latin for "teacher"

    Why anyone in the healthcare field, including physicians with M.D.'s and pharmacists with PharmD's, are allowed to style themselves "doctors" is beyond me. Those are merely professional so-called doctorates. They aren't research doctorates like the Ph.D., which actually require you to add to the body of human knowledge through an original thesis, rather than just memorizing a bunch of facts and going through glorified job training.

    However, if we're going to allow professional degrees to be called doctorates, then it's clear that the PharmD is just a master's degree masquerading as a doctorate. No respectable doctorate could be obtained a mere six years out of high school.

    There are four research doctorates in the United States according to the National Science Foundation: the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), and Doctor of Theology (Th.D.). If you have one of the more than 80 degrees in the alphabet soup of professional doctorates, then get over yourself.
     
  19. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    I would like to correct my previous statement, slightly. This is from the NSF:

    "RESEARCH DOCTORATE DEGREE TITLES

    NOTE: This is the list of frequently awarded research doctorate degree titles accepted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as representing degrees equivalent in content and level to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.

    Doctor of Arts (D.A.)
    Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
    Doctor of Church Music (D.C.M.)
    Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D./D.C.L.)
    Doctor of Design (D.Des.)
    Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
    Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng./D.E.Sc./D.E.S.)
    Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.)
    Doctor of Hebrew Letters (D.H.L.)
    Doctor of Industrial Technology (D.I.T.)
    Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D./S.J.D.)
    Doctor of Music (D.M.)
    Doctor of Musical/Music Arts (D.M.A.)
    Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E.)
    Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.)
    Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.)
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.)
    Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.E.)
    Doctor of Public Health (D.P.H.)
    Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
    Doctor of Science (D.Sc./Sc.D.)
    Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.)
    Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)"
     
  20. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    You are aware that your list of doctors seems to be missing Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. You know, the doctors that you dip shit reps are suppose to be calling on. These degrees you referenced are research doctorate. Similar to PhD's they do basic proof of concept research in their area of speciality. Professional doctorates are clinically oriented and more about outcomes. MD, DO & PharmD's all have 4 years of professional education.

    Some universities allow students to do a 2 year pre-Pharmacy while others require pharmacy students to have a Bachalor degree prior to being admitted into the school. As far as I can see the requirements for a sales rep are bit less
    1. Breathing
    2. Able to wear pretty shoes
    3. Able to order and carry a lunch
    4. Able to repeat what Marketing tells you to say

    Now go put on your pretty shoes and get me a sandwich

    MDQUOTE="anonymous, post: 5668727"]I would like to correct my previous statement, slightly. This is from the NSF:

    "RESEARCH DOCTORATE DEGREE TITLES

    NOTE: This is the list of frequently awarded research doctorate degree titles accepted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as representing degrees equivalent in content and level to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.

    Doctor of Arts (D.A.)
    Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
    Doctor of Church Music (D.C.M.)
    Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D./D.C.L.)
    Doctor of Design (D.Des.)
    Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
    Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng./D.E.Sc./D.E.S.)
    Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.)
    Doctor of Hebrew Letters (D.H.L.)
    Doctor of Industrial Technology (D.I.T.)
    Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D./S.J.D.)
    Doctor of Music (D.M.)
    Doctor of Musical/Music Arts (D.M.A.)
    Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E.)
    Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.)
    Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.)
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.)
    Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.E.)
    Doctor of Public Health (D.P.H.)
    Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
    Doctor of Science (D.Sc./Sc.D.)
    Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.)
    Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)"[/QUOTE]