Get Your PharmD Degree Through An Online Pharmacy University?
Can you really get a Doctor of Pharmacy degree or better known as a PharmD degree via the internet? With the pharmacy shortage in loom for the next 10 years, this idea may soon become a reality.
What is the best way to increase the supply of pharmacists to serve our aging nation and at the same time reduce the costs of educating these students? Simple. Offer students the option to enroll into pharmacy school via internet. In fact, many well-known schools these days offer online degrees. You can get your BA/BS, MS, MBA, and even PhD, ONLINE!
Why not do the same thing for pharmacy? There are 3 main reasons why this system may or may not work. I am going to offer you 3 possible reasons. It is up to you to come up with the possible answers.
The first reason is very simple. It addresses VALUE. Will an online PharmD degree be much appreciated compared to degrees offered in the conventional way, where students have to physically attend school? After all, a degree is a degree right? You are a fully-fledged liable pharmacist no matter which way you got educated just as long as you passed your exams and are licensed.
The second reason is MONEY. There is currently an increase in demand for a pharmacist’s services yet the supply is not great enough to satisfy this need. This in turn increases pharmacist’s salaries pharmacy destiny usa . If there are pharmacy schools online, supply is going to be greater than demand, and a pharmacist’s salary will eventually decrease. Although this is terrible for the pharmacist, the question begged to be answered: Wouldn’t this benefit the patient considering that now there are more pharmacists; therefore, decreasing the pharmacist-to-patient ratio? After all, a pharmacist’s best interest is the patient.
The third and final reason is CHARACTER. Are you going to miss out on the invaluable laboratory sessions and communication skills required to become a competent pharmacist by going to school online? What is the importance of going to school the old-fashion way if you can possibly do it faster, cheaper and even better online?
We are living in the 21st century where everything you see and touch is influenced by technology. Why not make this a reality and make an online pharmacy university possible for students. Only time will tell, if this idea of an online PharmD degree is going to work out. But in the meantime, this topic should be discussed among all pre-pharmacy students. Print this out and I encourage you to discuss this important issue with your friends, family, professors and even the person who is going to interview you for pharmacy school.
Charlie Thai is a pharmacy student and the author of “How To Get Into Pharmacy School” ebook. He has also written many other ebooks related to the health professional field.