Pharmacist to PA

[Hope1974]

Hello. I graduated in 2011 with a PharmD degree. I'm finding it difficult to land a job in pharmacy. In addition to this there are tons of pharmacists on the market and more schools opening up despite the surplus of pharmacists. Hospitals are asking for residency and the employers in retail are few, i.e. basically CVS and Walgreens. I was considering going back to school for PA. I'm searching for accelerated programs. Do you know of any? Also, how is the PA market?

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[deleted307836]

You've gone 18 months without finding a pharmacist position? Or did you find one but it's not what you wanted?

 

[benny32311]

Hello. I graduated in 2011 with a PharmD degree. I'm finding it difficult to land a job in pharmacy. In addition to this there are tons of pharmacists on the market and more schools opening up despite the surplus of pharmacists. Hospitals are asking for residency and the employers in retail are few, i.e. basically CVS and Walgreens. I was considering going back to school for PA. I'm searching for accelerated programs. Do you know of any? Also, how is the PA market?

You will have to look for an accelerated program. I don't think there are too many though, (I heard of one in Alaska for long time nurses and paramedics) you'll find most are 2+ years. You won't be able to transfer any credits etc...

The PA market will soon be getting a lot more PA's, but as of now the demand is high and supply is reasonable.Some markets near schools are flooded.

I think that if you look hard enough you will be able to find a job in pharm. Why not take a residency and get some extra marketability while doing what you are trained to do?

 

[deleted6669]

You will have to look for an accelerated program. I don't think there are too many though, (I heard of one in Alaska for long time nurses and paramedics) you'll find most are 2+ years. You won't be able to transfer any credits etc...

The PA market will soon be getting a lot more PA's, but as of now the demand is high and supply is reasonable.Some markets near schools are flooded.

I think that if you look hard enough you will be able to find a job in pharm. Why not take a residency and get some extra marketability while doing what you are trained to do?

there are no "accelerated programs" which give credit for prior coursework.

 

[benny32311]

there are no "accelerated programs" which give credit for prior coursework.

Right, but I thought there was a program in Alaska that crammed their school into less time. I could very well be wrong.

 

[Will352nd]

I could very well be wrong.

You are. The shortest PA program is Stanford at 21 months. You have to have a ton of experience to get in. The course loads are the same as the other programs.

 

[dudestheman90]

The economy is really that bad.... And it's only getting worse as it seems. The only thing secure right now is MD/DO. Everything else it seems is taking a hit. I doubt Physicians will be inclined to hire PA's in this economy especially with lower reimbursements as medicine starts becoming socialized, meaning less revenue, while costs are only going up do to inflation. Pharmacy seems to be becoming saturated, as well as PT/OT, there so many PT/OT offices in my area, probably more than 1 in every single town, i don't see a need for that many offices. Hospitals are shutting down and people are losing there jobs, esp. nurses. With a weakening economy, people are less inclined to worry about there dental insurance/coverage since health insurance is more impt, the major cities seem to be becoming oversaturated as well. There are cross-country truck drivers with a GED that make 100k+, no schooling, no debt. People def! shouldn't go into the health field for money, there are so many other ways to make the same amount if not more with a minimal amount of schooling/debt if any! Although ppl say they don;t go for the money, it really is all about the money, a person that spends 8-12 years in school doesn't expect to make the same amount as a person with a HS diploma

 

[deleted6669]

The economy is really that bad.... And it's only getting worse as it seems. The only thing secure right now is MD/DO. Everything else it seems is taking a hit. I doubt Physicians will be inclined to hire PA's in this economy

many (?most) pa's are not hired by individual doctors, they are hired by groups, hospital organizations, hmo's, or federal/state agencies to staff facilities as part of the clinical staff. I have never worked for a single physician or small group. as the economy gets worse, jobs for pa's become more plentiful as many places will decide to staff with a mix of docs and PAs instead of docs only. if you can hire 2-3 PAs for the price of one doc you can see more folks for less money(in the minds of some hospital mba).

 

[deleted6669]

Right, but I thought there was a program in Alaska that crammed their school into less time. I could very well be wrong.

there is one PA program in alaska and it is a satellite campus of the university of washington program and 27 months long.
stanford used to be 15 months but has been longer for several years now.