Anyone else have NO desire to do a residency

[spacecowgirl]

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Perhaps I haven't been properly convinced (our residents at work seem miserable), perhaps it's the 9 years of school and loans up to my eyeballs ....but I have no desire at all to do a residency after graduation. I have always been an overachiever wanting to do everything possible, take advantage of all opportunities, but this just seems - well, like more school. Am I missing something here? What is so great about doing a residency? I want to work retail with plans to own my own store someday. I am not interested in being a clinical pharmacist, although I do want to get accredited for disease state management....

What do you think???

 

[Caverject]

Perhaps I haven't been properly convinced (our residents at work seem miserable), perhaps it's the 9 years of school and loans up to my eyeballs ....but I have no desire at all to do a residency after graduation. I have always been an overachiever wanting to do everything possible, take advantage of all opportunities, but this just seems - well, like more school. Am I missing something here? What is so great about doing a residency? I want to work retail with plans to own my own store someday. I am not interested in being a clinical pharmacist, although I do want to get accredited for disease state management....

What do you think???

Sounds like you got some soul searching to do. It's not for everyone.

 

[indoflip]

I'm seriously reconsidering it myself. I even attended Midyear and everything. Now that it's time to get my apps sent out I'm realizing that I'm just so tired of studying and just want to get on with my life already. Yes, I normally go above and beyond everything but I'm just not feeling it anymore. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the programs I've looked into haven't impressed me as much as I thought they would.

 

[Lexian]

You guys still have plenty of time to decide if you want to do a residency. I, personally, am very interested in doing a residency after I graduate, but a lot can change in that span of 4 years.

If you're having second thoughts just keep talking to professors, residency preceptors, students that are currently in residencies and especially students that have completed residencies and are now working. I think those are the most important people to talk to because they can tell you *specifically* how their residency training has helped them land jobs and how it has made them better pharmacists (if it has at all for them).

Also, you should not have to be convinced to do a residency. If you feel like you don't want and/or need to do a residency, no one should try to convince you otherwise. You don't want to give up a year of potential earnings just because someone else thought you should do something. You should want to do it yourself. Hopefully we all make the decision that is best for us when it comes time to graduate.

 

[ultracet]

you won't catch me in a residency

 

[OSURxgirl]

I think eventually residency is going to become a requirement the way a PharmD has. As of now, it is a way to set yourself apart. One year of residency is equivalent to 3-5 years of general practice experience. I agree though, you have to want to do a residency because it is a lot of work. It is not quite like school though, because you are working and you are getting paid. Remember also that if you are interested in community pharmacy you might want to look into community pharmacy residencies. You can learn a lot about programming and providing patient care in the community pharmacy setting.

 

[Caverject]

As long as Walgreens is around, it doesn't make a difference unless you want to do something outside of chain work

 

[ultracet]

I think eventually residency is going to become a requirement the way a PharmD has. As of now, it is a way to set yourself apart. One year of residency is equivalent to 3-5 years of general practice experience. I agree though, you have to want to do a residency because it is a lot of work. It is not quite like school though, because you are working and you are getting paid. Remember also that if you are interested in community pharmacy you might want to look into community pharmacy residencies. You can learn a lot about programming and providing patient care in the community pharmacy setting.

when we had our residency conference this year they totally discriminated against community pharmacy by not including them in their program.

it appears to me that if you want to be a clinical pharmacist you have to do a residency though.... i know of a small rural hosiptal that would hire me right now (if i was an rph) with no experience as a clinical pharmacist.

when asked if 3-5 years of clinical pharmacy experience was equivalent to a residency the folks at the residency conference agreed but said you would NEVER be able to have a clinical position without one....

i guess it all depends on where you look and what you want to do.

 

[GravyRPH]

when asked if 3-5 years of clinical pharmacy experience was equivalent to a residency the folks at the residency conference agreed but said you would NEVER be able to have a clinical position without one....

Wrong.

GravyRPH
Clinical Pharmacist
No residency completed.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Wrong.

GravyRPH
Clinical Pharmacist
No residency completed.

QUALIFIED wrong. Depends entirely on how biased (read that snooty in my
dictionary) the management team is at the facility where you interview. Other factors include the law of supply & demand as well as how serious they are about actually hiring someone - how hungry are they.

A head hunter called me about St Peters in Olympia a few months ago. I laughed when I found out who it was because I had filled out an application for them almost two years ago. Even though I had almost thirteen years of clinical experience in a variety of settings they couldn't be bothered to set up even a phone interview. After chatting with the head hunter he acknowledged that he had been working this position for over a year and no one he sent was quite "good enough". In contrast I am pretty confident I could score an offer straight away with Harbor View in Tacoma if I could stand the drive. Twenty dollar words like curriculum vitae in their
ad are a dead giveaway that a residency will be required.

The same was true when I was in Colorado. An interview at Memorial Hospital
in Colorado Springs boiled down to "can you tolerate the pay cut we might offer you to live in our beautiful community. If you can take a number an sit down with all the other pharmacists from Ohio who want to move here" Meanwhile their poor country cousin, St Mary Corwin in Pueblo, was happy to
interview you if you were licensed in good standing and had a pulse.

Harris Methodist in Fort Worth was so exclusive they were known as the
secret society by the rest of the pharmacy community in the area

The key words are location location location and TIMING . Having friends on the inside doesn't hurt either

 

[Lexian]

It definitely depends on the coordinator and what their idea of the proper training a clinical pharmacist needs to have. Here in the Bay Area, at least, pretty much all of the clinical pharmacists have done a residency, so it would be difficult to land a clinical position in this area we you can't show that you have had that type of structured training with a preceptor overseeing you.

That being said, I completely agree with Baggywrinkle. It's all about location and what your coordinator/director is willing to accept. Some people may get these positions without a residency, but like I said, in the Bay Area where there tend to be a lot of pharmacists with the additonal training it is almost mandatory.

 

[bananaface]

In contrast I am pretty confident I could score an offer straight away with Harbor View in Tacoma if I could stand the drive.

Is there a branch campus here that no one but you knows about?

 

[baggywrinkle]

Is there a branch campus here that no one but you knows about?

Cheez & crackers you sound like a wife to wit; "behind every good man
is a better woman telling him he is wrong"

 

[Rfour]

I know quite a few people who did a residency. Then I laughed in their face when they were working retail a year later.

 

[Caverject]

Cheez & crackers you sound like a wife to wit; "behind every good man
is a better woman telling him he is wrong"

Don't let her get you down....she is just a pain in the as......ummmmm I'd rather not insult a mod

 

[bananaface]

Don't let her get you down....she is just a pain in the as......ummmmm I'd rather not insult a mod

🙄

 

[lord999]

I think eventually residency is going to become a requirement the way a PharmD has. As of now, it is a way to set yourself apart. One year of residency is equivalent to 3-5 years of general practice experience. I agree though, you have to want to do a residency because it is a lot of work. It is not quite like school though, because you are working and you are getting paid. Remember also that if you are interested in community pharmacy you might want to look into community pharmacy residencies. You can learn a lot about programming and providing patient care in the community pharmacy setting.

I had to do some real soul-searching my third year since I had opportunities for both residency and graduate school.

Then I realized that there is no legal requirement or standing that sets apart residents from the rest of our pharmacy brethren. Because even the Pharm.D. at one time was an exclusive club, extra credentialing does not make sense to me until our profession can come to a complete understanding on what qualifies you for what.

So far, here are the STRICT rules:
Only a BS Pharm. and Pharm.D. may practice pharmacy except nuclear pharmacy with a current valid license.
BCNP pharmacists (BS or Pharm.D. accepted) are legally protected from anyone else doing their job as a nuclear pharmacist.


The soft rules:
It's doubtful that you can gain an academic position without some sort of postgraduate training.
Likewise for competitive clinical positions.

BCPS, BCOP, etc. or residencies DO NOT protect you against other members in our society who want the same job. What a residency teach you is to handle the subset of patients that you want to work on.

If you don't want to undertake intensive patient care at 10 hour a day, 6 days a week schedule for a year, then a residency shouldn't be in the cards yet for you. If you want to learn how to research, try a fellowship, or better, graduate school. If you want to work in regulatory affairs, then the Pharm.D./JD combination works better than the Pharm.D./Ph.D.. If you want to own or operate a business, the community residencies or Pharm.D./MBA/MPA is your best bet.

Don't worry about your position. We all had some major soul-searching to do. In our 4th years, some of us (who I didn't think at all had the temperment) became excellent clinicians and ended up scrambling for a residency after the match, and some gung-ho residency people found out it was not for them. And in two cases, one went to graduate school to learn research methodology (me) and one ended up in law school. Both of us didn't figure out what we wanted to do until our rotation year.

I feel for you, but this is a case of personal preference. However, know that whatever you do, putting food on the table is no longer a consideration, and although you may think this denotes someone with a low ambition threshold, I believe that is one of the great perks about this profession.

 

[Super Glue]

Perhaps I haven't been properly convinced (our residents at work seem miserable), perhaps it's the 9 years of school and loans up to my eyeballs ....but I have no desire at all to do a residency after graduation. I have always been an overachiever wanting to do everything possible, take advantage of all opportunities, but this just seems - well, like more school. Am I missing something here? What is so great about doing a residency? I want to work retail with plans to own my own store someday. I am not interested in being a clinical pharmacist, although I do want to get accredited for disease state management....

What do you think???

The ONLY Pharmacists I've heard raving about residency is school faculty. Everyone else seems to feel it is unneccessary. Even pharmacy specialists feel it is unneccessary and often overkill for the positions they seek.

I say get out, work lots of overtime, and get ready to pay taxes.

 

[spacecowgirl]

*bump*

 

[spacecowgirl]

I

So far, here are the STRICT rules:
Only a BS Pharm. and Pharm.D. may practice pharmacy except nuclear pharmacy with a current valid license.
BCNP pharmacists (BS or Pharm.D. accepted) are legally protected from anyone else doing their job as a nuclear pharmacist.


The soft rules:
It's doubtful that you can gain an academic position without some sort of postgraduate training.
Likewise for competitive clinical positions.

BCPS, BCOP, etc. or residencies DO NOT protect you against other members in our society who want the same job. What a residency teach you is to handle the subset of patients that you want to work on.

If you don't want to undertake intensive patient care at 10 hour a day, 6 days a week schedule for a year, then a residency shouldn't be in the cards yet for you. If you want to learn how to research, try a fellowship, or better, graduate school. If you want to work in regulatory affairs, then the Pharm.D./JD combination works better than the Pharm.D./Ph.D.. If you want to own or operate a business, the community residencies or Pharm.D./MBA/MPA is your best bet.


I feel for you, but this is a case of personal preference. However, know that whatever you do, putting food on the table is no longer a consideration, and although you may think this denotes someone with a low ambition threshold, I believe that is one of the great perks about this profession.

Although I'm not making any promises until my 4th year when I've had a chance to experience settings beyond retail and hospital, at this point, I can safely say "no" to all of the above. No interest in nuclear, definitely no interest in 60 hour work-weeks, already have a lot of research experience (hopefully going to be a published author this year), no interest in regulatory affairs....

....so it appears as though a residency/PhD/JD is not in the cards unless I can find one that teaches you about running a pharmacy (hence the MBA might be helpful but I can't stomach more school!) which I have heard rumblings about but no concrete info (links appreciated).

Thanks for your thoughtful post

 

[endlesslove]

I am aware that a year of residency is equivalent to about 3 yrs worth of clinical experience. but i have yet to learn just how much of a difference it makes in terms of salary, bonuses, basically, any monetary amount. Yes, I know ppl with residency will most likely earn more, but I'm looking for some #s. and yes, i know it varies from state to state, but c'mon, gimme some ballpark figures.

just how much more would i make with a residency under my belt compared to joe schmoe who doesn't have one (assuming everything else about us is the same) (@ the BEGINNING of my career)

same above question but 10-20 yrs into my career.

don't worry, i'm not in it for the money 🙂 I plan to do a residency in geriatrics anyway, but I'm just really curious about this but have never found out how much more money ppl who have done residencies can make.

Thanks!

 

[Trancelucent1]

I am aware that a year of residency is equivalent to about 3 yrs worth of clinical experience. but i have yet to learn just how much of a difference it makes in terms of salary, bonuses, basically, any monetary amount. Yes, I know ppl with residency will most likely earn more, but I'm looking for some #s. and yes, i know it varies from state to state, but c'mon, gimme some ballpark figures.

just how much more would i make with a residency under my belt compared to joe schmoe who doesn't have one (assuming everything else about us is the same) (@ the BEGINNING of my career)

same above question but 10-20 yrs into my career.

don't worry, i'm not in it for the money 🙂 I plan to do a residency in geriatrics anyway, but I'm just really curious about this but have never found out how much more money ppl who have done residencies can make.

Thanks!

I don't necessarily think you'll make more right off the bat but you would probably get a job over someone who is working as a staff pharmacist without a residency. I know for a fact this is a common practice with some of the local hospitals. A few have hired some residents straight out of their residency, meanwhile some of the staff pharmacists who have wanted the position have been looked over. I think it just depends on where you want to go in the hospital. And of course all hospitals do not work this way.

 

[lord_helmet]

Well i guess if you want to be a peon pharmacist working for some chain pharmacy, dont do one. it makes it easier for other people, like me, to get the better residentcies and shoot towards our goals... just FYI, many hospital/clinics (in my area) give pref to those who took the time to get a residentcy under their belts...
😎

 

[28657]

Well i guess if you want to be a peon pharmacist working for some chain pharmacy, dont do one. it makes it easier for other people, like me, to get the better residentcies and shoot towards our goals... just FYI, many hospital/clinics (in my area) give pref to those who took the time to get a residentcy under their belts...
😎

It's obvious that the hospitals and clinics in your area would give preference to students who completed residencies. That is the purpose of residency.....further clinical training. And you're right that if you want a clinical job it's almost necessary to do a residency.

By the way, it's a little offensive to call retail pharmacists "peons". I'll be a retail pharmacist and I can tell you that I am not a peon. But thanks for your vote of confidence. 🙄

 

[lord_helmet]

i didnt mean to offend you on the peon comment... i am just tired of talking to fellow classmates and other people i know in other pharmacy programs that degrade/turn their nose at students who have a desire to do one or are curious about learning more about them...

Word from the wise: to all those who are not planning on doing a residentcy, please dont make fun of those who are...

 

[bananaface]

There are community pharmacy residencies out there for people who are interested. Depending on how the residency is set up, it might give you an opportunity to get experience in compounding, selling of and counseling for medical supplies, and help you learn how to run/manage a community retail pharmacy. For those wanting to work at a chain it may not be useful. But for people who want to get into independent pharmacy and perhaps own their own store someday, it could be beneficial.

 

[Caverject]

i didnt mean to offend you on the peon comment... i am just tired of talking to fellow classmates and other people i know in other pharmacy programs that degrade/turn their nose at students who have a desire to do one or are curious about learning more about them...

Word from the wise: to all those who are not planning on doing a residentcy, please dont make fun of those who are...

And those that are, please don't snub your nose at real work and claim that your job is "clinical"

 

[ForgetMeNot]

There are community pharmacy residencies out there for people who are interested. Depending on how the residency is set up, it might give you an opportunity to get experience in compounding, selling of and counseling for medical supplies, and help you learn how to run/manage a community retail pharmacy. For those wanting to work at a chain it may not be useful. But for people who want to get into independent pharmacy and perhaps own their own store someday, it could be beneficial.

Two grocery chains here have residency programs. I don't know much about them, though. Residencies just don't excite me.