AboutMary E Scott, RPh, CGP Expertise I am a certified geriatric pharmacist with over 23 years experience as a long-term care consultant to nursing homes. I also do community-based consulting on an individual basis. My facility-based monthly newsletter on pharmacy topics is read by nurses in over 200 long-term care facilities in 5 states.
Experience I received a BS in Pharmacy in 1980 with post-graduate work in public health. I have had a Consultant Pharmacist license since 1984.
Organizations American Society of Consultant Pharmacists .I received certification in geriatric pharmacy in 1998.
Question I am 27 years old with a Bachelors' Degree in Business Administration. I have completed some masters level work for a MBA, but dropped out of the program due to pregnancy. I work full time in a busy office and have a 3 year old daughter. I am interested in becoming a pharmacist. I would obviously have to complete all course work on a distance learning basis. I have well above average math skills and am a very fast learner. My undergraduate GPA is about 3.2 with a 29 ACT score. My graduate work GPA was only about 2.0 when I dropped out. I was wondering if someone with some expertise in the field would think my completing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree online while raising a 3 year old would be possible or practical. Also, is the Doctor of Pharmacy degree required now for a pharmacy license? If this is possible, can you give me any idea how long it would take, assuming a moderate commitment of time of around 12 hours coursework/study per week? I really hope you can address all these questions for me. Thank you so much for your time and help.
Answer Hi,Lori!
The Doctor of Pharmacy degree is now required to practice pharmacy. This is a 6 yr program, but since you have a BS degree, it would probably take you less time since you would not have to take elective courses. I doubt if it would be possible to do the majority of it online. The last year especially is clinical work,not book work.
I would recommend contacting some colleges of pharmacy to see what can be done online. I know it is possible to complete a PharmD if you already have a BS in Pharmacy,but you still have to complete an internship. If you have not worked in a pharmacy before, you may want to work as a pharmacy technician to see if you like it. Hope this helps, Mary
