Quitting pharmacist job without notice

[nextyearrx]

Hello fellow pharmacist,

Has anyone had experience of quitting job without notice/short notice?

What were the circumstances and employer??

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[zelman]

Hello fellow pharmacist,

Has anyone had experience of quitting job without notice/short notice?

What were the circumstances and employer??

When I was a lead tech at CVS we got a call from our PIC one day. He was on vacation in Toronto. The call was to let us know he wasn't coming back. The place was a mess when he was around, so it was the same when we got floaters instead.

 

[rph3664]

I had to do that with what will probably be my final pharmacy job. I worked at a very good small hospital with some of the nicest people you could ever meet......and the job was literally killing me. I had been in the ER because of the stress and lost about 15 pounds in less than a month, and realized that if I worked there one more day, I would be a patient IN that hospital. The job itself was just plain old that stressful.

I should have known something was wrong when I found out it took 4 months to fill the job, what with saturation and all. I don't know how the other pharmacists, who unlike me also had families, coped with it.

It was one of the hardest, most wrenching decisions I've ever made, and I'll never forget the look on my manager's face as he handed me his card; he looked like someone had just told him a close relative had died.

If you look up "quitting a job without notice", one of the justified reasons for doing so is "Your physical and/or mental health is in immediate jeopardy" and that was definitely true for me.

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[boriqua]

no matter how horrific a job is, i will always leave at the minimum a 2 week notice before i go. call me naive but every man's got a code to live by.
how i leave the job is a different story though. like my last job before this one, the boss was a colossal dingus. it was only a 2 day shift and those 2 days didn't conflict with my full time job here. however, i still bull****ted to him and said it did and told him i gotta be out in 2 weeks and left the rest up to him.
The current place I'm at is wonderful and if i were to ever leave, i would give them plenty of notice, find an adequate replacement to take over for me, and help them with any paperwork if possible.
respect earns respect.

 

[beautifulrobot]

The only people I know who "quit" a job without notice are those who suffered a sudden major disability and were no longer physically able to work. Quitting a job without notice, unless your life is in eminent danger or some other extremely extraordinary scenario, can cause irreparable damage to your professional reputation. Even if you don't think your current employer will be able to hurt your prospects of finding another job, it's usually not worth risking it.

 

[rph3664]

no matter how horrific a job is, i will always leave at the minimum a 2 week notice before i go. call me naive but every man's got a code to live by.
how i leave the job is a different story though. like my last job before this one, the boss was a colossal dingus. it was only a 2 day shift and those 2 days didn't conflict with my full time job here. however, i still bull****ted to him and said it did and told him i gotta be out in 2 weeks and left the rest up to him.
The current place I'm at is wonderful and if i were to ever leave, i would give them plenty of notice, find an adequate replacement to take over for me, and help them with any paperwork if possible.
respect earns respect.

Many years ago, I had a horrific job experience where I did give a 2-week notice. I did it because I seriously considered suicide on the way to work.

The person I was working for was barely 30 years old and already had quite a reputation in the area. Incredibly, he still works there.

PA, that job was about 5 years ago and I now have a home-based business; I am still licensed and have no intention of giving that up.

Other indications include unreliable pay and being asked to do illegal or unnecessarily dangerous things. There are certainly situations in pharmacy where any of those could happen.

 

[rph3664]

The only people I know who "quit" a job without notice are those who suffered a sudden major disability and were no longer physically able to work. Quitting a job without notice, unless your life is in eminent danger or some other extremely extraordinary scenario, can cause irreparable damage to your professional reputation. Even if you don't think your current employer will be able to hurt your prospects of finding another job, it's usually not worth risking it.

I knew that, and that's what made the decision so difficult. However, I have no desire to return to active practice because it rapidly mutated into something I didn't recognize - a decision for which I've had 100% support IRL.

There's one local pharmacist who's been in practice for over 30 years, and he's walked out on numerous jobs without giving notice. I have no idea how or why he keeps getting hired again.

ETA: After the Osco/CVS transition, I heard about one pharmacist who, several hours after arriving one day, got so fed up that she said, "We're closing the pharmacy." Which she did, and told the DM that she wouldn't be back. She didn't care what happened to her later - things were that bad. The people who told me about it also said that she was not a person whom they would have expected to do something like that, and it wasn't unique among that company, either.

 

[Momus]

Pharmacy world is pretty big. Drive 3 hours away from your area and no one knows who you are. You do it only if you absolutely have to.

Dropping a 2 weeks notice is not that difficult while you are transitioning to another job, if you stay around in the same area words get around. That same boss can be your boss at another company later.

 

[beautifulrobot]

There's one local pharmacist who's been in practice for over 30 years, and he's walked out on numerous jobs without giving notice. I have no idea how or why he keeps getting hired again.

That reminds me... I know of a pharmacist who did something worse than just quitting a job without notice (without giving much detail, this pharmacist was terminated from their job). I was surprised to later find out they were hired at another place in the same geographic area. I suppose if one is savvy enough, they can figure out a way. Although, it goes without saying, it's better to avoid having to cover your tracks in the first place.

ETA: even though this pharmacist was able to find a job/maintain their livelihood without having to move to BFE, their reputation has essentially barred them from pursuing many opportunities within pharmacy, I'm certain of that.

 

[BidingMyTime]

2 weeks minimum, its the professional thing to do. Many pharmacist jobs ask for a month's notice. Not giving the bare minimum will definitely damage your rehirability. And 2 weeks really isn't that long. Most likely you've put up with the toxic work environment for quite some time anyway, before deciding to quit, so what is 2 weeks more?

 

[EML9255]

I will be giving my two weeks to wags Monday. Leaving for grocery store. About a 10k paycut but completely worth it to me. Get to finally live where I want to live and work in an environment I have wanted to since I graduated.

While I'm itt... Does anyone know about quitting with wags and PTO? I have about 65 unused hours at the moment and would like to get those paid out to me. Also will my insurance terminate immediately?

 

[farmadiazepine]

Don't quit. Always give 2 weeks. The only person you hurting by not giving 2 weeks is yourself. You will never, ever know what the future holds. As much as you may hate your employer, you are not screwing them over by quitting without notice; you are only screwing yourself. Always, always, always give 2 weeks.

You brush your teeth with a tooth brush and toothpaste. You wipe your as* with toilet paper. You give 2 weeks notice when you leave a job.

 

[rph3664]

Don't quit. Always give 2 weeks. The only person you hurting by not giving 2 weeks is yourself. You will never, ever know what the future holds. As much as you may hate your employer, you are not screwing them over by quitting without notice; you are only screwing yourself. Always, always, always give 2 weeks.

You brush your teeth with a tooth brush and toothpaste. You wipe your as* with toilet paper. You give 2 weeks notice when you leave a job.

I didn't hate my employer. That place had the second highest overall morale of any job I've ever had (and #1 was a pizza place I worked at when I was in pre-pharmacy). I was in circumstances that would have become life-threatening in a period of two weeks - it really was that bad.

Aw, man, I probably should step away from this board. It was almost 2 years before I went a day without thinking about what I had done, and several days ago, Facebook's "Memories" thing re-hashed all of this for me once again.

 

[Lnsean]

I didn't hate my employer. That place had the second highest overall morale of any job I've ever had (and #1 was a pizza place I worked at when I was in pre-pharmacy). I was in circumstances that would have become life-threatening in a period of two weeks - it really was that bad.

Aw, man, I probably should step away from this board. It was almost 2 years before I went a day without thinking about what I had done, and several days ago, Facebook's "Memories" thing re-hashed all of this for me once again.

so are you still in pharmacy or have left the field altogether?

 

[Lnsean]

I will be giving my two weeks to wags Monday. Leaving for grocery store. About a 10k paycut but completely worth it to me. Get to finally live where I want to live and work in an environment I have wanted to since I graduated.

While I'm itt... Does anyone know about quitting with wags and PTO? I have about 65 unused hours at the moment and would like to get those paid out to me. Also will my insurance terminate immediately?

you will get a pay out...PTOs are earned hours. As for insurance, i don't know.

 

[ldiot]

I've seen multiple pharmacists walk out mid shift and quit.

Neither cases were handled "professionally" but in my opinion it worked out for the best for both these pharmacists and the company. I can only assume that they are blacklisted for rehire but I can't imagine that they care.

They were probably planning to quit anyways but rude and demanding customers, long line, and an insane workload put them over the edge. I'll admit it was kind satisfying to see the looks on the rude customers' faces when we closed the pharmacy and said you're out of luck.

All these pharmacists got jobs in the same town at competitors.

 

[rph3664]

so are you still in pharmacy or have left the field altogether?

I have not worked as a pharmacist since that job and have no desire to go back, nor do I have to for financial reasons. I was told that I would not be rehirable by that health system, which I kind of figured, but I relocated shortly afterwards to the city I consider my real hometown, which is several hundred miles from any of their facilities.

 

[Lnsean]

I have not worked as a pharmacist since that job and have no desire to go back, nor do I have to for financial reasons. I was told that I would not be rehirable by that health system, which I kind of figured, but I relocated shortly afterwards to the city I consider my real hometown, which is several hundred miles from any of their facilities.

damn so you're wealthy enough to not have to work another day in your life? I need some of dat....

 

[ldiot]

I have not worked as a pharmacist since that job and have no desire to go back, nor do I have to for financial reasons. I was told that I would not be rehirable by that health system, which I kind of figured, but I relocated shortly afterwards to the city I consider my real hometown, which is several hundred miles from any of their facilities.

I wouldn't have even felt bad or care. The job was open for 4 months and you lost 15 pounds. That says more than enough about the stress, I would have done the same.

 

[Lnsean]

I wouldn't have even felt bad or care. The job was open for 4 months and you lost 15 pounds. That says more than enough about the stress, I would have done the same.

for real...no job is worth that detriment to your health and well-being...next thing you know...you have ulcers and a bag of undiagnosed vague symptoms.

 

[rph3664]

damn so you're wealthy enough to not have to work another day in your life? I need some of dat....

That's a story for another day (and I have told it elsewhere on this board). Didn't have kids, or live beyond my means, and I put myself on an "allowance", if you will. My father periodically asks me how I'm doing financially, and I tell him, "I haven't hit you up for money lately, have I?"

If I DID have kids, I would have needed to be healthy so I could take care of them. In between leaving the job and moving away, I told one of the maintenance guys at the rental agency what had happened to me, and he told me that some years earlier, he had an industrial job that paid 90K a year, and after his third heart attack, the doctor said, "You will not be returning to that job." He replied, "But how am I supposed to take care of my kids?" The doctor replied, "You can't take care of your kids if you're dead." So, he relocated to this rural area (IIRC, they had extended family there) and even though his wife had to go back to work because he didn't make all that much money any more, the family was much happier and he was too.

I don't know how long it took to find a replacement for me; I did find out recently that my manager left his own job several months later to work at a hospital, in a non-pharmacy administrative job, in the same health system in another city, one that was nearer his adult children. A very nice man; I sure wish him the best. (Yeah, I Googled him and he was on Linked In.)

ETA: Back when I was working at the hospital, Dad would sometimes ask me, "So, are there any interesting patients in the hospital?" and I would always reply, "Sure! Can't tell you about them, but yes, we do." And that's what I told him in the pre-HIPAA days too.

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[Dalteparin]

what chain was this? just curious... it's stories like this that make me think I'm making a mistake by starting pharm school in the fall

If you don't have any pharmacy experience, then yes, you are making a mistake. Get a pharmacy job and see if you can defer admission for a year.


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[mentos]

what chain was this? just curious... it's stories like this that make me think I'm making a mistake by starting pharm school in the fall

You are making a huge mistake. Withdrawal and keep your money and positive net worth while you can.

 

[Humble Sloth]

I had to do that with what will probably be my final pharmacy job. I worked at a very good small hospital with some of the nicest people you could ever meet......and the job was literally killing me. I had been in the ER because of the stress and lost about 15 pounds in less than a month, and realized that if I worked there one more day, I would be a patient IN that hospital. The job itself was just plain old that stressful.

I should have known something was wrong when I found out it took 4 months to fill the job, what with saturation and all. I don't know how the other pharmacists, who unlike me also had families, coped with it.

It was one of the hardest, most wrenching decisions I've ever made, and I'll never forget the look on my manager's face as he handed me his card; he looked like someone had just told him a close relative had died.

If you look up "quitting a job without notice", one of the justified reasons for doing so is "Your physical and/or mental health is in immediate jeopardy" and that was definitely true for me.

Sure you are burning a bridge with that employer and maybe even employers in the metro area but when it comes down to it Personal Health >> respect to employer

 

[Humble Sloth]

2 weeks minimum, its the professional thing to do. Many pharmacist jobs ask for a month's notice. Not giving the bare minimum will definitely damage your rehirability. And 2 weeks really isn't that long. Most likely you've put up with the toxic work environment for quite some time anyway, before deciding to quit, so what is 2 weeks more?

I think the damage done to your reputation is only local damage. Once you leave the metro that negative information won't follow you.

 

[gwarm01]

I think the damage done to your reputation is only local damage. Once you leave the metro that negative information won't follow you.

Yeah. In pharmacy school the professors would always say "pharmacy is a small world." Well, that's only true if you are a small person who never leaves the nest. Once you leave the city/state no one will know who you or any of your professors are.

 

[gwarm01]

I disagree. at my current job several states away from my previous job, there have been several connections with my previous institution (know ppl from residency or midyear, worked there before, friends that worked there, etc)

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

Maybe it was just because I went to a small school in a small state, but I seriously had zero overlap. I guess it varies.

 

[Lnsean]

what chain was this? just curious... it's stories like this that make me think I'm making a mistake by starting pharm school in the fall

PA and NP is where it's at these days. You're going into a dying field with pharmacy but if you love pharmacy then go.

 

[ldiot]

what chain was this? just curious... it's stories like this that make me think I'm making a mistake by starting pharm school in the fall

You have to have a cool head and be very task oriented. You also have to have experience. Getting a tech job will get you experience, help you in school and on rotations, look good for job applications, and potentially get you an internship or even job offer as a pharmacist. You will also find out if you are suited for pharmacy. It's very important to get this experience.

The frustrations that occur in retail are very hard to explain, you will only know if it's right for you with experience.

Not many people enjoy retail. The question is more can you tolerate it and perform well or will it destroy you being trapped in a job that you hate with 6 figure debt?

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[Rukn]

Well, even if someone isn't cut-out for retail, aren't there always hospital jobs, LTC jobs, residencies, etc.? Also, even in the retail word't certain retail chains like Publix, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie considered much less stressful to work for? In other words, if someone isn't CVS/Walgreens material, does that mean they're most likely not cut-out for being a pharmacist, period?

There is no such thing as wag/cvs material

they are sh1t companies

good luck finding those other jobs

it's no secret that walgreed and cvsstress are garbage lower end companies to work for so people will do their best to avoid them and go some where else

 

[gwarm01]

Well, even if someone isn't cut-out for retail, aren't there always hospital jobs, LTC jobs, residencies, etc.? Also, even in the retail word't certain retail chains like Publix, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie considered much less stressful to work for? In other words, if someone isn't CVS/Walgreens material, does that mean they're most likely not cut-out for being a pharmacist, period?

You need those same qualities to succeed in hospital pharmacy as well. If you can't keep a cool head and prioritize, you will struggle. When there's a code in the ICU, a trauma in the ED, five nurses calling for the same med because they think that will make it come quicker, and all of your techs decided to disappear at once.. you will understand stress.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Neither cases were handled "professionally" but in my opinion it worked out for the best for both these pharmacists and the company. I can only assume that they are blacklisted for rehire but I can't imagine that they care.

They might care when after all the mergers there is only 1 giant healthcare corporation that runs all the hospitals, nursing homes, and retail pharmacies. And they can't get a job because they were blacklisted.

Well, even if someone isn't cut-out for retail, aren't there always hospital jobs, LTC jobs, residencies, etc.? Also, even in the retail word't certain retail chains like Publix, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie considered much less stressful to work for? In other words, if someone isn't CVS/Walgreens material, does that mean they're most likely not cut-out for being a pharmacist, period?

70% of pharmacy jobs are in retail. Statistically, the majority of pharmacists will be working in retail, it is foolish to take on huge amounts of debt to be a pharmacist, if one know they can not/would not be able to work in a retail pharmacy. And yes, I'm sure Wal-Mart is less stressful now that they are only hiring new pharmacists in at 28 hours a week or something.

 

[Rukn]

But to answer the question

Quitting without notice is not that big of a deal

There are hordes of pharmacists out there so I'm sure they can replace you without much trouble

 

[6GodPharm]

There is no such thing as wag/cvs material

they are sh1t companies

good luck finding those other jobs

it's no secret that walgreed and cvsstress are garbage lower end companies to work for so people will do their best to avoid them and go some where else

Those companies in California pay the most. I bet there are some **** floaters who ruin a store in a day making close to $66 an hour. Some floaters even older who have been with CVS since longs are probably racking in close to $70 an hour turning stuff red, drive thru screaming lane 1, 5 pharmacy calls, voicemails expired, line all over the place and giving no crap about anything. Not a bad gig if you ask me especially if you float to different stores and don't care

 

[ldiot]

Well, even if someone isn't cut-out for retail, aren't there always hospital jobs, LTC jobs, residencies, etc.? Also, even in the retail word't certain retail chains like Publix, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie considered much less stressful to work for? In other words, if someone isn't CVS/Walgreens material, does that mean they're most likely not cut-out for being a pharmacist, period?

I've been told by multiple people that at the end of the day retail is retail. Obviously some companies are better than others but you have to keep in mind that 70% of pharmacy jobs are in retail and 70% of pharmacy students plan to work in a hospital. You also have to keep in mind that half of the pharmacists working at WAGS/CVS have their application sitting on the desk of every LTC/independent/small grocery chain within a 50 mile radius. I'm not recommending that you defer enrolment to pharmacy school but you really should get a pharmacy job. Look at the multiple threads concerning new pharmacists who never had an internship. It's a complete disaster, they are still living in the world of pharmacy presented to them in school, a world that doesn't exist for most people.

 

[rph3664]

Well, even if someone isn't cut-out for retail, aren't there always hospital jobs, LTC jobs, residencies, etc.? Also, even in the retail word't certain retail chains like Publix, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie considered much less stressful to work for? In other words, if someone isn't CVS/Walgreens material, does that mean they're most likely not cut-out for being a pharmacist, period?

In the Midwest, there's also Meijer, Kroger, Schnuck's, and Hy-Vee for (usually) less stressful retail opportunities.

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[ldiot]

I've heard that PAs and NPs are worked pretty hard these days too, though (especially surgical PAs).



Unfortunately, I always dragged my feet when it came to getting a pharmacy job, so with school starting next month, now I have to make a firm decision on the future. I know a long-time hospital pharmacist (graduated 30+ years ago) who enjoys what he does, but with what is fast becoming the "de facto" residency requirement to work in most hospitals, he says I might as well spend the additional 1-3 years it would take to complete an MD/DO residency/fellowship and look forward to an income of $300k+, better benefits, more time off, etc. In other words, by the time a graduate of a 4-year pharmacy school has completed a PGY-2 residency, a medical school graduate would only need to spend 2 more years in training to finish residency/fellowship and become a specialist doc (e.g., gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, etc.). This is using the example of a medical school graduate who completes a 3-year IM residency followed by a 1-year sub-specialty fellowship. So they'd only need to spend 2 more (paid) years in training to look forward to earning a $250k-$300k income upon graduation, while the newly-minted clinical pharmacist will start off in the range of $80k-$100k (in the southeast).

Anyways, I don't mean to de-rail the thread...

I agree. For me personally, if I wanted to do all of the hands on clinical work I would have just went to medical school. Don't get me wrong, many pharmacy graduates are more than prepared for these positions but if my goal was to land a clinical job where I manage patients and their conditions why would I go to pharmacy school over medical school?

For me the focus of pharmacy is drug targets, mechanisms, interactions, and the opportunity to translate this information into clinically qualitative and quantitative results. Sadly, this knowledge is underutilized when pharmacists are limited to a dispensing role. What's the point of being the medication expert if your involvement doesn't occur until after the medication has already been prescribed? All you can easily offer is quality assurance and counsel. Heck, you can't even evaluate the choice of medication in the retail setting because you don't even have access to the patient's medical record.

At the same time pharmacists are not trained to diagnose disease so it's hard to argue that they could easily be utilized to fill the primary care shortage. It's easier to utilize the skill and knowledge of the pharmacists in an inpatient setting seeing as they are already on-site, but pharmacists are pretty significantly limited to dispensing when it comes to outpatient. It's just not economical to have a pharmacist sitting around in a doctor's office.

I'd like to see pharmacists be able to write more protocol approved prescriptions on the spot in retail. Allergy meds, smoking cessation products, some antibiotics for specific infections, etc. Like vaccinations this would take some strain off of the healthcare system; the problem is that like vaccinations pharmacists probably would not benefit in terms of compensation and only end up with an increased workload.

 

[BidingMyTime]

I've heard that PAs and NPs are worked pretty hard these days too, though (especially surgical PAs).
Unfortunately, I always dragged my feet when it came to getting a pharmacy job, so with school starting next month, now I have to make a firm decision on the future. I know a long-time hospital pharmacist (graduated 30+ years ago) who enjoys what he does, but with what is fast becoming the "de facto" residency requirement to work in most hospitals, he says I might as well spend the additional 1-3 years it would take to complete an MD/DO residency/fellowship and look forward to an income of $300k+, better benefits, more time off, etc. In other words, by the time a graduate of a 4-year pharmacy school has completed a PGY-2 residency, a medical school graduate would only need to spend 2 more years in training to finish residency/fellowship and become a specialist doc (e.g., gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, etc.). This is using the example of a medical school graduate who completes a 3-year IM residency followed by a 1-year sub-specialty fellowship. So they'd only need to spend 2 more (paid) years in training to look forward to earning a $250k-$300k income upon graduation, while the newly-minted clinical pharmacist will start off in the range of $80k-$100k (in the southeast).
Anyways, I don't mean to de-rail the thread...

I predict, 10 years from now NP's will be saturated (and by default PA's as well.)

The pharmacist you know makes a good argument about doing an MD/DO because of the increasing time required for pharmacists. Still, the vast majority of pharmacists doing a residency only do a 1 year residency, where as doctors are doing 3 - 7+ depending on their specialty. Plus, MD/DO residencies are far more intense than pharmacy residencies--MD/DO's doing 80 hour weeks(sometimes more off the books) at all shifts, compared to pharmacists doing 40 - 60 hours maximum, with the majority being 1st shift. Not everyone has that drive and dedication, which is why physicians are paid so much.

 

[gwarm01]

I've heard that PAs and NPs are worked pretty hard these days too, though (especially surgical PAs).



Unfortunately, I always dragged my feet when it came to getting a pharmacy job, so with school starting next month, now I have to make a firm decision on the future. I know a long-time hospital pharmacist (graduated 30+ years ago) who enjoys what he does, but with what is fast becoming the "de facto" residency requirement to work in most hospitals, he says I might as well spend the additional 1-3 years it would take to complete an MD/DO residency/fellowship and look forward to an income of $300k+, better benefits, more time off, etc. In other words, by the time a graduate of a 4-year pharmacy school has completed a PGY-2 residency, a medical school graduate would only need to spend 2 more years in training to finish residency/fellowship and become a specialist doc (e.g., gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, etc.). This is using the example of a medical school graduate who completes a 3-year IM residency followed by a 1-year sub-specialty fellowship. So they'd only need to spend 2 more (paid) years in training to look forward to earning a $250k-$300k income upon graduation, while the newly-minted clinical pharmacist will start off in the range of $80k-$100k (in the southeast).

Anyways, I don't mean to de-rail the thread...

I don't want to be a jerk, but do you really think you could handle medical school + residency? The stress of the PA/AA program was too much for you, and I can guarantee that medical school will be much more difficult. Pharmacy can be very stressful at times, but you have the luxury of being at least one step removed from the patient. That gives you time to take a breath and think about what you are doing, something that you might not be able to do if someone is dying on the bed in front of you.

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[PAtoPharm]

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[ChalupaBatman86]

Pain management, ugh. No Bueno Bro.

 

[Rukn]

Pain management, ugh. No Bueno Bro.

Why not?

You can finally write for Oxy 30 for lower back pain and have those lower level pharmacists fill it

 

[PAtoPharm]

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[Lnsean]

Why not?

You can finally write for Oxy 30 for lower back pain and have those lower level pharmacists fill it

nah brah that's too much paperwork...write it for chronic pain syndrome

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Maybe pain sucks, but apparently so does pharmacy nowadays (or at least retail does), so one way to look at it is -- would you rather do a sucky job for $80-$120k (pharmacy), or for $500k+ (pain doc)?

Also, pain medicine was just one example.... I also know a guy who just finished medical school and is doing a 3-yr IM residency, followed by a 1-year GI fellowship with the plan to work in an endo clinic (apparently they make $500k+ too).

Anyways, I was just trying to make the point that it only takes 2-3 more years of paid training (with the fellowship year paying at least $80k -- what a clinical pharmacist in my area makes) to become a physician with much better overall career prospects.

Not a damn thing wrong with GI or most other specialties. But anybody who has worked in retail will tell you horror stories about pain docs and patients. Can't imagine that being my life. Not for any amount of money. And the risk...