Pharmacy: expectation vs. reality

[BMBiology]

What were your expectations before you started pharmacy school? What is the reality? When did you graduate?

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[gwarm01]

Before: I can be a doctor without doing a residency!

After: I am not a doctor and the phone won't stop ringing.

Graduated '13.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Expectation: I will be financially secure and able to afford a few luxuries.

Reality: a little better than that financially. But a lot more hours than I thought.

 

[mustang sally]

Expectation: I will do a residency and become a clinical pharmacist in a major trauma center. I can live wherever I want because pharmacy is such a flexible career, plus I will be financially well off.

Reality: I'm a staff pharmacist in a rural hospital. I'm definitely better off in some ways than I would have been if I didn't go to pharmacy school, but I also have massive amounts of debt.

 

[RxPreceptor]

09' Expectations: A career with considerable job stability & financial security.
I will have respect just as any other medical professional would have.

13' Reality: The college lifestyle to go with the college debt.
I should apparently start smoking (jokingly) because I am told I am "too young" to be a pharmacist...almost 30yo?
On the bright side, there's always a vast array of new meds, guideline changes, databases, technologies, etc. to keep one from dying from boredom

 

[panasoniku]

I like this thread

Expectation: Stable job and able to go on vacation with nice somewhat luxury locations (Westin, Princess Cruises, Business Class Flights)

Reality: Stable job, but vacation on points and mileage. Who pays for these things???????

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Expected: I count by fives all day while making a ton of money. Probably boring, but I've got an MP3 player.
Reality: I count by fives all day while making a ton of money. Sort of boring, but I got like 20 podcasts on my Podcast Republic rotation. Plus the opioid addicts spice the night up. Oh, and I get 182 days off a year.

 

[PHaRmol Jo]

expectation: work 40 hours a week, make six figures, dislike my job but "hey they are paying me for a reason." also great job security
reality: work 40 hours a week, make six figure and really enjoy my job! also poor job security

 

[bacillus1]

Expectation: I will be able to work wherever I want in whatever field of pharmacy I want, as pharmacy is so flexible and pharmacists are needed everywhere. Pharmacy isn't as demanding as medicine, so I'll get to have a life.
Reality: I have to move across the country to find a clinical position, even after residency, in a very understaffed institution, and I work every other weekend. At least the location is nice.

 

[iphetamine]

expectation: work 40 hours a week, make six figures, dislike my job but "hey they are paying me for a reason." also great job security
reality: work 40 hours a week, make six figure and really enjoy my job! also poor job security

one of the rarest positive comment on this forum...

 

[josh6718]

Expectation: I will have numerous job offers with a 10k sign on bonus and locations of my choosing.
Reality: Relieved I was offered a job when I graduated (unlike a few classmates)- even if means an hour commute one way.

Expectation: I will be able to make recommendations that will be recognized and appreciated by the patients I serve.
Reality: "Just fill it for what my doctor wrote for! He knows what medications I'm taking. Any why is my copay so much?!"

Expectation: My performance will be measured based on my clinical interventions and how I apply my knowledge
Reality: Better get the WeCare, PCQ calls, and Satisfied With Time to Fill scores up so I don't lose my job.

Expectation: As the volume of prescriptions increase, so will the staffing and need for pharmacists.
Reality: I wonder how many tech hours were are going to lose this week.

 

[sakigt]

Expectation: Ill graduate with 100k in debt but Ill work retail and pay it off super fast.
Reality: Life happened, terms of student loan intrest changed and I now owe $142k. I also chose hospital and make less than expected. On the plus side I love my job, my schedule, my flexibility. Basically everything. When my loans are gone I will be very satisfied.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Expected: Work only 3 days a week, make $90,000 a year, and play in a rock band.

Reality: Working 7 days a week, making $200,000 a year, and don't have time for friends, hobbies, or sleep.

I may be exaggerating a little bit right now. That was me 3 years ago.

 

[BMBiology]

Expectation (pre-pharmacy school): I can't believe I am guaranteed to make 6 figure salary and work just 40 hours a week! Maybe I can just work 20 hours? I am going to get with my pharmacist friends and buy rental properties.

Reality (during pharmacy school, working more than 20 hours a week in retail): Why am I studying this crap when I am not even going to use it? I have to get out of retail. I can't do this for the rest of my life and be happy. And why am I so snappy and why do I get angry easily? Man, I need to get out of retail (quit my retail internship during my 4th year)

Reality (after pharmacy school): great, I got multiple offers but they are all retail or retail like (we all got multiple offers back then). I can't give in. I need to keep on looking.

After 3 months of looking, I found my ideal position. I just knew it when I walked in. Years later, my hiring manager told me she took a gamble on me (since I was a new grad) and it paid off. That is probably one of the nicest things someone has ever said to me. I paid off my student loans within the first few years. I invested heavily because I knew the pharmacy job market is going to be saturated soon. It paid off. I am going to make close to 300 k this year (mostly from investment). I am pretty content with my decision to pursue this career. I got some help along the way. I also got lucky. I got into pharmacy school at the right time and graduated when there were a lot of investment opportunities. I guess timing is everything.

 

[rxlea]

Expected: can make a **** ton of money doing fun stuff and saving people

Reality: make a **** ton of money doing fun stuff and saving people but only after busting my ass for a year in an intense residency that pushed me to my limit. Loved it so much I still work per diem for them.

Totally worth it.

 

[pharmatme]

Expected: can make a **** ton of money doing fun stuff and saving people

Reality: make a **** ton of money doing fun stuff and saving people but only after busting my ass for a year in an intense residency that pushed me to my limit. Loved it so much I still work per diem for them.

Totally worth it.

Which type of residency did you do?

 

[rxlea]

Which type of residency did you do?

PGY1 at a large academic medical center in the Midwest

 

[Unchained]

Expectation: I would become a valuable member of the healthcare team by administering life saving flu shots.

Reality: Corporations have hijacked the trust we have forged with our patients for decades and used us to administer a medicine which has no established efficacy. They use scare tactics such as exaggerated death counts as scare tactics. Patients no longer turn to us for evidence based medicine and have come to understand we are just a part of the medical industrial complex.

 

[txpharmguy]

Expectation: Be a valued member of the health care team.

Reality: "How long will it take? How much will it cost?"

 

[BMBiology]

Expectation: Be a valued member of the health care team.

Reality: "How long will it take? How much will it cost?"

and dont forget, "where is the restroom key?"

 

[Digsbe]

Expectation: I would become a valuable member of the healthcare team by administering life saving flu shots.

Reality: Corporations have hijacked the trust we have forged with our patients for decades and used us to administer a medicine which has no established efficacy. They use scare tactics such as exaggerated death counts as scare tactics. Patients no longer turn to us for evidence based medicine and have come to understand we are just a part of the medical industrial complex.

uhhh, wut?

 

[dreamchaserRx]

Interesting forum.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

uhhh, wut?

Don't mind him, it must be flu season.

 

[gwarm01]

uhhh, wut?

Check his post history. It's the only thing he comes here to talk about.

 

[pillpharmer14]

Expectation: I'll dominate the retail world because I'm a hard worker with excellent people skills

Reality: Hard work in retail is rewarded by higher expectations, additional responsibilities and being assigned to problem stores to "prop up" the district metrics.

 

[Unchained]

uhhh, wut?

We all know flu shots are the modern day equivalent of snake oil. How many patients do you give a shot to and end up getting the flu anyway? Thankfully flu shots are down chain wide this season. I think the public is getting smarter. There is no established VE for flu shots. They would be frightened at the results of a study vs an unvaccinated group.

 

[pillpharmer14]

We all know flu shots are the modern day equivalent of snake oil. How many patients do you give a shot to and end up getting the flu anyway? Thankfully flu shots are down chain wide this season. I think the public is getting smarter. There is no established VE for flu shots. They would be frightened at the results of a study vs an unvaccinated group.

Why don't you move to Canada or something. We like our capitalism here.

 

[Rouelle]

Expectation: My feet and legs won't hurt every day

Reality: My feet and legs hurt every day

 

[Apotheker2015]

and dont forget, "where is the restroom key?"

You tell them "the janitor handles the restroom. I am the pharmacist and I handle the pharmacy"